We’ve all heard the term “cleanliness is next to godliness” at some point in our lives. Its wisdom has followed us from our teenage bedrooms to our homes and our offices. Nothing says focus like a well-organized desk or ‘delicious meal’ like a sparkling kitchen.
There’s a reason this sentiment is so powerful. Science tells us that disorder makes it difficult for our brains to focus on a task and that cleanliness in one’s home is directly related to stress levels and mental wellbeing.
So, what does this have to do with your business? Consider how often people interact with your company. Now think about how often they come across your website, your sell sheet, or through our office doors. Every time they do that, they interact with your brand, messaging, and organizational personality.
Now think about your value proposition. Can you concisely tell someone what you do? In less than three sentences? How about just one sentence?
Getting back on message
It may come as a surprise, but many business owners struggle to explain to other people what they do. This is often because business leaders think of their organization as a series of reasons, actions, and results, each as important as the next. While this may be true when defining everything a business does, it can become extremely messy when trying to communicate your value to someone else.
This leads to misleading, messy, misaligned messaging (excuse the alliteration). The triple Ms can result in:
- Website pages with way too much information, overwhelming visitors
- Sell sheets that confuse instead of educating
- Sales conversations that lead to headaches
- Employees who struggle to stay aligned with organizational goals
Begin by asking the question: when people visit your website, how quickly will they be able to tell what you do? How easily will they be able to identify if your solution is right for them?
Our daily lives are filled with clutter, no matter how clean our home is. We have junk mail to sort through, advertisements interrupting our shows, traffic to navigate, and unnecessary meetings to get through. When it comes to finding solutions to our problems, we don’t have a ton of extra space in our brain to give to finding that solution.
The bottom line?
People won’t stick around to try and sus through your confusing website. They’ll leave for an easier one to understand. And they’ll make the decision in less than 20 seconds.
Every business offers a solution, whether you’re selling sweaters or software, which means that every business, everywhere, needs a clear value proposition. The clearer the value proposition, the more effective your messaging efforts will be. And the clearer your messaging, the easier it is to attract and retain customers and even employees.
A great value proposition should:
- be easily remembered by every one of your employees,
- be written in less than three sentences, and
- be clear to any layperson who comes across it.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out these three books that can help you write a value proposition and clarify your message:
- Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
- Start with Why by Simon Sinek
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
A clear value proposition isn’t just good for your messaging. It’s good for your clients, prospects, and even your employees. The clarity it provides sifts down through every conversation, interaction, and decision made around your business. It creates trust and dependability, and it removes friction. If you’re truly interested in helping your organization remove the clutter, start by developing a powerful value proposition.
