A value proposition is the main reason someone would choose to buy from you instead of your competitors. It also includes the belief from the customer that they will experience this value. A value proposition is what consumers think about before deciding to buy a product or use a service. If they believe that the value is greater than the cost, they are likely to make the purchase. A value proposition answers a key question in your customers’ minds: “If I am your ideal customer, why should I choose you over others?” It targets a specific customer group and requires you to think about who you won’t serve and the trade-offs involved. Essentially, it is what makes you stand out from your competitors.
Optimizing your value proposition is something that many companies struggle with. Although they have a well-defined value proposition, they fail to understand the market they are selling to and therefore fail. Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, founder of MECBLABS, states, “to define your value proposition, you need to understand the environment your ideal buyers live in and their motivations.” He further states that your value proposition falls flat when you fail to know your prospects’ needs. In fact, McGlaughlin understands the importance of value proposition optimization so well that he has developed a patent pending platform in which to evaluate it. The platform includes nine conversion-related formulas and a research methodology for single-factorial testing and multifactorial testing in a digital environment.
There is much disagreement about the term value proposition and there has been little academic research conducted to unify the theories behind it. MECLABS has reviewed over 11,000 academic articles and studied ten years worth of commercial books written about the topic. McGlaughlin performs testing of value proposition optimization at MECLABS, two wholly owned research facilities that conduct over 1,300 experiments each year. They have conducted more than 10,000 landing page tests across 1 billion email sends and 5 million telephone calls. The results are a service that McGlaughlin has taken worldwide to assist companies with understanding their value proposition. In total, McGlaughlin states that you have seven seconds to get your value proposition to a consumer who comes to your webpage. You need to be able to answer the questions 1) where am I, 2) what can I do here, 3) and why should I do it. McGlaughlin’s patent assists clients with being able to answer these questions for consumers in the first seven seconds.
Prior to the launch of MECLABS, McGlaughlin experimented with his theories of value proposition offline. In addition to being the current Director of Enterprise Research for Transforming Business at the University of Cambridge, he has also spent much time producing television programming. Throughout his career as a filmmaker, he has applied value proposition to everything he has produced. Getting the point of the film across to the consumer is what will ultimately make them purchase the movie ticket or tune in at a specific time. His value proposition in the film industry helped win a Telly Award for his 1997 production Lovely Feet and his 1995 production SPYCOM.
Whether it be assisting a client or producing a film, McGlaughlin is the one with the knowledge to optimize a value proposition. His work has been quoted in more than 10,000 online and offline sources. He has conducted major research projects with The New York Times, Google, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Canada, and Verizon. He also travels as a lecturer and has held conferences with audiences of New York University, Columbia University, and Harvard.
McGlaughlin has a major focus on consumer trust and confidence. In 2012, he was sought out for an article in the Washington Post in which he stated, “the postmodern consumer just doesn’t believe us anymore. They have endured too many empty promises, too many exaggerated benefits, and too many artful disclaimers.” He went on to state that the predisposition for consumers is to doubt every claim. McGlaughlin states that companies need to focus on transparent marketing so that consumers can see the value proposition as opposed to just hearing a claim or a promise.
As consumer habits change, so do sales. What is next to come in the world of value proposition optimization is currently unknown. However, I am sure that McGlaughlin already has his hands on it.