Business Models For Dummies
Book image
Explore Book Buy On Amazon

Can you clearly and effectively explain your unique value proposition (UVP) in one sentence? It’s not always easy, but it’s absolutely necessary. If it takes a paragraph to explain why people should buy your product, a) they’ll tune you out after ten words and miss the important stuff, and b) your value proposition won’t be finely tuned enough to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Your UVP should be:

  • Specific: “I’m a dentist” is too vague and short to be unique. What type of dentist? What special client needs do you meet? A stronger UVP may be, “I’m a dentist who has sensitive teeth, so I built my practice to make dental visits painless.”

  • Succinct: Some value propositions sound like, “Our software company works with manufactures, distributors, retailers, and other companies to increase efficiencies by leveraging synergies with their existing human capital infrastructure and cutting-edge technological solutions.”

    Huh? This UVP is too long, serves too many customers, and doesn’t offer a specific solution the buyer can envision. Something better may be, “Our software leverages valuable internal human and intellectual capital, resulting in lower turnover and training costs.”

  • Meaningful: Your UVP is always interesting to you; it’s your company after all. Unfortunately, your customers are overwhelmed with other offerings and advertising overload. A UVP like, “We are the most respected men’s clothier in town,” may sound great internally. However, to the customer it sounds like, “We think we’re pretty awesome . . . blah blah . . . something about clothes.”

    This clothier may do better with something like, “The most expensive suit in town, for a reason,” or “For more than 100 years, men have trusted their most important dates to us.”

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Jim Muehlhausen is the founder and President of the Business Model Institute as well as consultant and speaker to businesses large and small. He is the author of The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them and a frequent contributor to Entrepreneur, Businessweek, and dozens of other publications.

This article can be found in the category: