Value Messaging: How to Get It Right for Your Business
If you’re wondering whether values-based messaging is an effective strategy for your business, the answer is a resounding YES. It’s been proven that companies that use value messaging generate more leads and sales. This blog post will discuss how value-based communication helps create an emotional connection with your customers and how you can use the value messaging framework.
What is value-based messaging?
Value-based messaging (VBM) is a strategic way of communicating your value proposition to your prospective customers. It focuses on how you can help your customers solve their problems or fulfill their dreams. The idea behind VBM is simple: you identify values that are important to your customers and then target them with messages prioritizing those values. Many successful brands have used it as the core of their startup branding strategy.
Why values-based messaging works wonders
VBM works because you customize messages for each unique audience and show you understand them. It’s not just about telling people what you do. It’s about building trust and showing them that you are on a mission to solve their problems. Show them you care.
Focusing on value-based messages solves real-life problems for your users instead of touting product features. For example, you don’t say, “We sell X,” you say, “Our services give you XYZ benefits to make your life better.” This kind of strategic messaging helps to build customer loyalty and increase sales conversion.
Harvard Business researchers collaborated with Dynata to survey more than 10,000 US consumers to see if there was a connection between perceived value and revenue growth. The evidence clearly suggests that companies with high perceived value have faster revenue growth and more loyal customers.
Applying value messaging
Understanding value elements that matter to your target audience will help you create a value proposition that resonates with them. Elements of value developed by Bain & Company is very helpful in identifying what matters to your customers.
Customers consciously or unconsciously do a value versus price calculation for every purchase decision to see if the action is worth their time and money. So, understanding your customers’ values is critical to building a solid emotional connection with them.
When you understand the value drivers that matter, you incorporate them into your brand messaging framework. Demonstrate the functional, emotional, social, and life-changing benefits of doing business with you.
How to come up with the best value messaging framework
- Understand your customer segments and build an ideal customer profile (buyer persona)
Build customer profiles for your best audience to understand them better. Look at your current customer base. Talk to your sales team and customer service team to get insight into your buyer. Listen to recorded sales calls with your sales team to understand common objections and questions they face when closing deals.
If you have too many customer segments for your product, apply the 80/20 rule to prioritize creating ideal customer profiles. In B2B sales, create personas for the decision-maker and people influencing the sales conversations. For example, the purchasing manager might be the decision-maker, but the operations manager might influence the decision. I have written a detailed post about creating an ideal buyer profile. - Identify their pain points and key-value elements
List out all the problems that your potential clients faced that led them to search for your product. Understand their internal and external problems. Most internal challenges aren’t as apparent as external ones because customers don’t reveal them right away. - Competitor analysis
Analyze your competitors’ value propositions and identify gaps in their sales messages. Find out how they position themselves in the market, so you’ll know where you need to improve. - Define value pillars for your strategic brand messaging framework
Ask yourself, “What really matters to this person and what customer success means for them?” Then create value propositions for your product. - Content mapping and values-based communication
Once you know what your buyer wants, you can tailor your brand message and content to suit them. Use content mapping to create content for each stage of the buyer’s journey. The length and complexity of the buying cycle depend on your product. Use a variety of content types and channels, but keep the story consistent. Position your product and tell your brand story clearly and effectively. You need to talk the same language and care about the same things as your customer.
Benefits of Value messaging
- Value-based brand messaging plays a significant role in sales enablement.
- Create key messages around value drivers that matter most to your buyers.
- Create a set of core benefits that define who you are and why your products are different from others.
- Make it easy for prospects to find answers to their questions by providing relevant information online.
What is values-based communication?
Values-based communication is about listening to what your customers want. It’s about understanding what people want, need or value in order to communicate effectively with them. With VBC, you learn more about your customers by focusing on their real-life struggles rather than asking, “how would they feel if we talk about X or Y product feature?”
What information do you need to create a value message?
To create a value message, you need to know the value elements that matter to your customers and define them as your brand value pillars. You can broadly categorize value elements as functional, emotional, social, and life-changing.
How do you communicate value?
After defining your brand messaging strategy, you can deliver it with mediums like audio, video, images, text, infographics, and marketing channels like Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Why should I consider using value-based branding?
The modern customer prefers to do business with brands that they trust. If you stand for things that matter to them, you’ll be more likely to close deals. Your business goals should align with those of your target audience.
Vivek Mathew
(aka The Mindful Marketer, aka the guy who rocks a pink shirt 😄)
I’m a content consultant who helps small businesses become iconic brands by clarifying their brand message and creating strategic content. I’ve worked with brands like EY, Natwest, and some early-stage startups like Vivartah.
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