A promise, not a description
Most value propositions describe. "We provide innovative solutions for modern businesses." The reader learns nothing, remembers nothing, and buys nothing. A value proposition that works does three jobs in one sentence: it names who the offer is for, says what they get that they cannot get elsewhere, and makes a promise the business can keep.
That is harder than it sounds, which is why so many organisations fall back on templates and adjectives. It is also where the return is, because every sales conversation, campaign and product decision inherits whatever clarity the proposition has.
Where propositions go wrong
In our work, three failures recur.
Inside-out. The proposition lists what the company does rather than what the customer gets. It is accurate and irrelevant.
Undifferentiated. It would be just as true of the three nearest competitors. Quality, service and expertise are entry tickets, not reasons to choose.
Unkept. It promises something the organisation cannot deliver consistently. Customers notice, and the proposition becomes a liability.
The same company, different promises
Consider Nike. The proposition for a running shoe (lightweight cushioning for distance) is not the proposition for a basketball shoe (support and explosive power), because the customer, the moment and the alternative are different. Both sit under a brand promise, Just Do It, achievement for the athlete in everyone, which is different again from the corporate purpose investors buy into: inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.
Each level has an audience and a job. Confusing them is common: product teams write brand slogans, and executives describe products when an investor wanted a purpose. 3M manages the same layering across everything from industrial safety equipment to Post-it Notes: one purpose, science applied to solving problems, and many specific propositions underneath it.
The lesson is not to have one proposition. It is to know which one you are writing, and for whom.
Finding the sweet spot
We build propositions where three things intersect.
- Customer need. What the audience is trying to get done, what it costs them today, and what they would value more.
- Competitor activity. Where rivals are strong, where they are weak, and which claims are already taken.
- Your capability. What you can credibly deliver and be known for now, not in the strategy document.
A proposition that sits on only two is a problem. Need plus capability without competitor awareness produces claims everyone makes. Need plus a competitor gap without capability produces a promise you break. Capability plus a gap without need produces a feature nobody wanted.
Customer need: jobs, pains, gains
Nobody wants a drill. They want a hole, and beyond the hole they want the shelf up and the room finished. Jobs are what customers are trying to do. Pains are what gets in the way. Gains are the outcomes they would pay more for. Mapping them from interviews and behaviour rather than assumption is the most important step, and the one most often skipped.
Competitor activity: an ongoing read
Any market worth entering is occupied. Competitor intelligence is not a one-off exercise before the brand workshop. It is a standing read of who is winning which customers, with what claim, and where their delivery falls short of their message.
Capability: the honest audit
Sort what you do into four groups. Distinctive: valued by customers and unique to you. Category norms: required to play, no credit for having them. At risk: valued by customers but owned by a competitor. Battleground: valuable, contested, and expensive to win. Propositions are built from the first group. Outsiders often see it more clearly than the people inside.
Testing whether yours works
A proposition is a hypothesis until customers confirm it. Four checks:
- The substitution test. Replace your name with a competitor's. If the sentence still holds, it is not a proposition.
- The sales test. Ask three salespeople to say it from memory. Three different versions means it has not landed.
- The customer test. Put it in front of ten target buyers. Ask what they think you do and why they would choose you. Compare with what you intended.
- The delivery test. Ask operations whether the promise is kept on an average Tuesday, not a good one.
Making it live inside the business
A proposition written only for the website fails. It has to show up in onboarding, in how sales qualify, in what product prioritises, and in how leaders talk. Involve sales, operations and service early. They know what customers actually say, and they are the ones who will keep or break the promise.
Where Good Analysis fits
We develop and test value propositions for businesses that are launching, repositioning, or losing deals they should win, using customer and competitor evidence rather than workshops alone. The approach is set out on the Positioning & Messaging page.
