Before you undertake an expensive marketing activity, you need to be able to articulate your service offering or value proposition. Know what you’re selling, what makes it different to the competitors, what pain points it alleviates for your prospective customers and why they want to buy it from you. 
If you can’t clearly state what you are selling and why someone should buy it then how can you expect your customers or your employees too? We frequently talk to businesses that tell us they just want to drive sales and growth, yet when we ask them what exactly they sell its often quite convoluted and unclear or only the business owner / MD really understands it so its confusing to staff and prospects. If you get your service offering clear from the beginning, it not only makes your elevator pitch easier but also your marketing stays on message, is targeted, drives higher results and can be cheaper to undertake. Here are 4 key aspects to understanding your service offering:
- Understand your Target – Identify who you are selling each product/service to and understand what their drivers are and why they want to buy that particular product/service. This doesn’t mean because it has shiny new widgets and thingamabobs but because it “Saves them time and money” etc.
- Develop your Key Messages – Develop your key messages about your service so your marketing, your sales collateral, your staff and your word of mouth referrals are all singing from the same song sheet. Develop a short descriptor or elevator pitch that succinctly articulates who you are selling to, what you are selling, what need of their’s you meet and why they want to buy from YOU.
- Know your product/service hierarchy – It could be as simple as 4 products or as complex as solutions or packages with sub-products underneath. Whatever it is, you need to clearly define it so it is easily understood and able to be communicated. Whilst you might understand all the products and services, if your employees can’t – how can they help sell it, if your customer can’t then how can they recommend it or if your prospects can’t why would they buy it.
- Identify your Channels – Map out your channels to market for each service/product so you can easily articulate where and how things are sold and so you and your staff or clients referring.
Knowing what you’re selling, how you’re selling it and why your prospects/clients want to buy it will create a compelling reason to buy and more strategic marketing to drive greater results . The prospect doesn’t care how amazing you think it is, they just want to know What’s In It For Me (WIFM).
