Picture this: A potential customer visits your website, reads your marketing materials, and walks away confused about what your business does. They can’t figure out why they should choose you over your competitors. Sound familiar? If so, you’re dealing with one of the most common—and costly—problems facing small businesses today: an unclear value proposition.
A value proposition is simply a clear statement that explains what benefits your business provides to customers and why they should choose you instead of your competitors. Think of it as your business’s promise to customers about the value they’ll receive.
Unfortunately, many small business owners struggle to put this promise into words that actually make sense to their customers.
What Does an Unclear Value Proposition Look Like?
An unclear value proposition often sounds like marketing jargon that doesn’t mean anything to real people. For example, saying your business provides “innovative solutions for optimized efficiency” doesn’t tell customers anything useful. What problems do you solve? How do you help them? These vague statements leave customers scratching their heads.
Other signs of an unclear value proposition include trying to be everything to everyone, using technical language your customers don’t understand, or focusing on what you do instead of how you help customers.
How an Unclear Value Proposition Hurts Your Business
1. Customers Get Confused and Leave
When people can’t quickly understand what your business offers or how it helps them, they simply move on to a competitor who can communicate more clearly. If people can’t determine what your business does or how it can impact them, they won’t become customers.
Studies show that 86% of business buyers say they’re more likely to buy from a company when their goals are understood. However, when your value proposition is unclear, customers assume you don’t understand their needs, which pushes them toward businesses that do.
A confused customer never buys. When your message isn’t clear, potential customers will choose the business that makes the most sense to them—and that won’t be yours.
2. You Lose Your Competitive Edge
Without a clear value proposition, you blend into the background with every other business in your industry. Without a clear value proposition, a company can struggle to stand out in a crowded market. This lack of differentiation can lead to a loss of competitive edge, making it harder to attract and retain customers.
When customers can’t understand what makes you different or special, they often just choose the cheapest option or the business they’ve heard of before. This means you’re competing solely on price, which is a losing game for most small businesses.
Your unique strengths and benefits become invisible to customers when you can’t communicate them.
3. Your Marketing and Sales Efforts Fall Flat
An unclear value proposition makes all your marketing efforts less effective. A weak or unclear value proposition can create confusion about what the company offers and whom it serves. This confusion can deter potential customers and weaken existing customer relationships.
Your website visitors bounce away quickly, your advertising doesn’t convert, and your sales team struggles to explain why customers should choose you. Even your best marketing tactics will fail if people don’t understand the core message about what you offer and why it matters.
Three Ways to Create a Clear Value Proposition
1. Focus on Customer Benefits, Not Features
Most businesses make the mistake of talking about what they do instead of how they help customers. Features are what your product or service includes. Benefits are what customers gain from those features.
For example, instead of saying “We offer 24/7 customer support” (a feature), say “You’ll never worry about getting help when you need it” (a benefit). Instead of “We use advanced technology,” try “Save 3 hours every week with our automated system.”
A clearly defined CVP addresses your customers’ needs in a way that resonates with them. Think about the problems your customers face and how your business solves those problems. What outcomes do they want? How do you help them achieve those outcomes?
2. Use Simple, Clear Language
Your value proposition should be so clear that a 13-year-old could understand it. Eliminate jargon: Remove any jargon or technical terms that could alienate or confuse your audience. Your goal is to communicate value in the simplest terms possible.
Avoid industry buzzwords, technical terms, and corporate speak. Instead, use the same language your customers use when they talk about their problems. If your customers say they’re “overwhelmed,” don’t say you help with “optimization”—say you help them “feel less overwhelmed.”
Test your value proposition by reading it to someone outside your industry. If they can’t immediately understand what you do and how you help, it needs to be simpler. To ensure your CVP is accessible to everyone in your target audience, while getting your message across, write it for an eighth-grade reading level.
3. Be Specific About Who You Help and How
A value proposition that tries to appeal to everyone appeals to no one. Segmenting the market allows businesses to create more personalised value propositions that resonate with specific groups.
Instead of saying “We help businesses grow,” be specific: “We help local restaurants increase their takeout orders by 30% in 90 days.” Instead of “We provide financial services,” try “We help families save $500 a month without changing their lifestyle.”
The more specific you can be about who you serve and what results you deliver, the more powerful your value proposition becomes. This specificity attracts more customers because the right people will see themselves in your message.
Research shows that segment-specific value propositions are about forging stronger connections with your customers. You create more impactful and successful brand strategies when you understand the diverse needs across your market and align your offerings accordingly.
Start with What Your Customers Want
The best value propositions start with understanding your customers’ real problems and desires. To avoid the pitfalls of misaligned value propositions, businesses must adopt a customer-centric approach. This involves deeply understanding the customer’s needs, pain points, and desired outcomes.
Talk to your existing customers about why they chose you and what results they’ve achieved. Ask potential customers about their biggest challenges. Look at the reviews for your competitors to see what people complain about.
Use this information to craft a value proposition that speaks directly to what your customers care about, not what you think they should care about.
The Bottom Line
Your value proposition is the foundation of all your marketing and sales efforts. When it’s unclear, everything else becomes harder—from getting website visitors to stay on your site to closing sales in person.
A good value proposition can make all the difference in your sales conversions. It can have a significant impact on conversions, and as a result, revenue.
By focusing on customer benefits instead of features, using simple language, and being specific about who you help and how, you can create a value proposition that works. Remember, your goal isn’t to sound impressive—it’s to be understood.
When customers clearly understand what you offer and how it helps them, they’re much more likely to choose your business over the competition. And that’s when your marketing efforts finally start paying off.