ABSTRACT
The concept of value propositions ties into a company’s brand; it’s your unique pitch that will compel people to give your service a try in the first place. The experience your customers receive must be in harmony with the perceived value proposition. Exploring, updating, and refreshing your value proposition should be considered a mission-critical task for any organization. Companies have gone out of business when their value proposition no longer resonated with customers. For example, one video rental store’s value proposition may have included a physical store. I remember trying to get a copy of the most recent releases, and standing in line with my wife and children on Friday nights. People really wanted entertainment delivered. An Internet startup’s value proposition was more about the delivering process and eliminated the physical store. This proposition also eliminated a drive across town and customers waiting in line. The startup had more of an online presence, and it created a subscription-based model. While no company can avoid missteps, and at the time of this writing the startup was still in business, the rental store chain was in bankruptcy. Similar situations happened with bookstores. Once your value proposition no longer resonates with customers, it is only a matter of time before your organization evolves or dissolves. The world changes, yet many people still seem to think that what worked in the past decade will still work tomorrow.
