MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas
MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas |
Appeal: Does your value proposition actually make customers say, “I want this product or offer”? Posted: 07 Mar 2016 12:01 AM PST Startups can reveal some pretty enlightening information about what makes a successful value proposition. After all, unlike established companies with divisions and brands and patents and factories and distribution networks, the main asset many startups have is their value proposition (often communicated as an "elevator pitch"). CB Insights recently conducted a post-mortem of more than 100 failed startups to try to figure out what went wrong.
The top reason they failed — "No market need," cited by 42%. To put that into marketing terms, their value proposition had no appeal. Appeal is one of the sub-elements of the patented value proposition heuristic developed by MECLABS Institute, parent research organization of MarketingExperiments. This thought tool has been created to help companies understand what elements are necessary for a forceful value proposition, and how to optimize those factors.
But what is appeal exactly? It is the unspoken desire of the customer — "I want this." It is not, however, marketing. Or advertising. Or incentive. And here's where the confusion often comes in.
You can't advertise your way out of having no appeal Well, I guess it is possible. If you have enough money. If you can flood the market with your ads, and work sweetheart distribution deals with key stores and resellers, sure, you could be successful. But for most companies, advertising and marketing is not where appeal should originate. An incentive should not drive the appeal. The appeal should be intrinsic to the product, service, experience or offer presented to the customer. Then, marketing's role is to tap into the discovered appeal with messaging that clearly and credibly communicates that appeal.
And you can't dictate appeal I'm sure you've been in meetings where this has happened. The highest-paid person comes up with an idea for a new feature or product that they are interested in, and pushes the idea through creation and marketing because he thinks customers will want it as well. Except the elephant in the room is this: Everyone knows that most customers won't care. Product development must emanate from what is appealing to customers, not thrust upon them. Sure, there is the occasional golden gut like Henry "If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse" Ford. But what would have been so bad about asking? That customer knowledge — customers want faster transportation — could be combined with key decision makers' business wisdom to create a product that is an alternative to a horse, but yet still delivers the main element that would be appealing: increased speed.
Appeal is a core truth Appeal is a deep, core truth to why customers want your product and respond to your offers. It is the delivery of a value they either want or need, and a powerful enough delivery of that value that they will overcome the cost, both monetary and non-monetary (time, friction, etc.), to obtain it.
How to leverage appeal to improve marketing performance
You can follow Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content, MECLABS Institute, @DanielBurstein.
You might also like Boost Your Online Ads: Strengthen your value proposition by focusing on your "only factor" (interactive research brief) Search Engine Marketing: Finding appeal for your PPC Ads Value Proposition Development online course [From MECLABS, parent research organization of MarketingExperiments] |
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