Relax, Dorothy, this yellow brick road doesn’t have to be complicated.

Right?

There are a lot of elements to consider when it comes to branding.  I’ve found that these three—value propositions (VPs), unique selling propositions (USPs), and positioning statements—tend to be the most misunderstood, even compared to company mission and vision (which is saying something).

What businesses often claim are their value props aren’t really value props.  Some consider their taglines to be their positioning statements.  Such situations and others aren’t limited to companies that don’t have marketers to strategize these things.  The truth is, these are terms that even marketing experts can confuse or mistakenly use interchangeably (just go to Google and see how many different definitions you get in the blogosphere).

While VPs, USPs, and positioning statements are inherently interrelated, they each have fundamental differences that build on one another to form your overarching brand framework.  If you’re going to create them—and you should, even informally—then you need to know how.  So, let’s boil each down to its core function to get you started.

Value Proposition

This one’s my favorite.  In my opinion, it forms the foundation for every other aspect of your marketing messaging. 

The key here is that a VP has nothing to do with your product, service, or solution itself.  It has everything to do with the value (hence the term) that those things bring to your clients’ businesses.

This is the classic features vs. benefits dynamic.  The features of your solution deliver the benefits, and the benefits of your features deliver the ROI, which is what your clients ultimately care about.  Your VP is therefore the overarching benefit you bring to them—i.e., why they should invest in what you have to offer.

For instance, “market-leading healthcare software” is not a value prop.  Sure, it can add credibility in a pitch, but by itself no one really cares that your gizmo is popular.  On the other hand, “healthcare software that lets you spend more time with patients” is a VP that will resonate with any medical professional.

Unique Selling Proposition

A USP builds on your value prop by answering the next natural question:  why should we buy from you?

After all, you’re not the only company selling healthcare software that saves users time.  You may be competing against dozens of tech developers who do this in some way, shape, or form.  Therefore, what makes you, shall we say, unique (once again, hence the term)?

USPs are all about differentiation.  Yours should be something that your competitors either can’t or don’t offer.  But, it must be of significance.  Healthcare software offering more dashboard color options than anyone else is pretty weak.  Being the only healthcare software that integrates seamlessly with any accounting or CRM platform is pretty damn compelling.

One caveat here.  If you’re struggling to come up with a functional differentiator, you can always go the Claude Hopkins route.  When Schlitz hired the advertising pioneer, he recognized how early 20th century brewers were big on claiming their beer was “pure.”  But, that’s where they stopped.  Hopkins instead dug into what made his client’s beer “pure.”  Filtered air, clean water source, sterilized bottles…the whole shebang. Showcasing common methods that weren’t being mentioned by anyone else became the foundation of Schlitz’s ultra-successful campaign.  In this case, USP differentiation was purely marketing-led, not product-led.

Positioning Statement

If your VP is benefit-based and your USP is competitor-based, then your positioning statement is customer-based.  It’s how you want the market to think about you.

In other words, it’s more or less your branding goal.

A positioning statement flows from a strong VP and USP.  Clearly establish these, and you’ll have a greater chance of influencing your audience’s perception of your brand and business.  What comes to mind when they think of your company will be what you want to come to mind.

A good way to consider this is through the following question:  what do we want to be known for?  Going back to the healthcare software example, maybe it’s ease of use since our platform integrates so seamlessly with other systems.  Or, it could be more personal than that:  we’re the developer that continually listens to our clients by making things like compatibility and other stated needs our top priority.

It may seem like we’re splitting hairs here.  I’ll admit there are times when I include elements of a USP and/or positioning statement as part of a client’s value prop when it makes sense.  Nevertheless, there are important delineations to consider.  Nail these, and you make it easier to expand your messaging angle into a full-blown elevator pitch or condense it into a catchy slogan as part of your storytelling toolbox.

Care to chat about these for your business or, alternatively, vehemently disagree with how they’re defined here?  Great!  Drop me a line so we can set up a productive chat and/or debate.