How to Create a Compelling Value Proposition in B2B With Early Hypotheses

The challenge with the first prospect interactions is finding a problem or opportunity that will resonate on first contact. The wider your target customer profile is, the more problems you can come up with and the weaker your value proposition will be.

However, problems are never equal in the eyes of businesses. In B2B, there are three types of solutions that matter:

The Reasons Why Businesses Buy Technology Products

  1. Solutions that increase revenues
  2. Solutions that reduce costs
  3. Solutions that help increase customer satisfaction

These are the core reasons why companies invest in new technology. And even these three reasons are not equal in the eyes of stakeholders. Value propositions that bring in new money by increasing revenue are always the easiest to sell and justify for buyers.

Create a Compelling Value Proposition in B2B – Get the Exploration Worksheet

To explore the range of possible benefits for a solution, we can build on the concept of the money map by turning motivations into problems and exploring opportunities around those problems.

The B2B Value Proposition Exploration Grid

You’ll look at how these value propositions could play out with the following exploration grid:

B2B VALUE PROPOSITION EXPLORATION

Using the main opportunity that came out from the money map (reaching local customers) and one of the most evocative value propositions from the previous exploration, you can tell that helping marketing departments increase revenue by reaching more targeted local customers would be a compelling opportunity.

Create a Compelling Value Proposition in B2B – Get the Exploration Worksheet

This opportunity will help you write a value proposition that connects with your early prospects. It should be broad enough to allow you to engage in discussions with a varied group of prospects and learn about their problems and opportunities.

We now have all of the hypotheses needed to flesh out a first compelling value proposition:

Our product is for marketing teams in small retail chains that are dissatisfied with newspaper advertising. Our product improves revenue through greater reach. Unlike newspaper advertising, our product allows marketers to reach highly targeted customers faster.

More on Creating Compelling Value Propositions

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