IGrowth & StrategyGuide
The Value Proposition in One Sentence: Customer, Problem, Result
“Quality, reliability, and service” appears on many websites and says nothing. This guide shows how to say in one sentence for whom you solve which problem with which result, and how to test whether the sentence holds up.
Key takeaways
- A value proposition says in one sentence which customers the business solves which problem for, with which result. It is the outward-facing short form of the positioning statement.
- Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum (2006) distinguish three types: listing all benefits, naming favorable points of difference, or focusing on the one or two differences that matter most to the customer.
- Most value propositions claim savings and benefits without backing them up. Buyers then dismiss them as marketing puffery.
- A good sentence passes five tests: the customer recognizes themselves, the problem is in their words, the result can be verified, a competitor could not say it just as honestly, and there is evidence.
Why so many businesses cannot state their value in one sentence
Ask ten owners what their business does better than others, and most answer with three words: quality, reliability, service. That is not wrong, but it does not differentiate. Every competitor would choose the same words. A customer comparing five websites reads the same thing five times and ends up deciding on price.
This piece asks: How does a small business write a one-sentence value proposition that customers understand, that sets it apart from competitors, and that can be backed up? To answer it, we first distinguish the value proposition from related terms, then introduce the three types of value propositions according to Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum as a mental model, review what research shows, and finally arrive at the formula, examples, and a test.
A value proposition any competitor could sign promises nothing.
Terms: value proposition, positioning statement, core message
A value proposition (customer value proposition) states what value a business offers to which customers. Payne, Frow, and Eggert (2017) describe it as a strategic tool a company uses to communicate how it aims to provide value to customers. According to their account, the term comes from strategy consultants of the 1980s and 1990s who wanted to explain in a few sentences why customers should buy: which precise benefit is offered to which customers at what price.
This website has two related tools. The value proposition sits between them.
| Tool | For whom | Content | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning statement | Internal | Target customer, problem, difference, evidence | One long sentence |
| Value proposition | Customers | Customer, problem, result | One short sentence |
| Core message in the messaging house | All channels | What the business solves for whom and why it is credible, with pillars and evidence | One page |
The four-part positioning statement is for internal use and may be long. The value proposition is its translation for the customer: shorter, in the customer’s language, and with the result rather than the difference in the foreground. It can serve as the roof of the messaging house described in the guide Defining your core message. Difference and evidence then move into the pillars and the foundation.
The mental model: three types of value propositions
James Anderson, James Narus, and Wouter van Rossum (2006) studied how suppliers in business markets formulate their value propositions. Their initial finding: there is no agreement on what a value proposition is or what makes one persuasive. Most value propositions claim savings and benefits without backing them up. An offering may actually be superior, but if the supplier does not demonstrate and document it, the buyer dismisses it as marketing puffery. Buyers who are held accountable for reducing costs cannot afford simply to believe claims.
The authors distinguish three ways of building a value proposition. They differ in how much the supplier must know about the customer and the alternative.
| Type | Guiding question | What the supplier must know | Typical weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| All benefits | Why should the customer buy our offering? | Only its own offering | Claims benefits the customer does not need or everyone offers |
| Favorable points of difference | Why should the customer buy our offering instead of the alternative? | Its own offering and the next-best alternative | Names differences that mean little to the customer |
| Resonating focus | What is most valuable for this customer? | The offering, the alternative, and the customer’s priorities | Requires knowledge of the customer that must first be acquired |
The resonating focus is the most demanding and most effective form. It limits itself to one or two differences that have the greatest value for the customer and backs them up. For a small business, this is also a relief: it does not have to promise everything, just the right thing.
What research shows about value propositions
Payne, Frow, and Eggert (2017) brought together the scattered literature on value propositions in a review. Their finding: the term is widely used but poorly defined and often applied casually and superficially rather than strategically and rigorously. They distinguish it from related concepts and emphasize that the value proposition should be one of a company’s most important organizing principles, because it determines how value for customers is created and communicated.
A study from Germany shows that a substantiated promise also works in sales. Kirchberger, Wouters, and Anderson (2020) surveyed 293 young technology companies. Those who expressed the benefit of their offering in money and backed it up were more likely to win pilot customers. The study concerns young companies with new technologies. For established small businesses, the direction applies all the more, because they have evidence from many orders.
Source: Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum (2006); Kirchberger, Wouters, and Anderson (2020)
How to quantify the benefit in euros compared with the customer’s next-best alternative is described in the guide Expressing customer value in euros using the value equation. The value proposition names the result; the value equation supplies the evidence.
The formula: customer, problem, result
For a small business, a simple sentence form has proven useful that puts the three parts in a fixed order. I call it the three-part sentence. It translates the resonating focus into a form that fits on a website, in a quote, and in a conversation.
Customer
For whom? Name the customer group so that a suitable customer recognizes themselves: industry, size, occasion. “Property managers with larger portfolios” rather than “customers in all industries.” How to define the group is described in the guide Defining target customers.
Problem
What bothers this customer? Phrase it in their words, as they would say it in a first meeting. “Heating breakdowns in winter and tenants who call” rather than “technical service.”
Result
What is different after working together? A state the customer can verify, ideally with a figure or deadline. “A technician on site within four hours” rather than “fast help.”
Put together, this produces a sentence like: “For property managers with larger portfolios whose tenants call immediately when the heating fails: we are on site within four hours and document every call-out.” The difference from the positioning statement lies in length and perspective. The region, the comparison with competitors, and the detailed evidence are not in the sentence but behind it.
Weak
- “Quality and service from a single source”
- “Your partner for everything to do with building technology”
- “Innovative solutions for your success”
- “Reliably at your service for 30 years”
Solid
- “For medical practices: IT that does not fail during office hours, with a callback in 30 minutes”
- “For bakeries with several branches: refrigeration monitored overnight”
- “For machine builders: spare parts for legacy equipment in five working days”
- “For property managers: a heating technician on site in four hours”
Two views: narrow and concrete or broad and open
The first view prefers a narrow, concrete value proposition. It addresses the right group directly, differentiates, and can be backed up. Anderson and colleagues argue for this resonating focus because it forces the supplier to understand what the customer actually values.
The second view warns of losses. Many small businesses live on several customer groups. A narrow value proposition on the home page deters those who do not see themselves in it, and that can cost inquiries. A broader promise keeps the door open.
I consider the narrow promise right and the problem raised by the second view solvable. A business with three customer groups does not need one broad promise but three narrow ones, each on the service page or in the quote for that group. The home page carries the promise for the most important group; the others are one click away. A broad promise does not keep the door open; it leaves the customer standing outside because they cannot tell whether they are meant.
Testing the sentence: five questions
A value proposition is a claim about the market. Before it is used, it should pass five tests. The fourth is the strictest, and most first drafts fail it.
- Recognition: Would a typical customer from the group feel addressed when reading it?
- Language: Is the problem stated in the words customers use in a first meeting?
- Verifiability: Can the customer determine after working together whether the result has occurred?
- Differentiation: Could a direct competitor not say the sentence just as honestly?
- Evidence: Are there figures, references, or records that support the result?
If you want to know whether the sentence also works, you can test it in sales, for example in the first email to prospects. The numbers are small, but a direction often shows after a few dozen contacts. How the first email is structured is described in the guide The first email to prospects.
Worked example with freely chosen figures, 40 recipients each. With such small numbers, the differences are an indication, not proof.
Where the sentence is used
A value proposition only works if it reads the same everywhere customers get to know the business. The following overview shows how the sentence is used in the most important channels.
| Channel | How the sentence appears | What is added |
|---|---|---|
| Website, home page | As a headline or subheading, unchanged | Evidence directly below, such as a customer testimonial |
| Service page | The sentence for the respective customer group | Process, references, inquiry route |
| Quote | As the first sentence of the introduction | The value equation with the customer’s figures |
| First meeting | As the answer to “What exactly do you do?” | A question to the customer whether the problem applies to them |
| Owner’s profile | In the short description | An example from a real order |
How to structure B2B website copy so that it clearly says what the business solves for whom is described in the guide Copy for your B2B website. For defining the customer group, the guide Defining target customers helps.
Conclusion and what you can do this week
How does a small business write a one-sentence value proposition that customers understand, that differentiates, and that can be backed up? It names the customer group so that it recognizes itself, describes the problem in the group’s words, and promises a result the customer can verify. Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum show why the resonating focus works: it limits itself to the difference that matters to this customer and backs it up instead of listing all benefits. Research confirms that substantiated promises are more persuasive than asserted ones. A business with several customer groups does not need one broad promise but several narrow ones.
- This week: Write a three-part sentence for your most important customer group and test it with the five questions.
- Next week: Read the sentence to three customers from this group and ask whether they recognize themselves in it.
- In a month: Use the revised sentence on your website and in the introduction to your quotes.
You can recognize a good value proposition by the fact that a suitable customer keeps reading after the first sentence, and an unsuitable one is grateful not to have to.
Frequently asked questions
What is a value proposition?
A sentence that says which customers a business solves which problem for, with which result. It is also called a customer value proposition. It is the outward-facing short form of positioning.
How do I write a value proposition?
In three parts: customer, problem, result. Name the customer group so that it recognizes itself, describe the problem in its words, and promise a result that can be verified, ideally with a figure or deadline.
What is the difference between a value proposition and positioning?
Positioning defines internally for which customers and which problem the business is the obvious choice, with difference and evidence. The value proposition translates this for customers into a short sentence with the result in the foreground.
What types of value propositions are there?
According to Anderson, Narus, and van Rossum (2006), three: listing all benefits, naming favorable points of difference compared with the alternative, or focusing on the one or two differences most valuable to the customer. The third type is considered the most effective.
How do I test whether my value proposition is good?
With five questions: does the customer recognize themselves, is the problem in their words, can the result be verified, could a competitor not say the sentence just as honestly, and is there evidence? After that, a small test helps, for example in the first email to prospects.
Sources
- Anderson, J. C.; Narus, J. A.; van Rossum, W. (2006): Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review, 84(3), 90-99.
- Payne, A.; Frow, P.; Eggert, A. (2017): The customer value proposition: evolution, development, and application in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(4), 467-489.
- Kirchberger, M.; Wouters, M.; Anderson, J. C. (2020): How Technology-Based Startups Can Use Customer Value Propositions to Gain Pilot Customers. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, 27(4), 353-374.
Note. Charts and tables without a source are worked examples with freely chosen figures or the author’s own classification. The example sentences are freely worded and do not refer to any real companies.
