Writing a Business Value Proposition (BVP), Elevator Pitch, or a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), as it is sometimes called, is essential to successful marketing. In this video, let’s use the Think / Do / Learn methodology to investigate BVPs.
VIDEO
Watch on YouTube, here.
THINK: What is a BVP?
A BVP defines what you sell that they want. Pepsi sells carbonated soft drinks to people who are thirsty is an example of a BVP. Or Tesla sells high-end electric cars to eco-conscious affluent consumers. That’s another one.
The best BVPs are short, sweet, and – more important – specific. If you find yourself writing empty marketing platitudes like “amazing customer service” or “high-value services,” take those out. Make every word matter.
A good BVP, elevator pitch, or Unique Selling Proposition explains “what you sell,” “who wants it,” and “what’s unique about it.”
To be hypothetical, for example, “Jason’s Cat Boarding Emporium sells cat boarding to folks in San Francisco who are leaving town and need a place to stash their cats.”
Or, for example, Pepsi is often positioned as the soda for a “new generation,” whereas Coca-Cola is positioned as a “classic” American drink. They’re both soft drinks, but the former attempts to speak to the future, that is young people who want something new and different, whereas the latter attempts to speak, not so much to the past, but to the idea of classic American values, something quintessentially American.
DO: Write Your BVP
Now that you understand what a BVP or ELEVATOR PITCH is, it’s time to write down your own. Gather your team, brainstorm, and then distill it down to less than a minute or two.
Your BVP needs to clearly and succinctly convey:
- What you sell?
- Who wants it?
- What’s UNIQUE about it?
Short, sweet, and TO THE POINT. It’s your elevator pitch (!), so imagine you are going down the elevator from the 22nd floor to the ground floor and you have an investor with you. You have about one to two minutes tops, and it better be CLEAR or they’ll just smile and leave the elevator. Or, Bye-bye!.
LEARN: Revise Your BVP
After you’ve written your BVP, and you start marketing, it’s time to learn. Because the BVP is a relatively general concept, you want to keep it in the back of your mind at all times. Does it accurately describe what you sell? Does it capture your target customer segments? Does it convey what’s unique about your products and/or services? These are not static, eternal questions. These are on-going questions about your business and marketing, and the answers can, and should, be constantly evaluated and revised. Like a good scientist, compare your BVP against reality and revise accordingly.
