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How a Value Proposition structures your content marketing strategy

In the last post, we talked about how you are going to come up with an awesome and amazing value proposition for your fabulous new product – the Pronto Pickle – by giving clear and concise answers to the questions: what are you selling (a product that easily opens pickle jars), who are you trying to sell it to (people who love pickles but lack upper body strength to open pickle jars), what are the benefits of using it (you can get to your pickles quickly without wasting a lot of time opening the jar), and why is your product so much better than any others out there (it opens pickle jars when the owner simply puts the device on the pickle jar, then shouts “Pronto Pickle!”)?

Once you come up with your value proposition, you need to make sure that message is consistent throughout all of your marketing, especially your inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing is when the customer finds you, as opposed to “outbound marketing,” which is radio, TV ads, telemarketing, and direct paper mail, where you are initiating contact with potential customers.

So how are value proposition and inbound marketing connected?

You know all of those questions, outlined above, that you have the answers to about your value proposition? Inbound marketing is a great chance to expand on these questions. It is your chance to shine! It is your chance to tell all of those potential customers why they can trust you to give them what they need.

But you have to be consistent. Every page on your website, every blog, every e-book, every social media posting (all of which are the different parts that make up your content strategy), should show potential customers exactly how your product solves their problems and why they should give their business to you (which is your value proposition- as you can see, this is where content strategy, inbound marketing, and value proposition all come together). If you deviate from your value proposition, you may just lose that customer that found your website. Remember, it is only too easy for them to move on to the next business to try to find what they are looking for.

Say you have outlined the value proposition for the Pronto Pickle on your website’s homepage. A customer (who is looking to buy 1 billion devices to help open some backlogged pickle jars) is very impressed with this value proposition. Intrigued, he clicks on another page on your website to get some more information, and to determine if you are a company worth dealing with. But on that new page, instead of touting the Pronto Pickle, you have information about the Presto Peanut, a device you have invented to easily open (you guessed it) peanuts. Obviously, this offers no new information about what the customer is interested in, what he came to the website for in the first place. Worse, you have deviated from your Pronto Pickle value proposition. Frustrated (and a bit confused), he decides the Pronto Pickle is not for him, and he will continue his search for help opening his jars. You just lost out on a major sale!

But your content strategy is more than just straight-out information about your product. Post articles on your website about "Top 10 Pickle Recipes," "How Pickles Have Changed the World," and other content that is interesting to your target customers, those millions of pickle fans out there. Great content draws customers in and gets them excited about your product, making it something they have to have!

And another thing:  you have to make sure that your value proposition is in the customer’s language -- their "tone of voice." Even if you are an engineer and know you can explain your Pronto Pickle in very technical, precise terms, are those the terms that your potential customers will understand? If not, try again, because they’ll just move on and look for other pickle jar openers, no matter how great your product is.

Inbound marketing is a great tool to spread the word about your business or product. Make sure you use it to full effect, by consistently talking about your value proposition in a clear, concise way, and throughout all of your marketing materials. Understanding the ins and outs of your product, and why it should be bought, should be effortless for the customer.

Click here and get your FREE copy of ASTELO's practical guide:
"101 Content Marketing - The New Face of Digital Marketing".