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MSME
Here’s why your business needs a solid value proposition (PART 2)
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. The lesser-known your company, the sharper your Value Proposition needs to be.
Things to consider, research or compile before you start creating your value proposition
What do you offer?
This, simply put, is a specific explanation of your products or services. Make sure you take into account the point of view of your target audience and explain your services in a way that will appeal to them. Don’t forget that wording matters. Even if you offer exactly what they’re looking for, if it isn’t worded in a way that makes that clear, potential customers will look elsewhere.
Think about your target customers and their needs, and make sure your value proposition addresses their needs as closely as possible. Make sure the focus is on how your services will benefit your audience. Include specific numbers or statistics if possible. For example, have your customers seen an average percent increase in revenue? Do they save a certain number of hours per week? Have they reported an increase in performance since they started using your services?
[READ MORE: Choosing the best business name: Rules and common mistakes(Opens in a new browser tab)]
Who do you serve?
Before you start writing your value proposition, you will want to be perfectly clear on who your target audience is. To accomplish this, research your audience to understand who they are and what they look for in products or services like yours.
You’ll want to have answers to the following questions:
- Who are they (demographic data) and what they do (interests, careers)?
- What are their values?
- What are their needs or pain points?
- What challenges did they experience before working with your business?
- What motivated them to search for what you offer?
- Was there anything about your particular brand that showed that you catered to their needs?
What differentiates you from your competitors?
It is essential that your value proposition includes a unique selling point or feature that sets your company apart. Even if you already have an idea of your differentiating factors, it’s a good idea to spend some time doing some competitor research. The best way to go about doing this is by checking out their sites and examining their marketing campaigns.
Then ask yourself the following questions:
- What are your competitors lacking?
- What do you do better?
- Why do these differences matter to your customers?
Once you have clear answers to these questions, you can begin to write a more effective value proposition.
[READ MORE: Choosing the best business name: Rules and common mistakes(Opens in a new browser tab)]
So, what makes an effective value proposition?
- Summarizes what your company does in one sentence: However, for maximum effectiveness, try to articulate what your company does in a single sentence; your value proposition needs to be both clear and instantly credible.
- It is specific about the benefits of your customers’ experience: A good value proposition needs to be as specific as possible about the benefits your products and services provide to your customers.
- It shows how you solve a specific problem or address a specific need: Your value proposition needs to be clear on what problem or need you are addressing, and also demonstrate how you solve this problem.
- It explains why customers choose you over your competitors: To be effective, a value proposition needs to be written with your ideal customer or buyer persona in mind. It needs to clearly and compellingly explain why the customers should choose you instead of your competitors.
How to craft a compelling value proposition
Here are a few tips for turning the basic facts you have compiled into a clear, compelling value proposition. But note: The value proposition that works best for your business depends on your brand and audience.
Determine the needs of your target audience
Writing a strong value proposition will be nearly impossible if you don’t have a clear understanding of the needs that your customers seek to fulfil.
[READ ALSO: Why investors should understand the basics of financial statements]
Here are some questions you should be asking about your target audience:
- What are your customers’ current priorities? Lowest price? Best customer service?
- Are there groups of people in your customer base that experience the same pain points?
Identify your unique offering
What is at the centre of everything that you do? Look to your company’s mission statement and core values to help identify this. After you have a solid understanding of your customers’ needs and what differentiates your business from others, it is time to establish the solution that you’re offering.
Here are some questions you should be asking about your business:
- How is your product a solution to your customers’ pain points?
- What makes your product/service unique?
- Why should your customers buy from you instead of your competition?
Aim for simplicity
Many businesses make the mistake of using vague language that all of their competitors are using. When crafting your value proposition, use straightforward language, be clear on what you are offering and avoid industry jargon at all costs. This will make it easy to understand your products and services and make you more distinctive.
Make it memorable
Most of your potential customers will read several other companies’ value propositions in the course of their research. That is why it is extremely important for you to make sure they remember yours (and your company’s) by incorporating unique language, even if it’s just one word.
Focus on value
As the name implies, your value proposition needs to convey the value of what you’re offering potential customers. Although your differentiating factors may be features like great customer service or a user-friendly interface, it is important to also highlight how your business helps customers achieve a specific goal.
Write your value proposition as a concise paragraph
Take the information you gathered in the previous steps and use it to guide your value proposition statement. You should be able to convey the value of your business in 50 words or fewer. Don’t be afraid to use visual content to help aid this.
Business
The FG in partnership with the private sector will continue to support MSMEs – Osinbajo
Osinbajo has stated that the FG in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses.
Nigeria’s Vice-president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during an MSME stakeholders’ meeting, disclosed that the Federal Government in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses across the country.
According to a press statement issued by Laolu Akande, the VP made this statement on Monday at the first meeting of MSMEs stakeholders for the year 2021.
Prof. Osinbajo said the Government would continue to support innovation and interventions to deepen the involvement of new and existing MSMEs in the nation, this he said would help to improve the economy and create more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He stressed further that the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan Survival Funds has sent positive economic signals. In a bid to complement the gains in this space, the Government needs to scale up interventions in the MSMEs sector.
In this vein, Osinbajo urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors at the virtual meeting to be innovative in the interventions planned for small businesses across the country, so as to consolidate on the gains recorded in the MSMEs space in the past few years.
What they are saying
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, during the MSME stakeholders’ meeting, said:
“We must continue to be innovative in the interventions that we plan for MSMEs because small businesses are the engines of growth of any economy, in the areas of wealth creation and employment opportunities, MSMEs are very important.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said:
“We really have to think out of the box in our engagements going forward. We need to change the way we do many things, we need to look for ways of multiplying our efforts because the challenges in this space are greater than what we have been able to achieve so far. Of course, we have done a lot, but looking at the numbers in need, you will find out that there is a lot more to be done.”
What you should know
- The Federal Government’s MSMEs Survival Fund grant scheme, which includes Payroll Support, Artisans and Transport support tracks, is a component under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan, NESP.
- The Survival Fund scheme was designed to cushion the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic especially on the most vulnerable small businesses, is a conditional grant to support vulnerable MSMEs in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector.
- The scheme is estimated to save not less than 1.3 million jobs across the country. However, 283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs across the country have benefited from the Payroll Support Scheme. This leaves millions of Nigerians out of the consideration of the scheme.
MSME
283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs have benefited from FG Payroll Support Scheme
The FG has revealed that over 200,000 persons have so far benefited from its Payroll Support Program.
MSME
FG warns applicants of N75 billion MSME Fund against fraudulent websites
FG warned unsuspecting members of the public to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details.
The Federal Government has warned unsuspecting members of the public, who wish to apply for the MSME Survival Fund, to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details, before giving applicants N50,000.
According to Punch, the disclosure is contained in a press statement that was issued in Calabar by the Project Delivery Office (the Coordinating office of the scheme) under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and titled ‘Portal requesting for beneficiaries account details to get N50, 000 not known to us.’
READ: CBN reacts to videos, pictures of new N2,000 and N5,000 in circulation
The PDO is coordinated by the SA to the President on MSMEs, Office of the Vice President, Tola Johnson.
What the Trade, Industry and Investment Ministry is saying
The Ministry, in its statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to the activities of fraudsters parading themselves as operators of the Federal Government’s Survival Fund Scheme.
“The syndicate operating a fraudulent portal with the link https://survivalfund-gov-ng.freefunds.xyz/#1609249530133(https://bit.ly/FG-survival-fund) are asking unsuspecting members of the public to check their eligibility for the scheme by providing their account details on the portal in order to be paid N50, 000 grant under the Survival Fund Scheme.
READ: How to access FG’s new grant for Bus, Uber, Bolt drivers, cart pushers
“It is pertinent to note that the Project Delivery Office (the coordinating office of the scheme) does not operate any such portal and beneficiaries do not require to go to the website to verify their eligibility for the federal government’s Survival Fund as indicated on the fraudulent portal.
“The website requesting beneficiaries account details is, therefore, a scam. The PDO does not operate any such portal and wishes to advise all Nigerians and beneficiaries of the different tracks of the survival fund to be wary and desist from having dealings with the operators of the site.”
READ: CBN raises alarm over fake tweet posts on N50 billion COVID-19 fund
The Ministry pointed out that the authentic survival fund portal remained www.survivalfund.gov.ng and the PDO would always inform members of the public on updates about the scheme whenever it was necessary.
What you should know
The MSME Survival Fund, which is part of the N2.3tn stimulus package of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, was introduced by the Federal Government as part of efforts to help businesses overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ: SEC to refund victims of ponzi scheme, Dantata Success and Profitable Company
The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a conditional grant to support vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector. The scheme is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state.
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