To Hold Strategic Value, a Value Proposition Requires Company-Wide Alignment
By Jonathan Bein
An effective value proposition is more than a mission statement or snazzy slogan. It defines what’s important to your customers and sets your company apart from the competition. A solid value proposition helps you focus on the right goals and affirms your brand among customers.
To reap the benefits of a clear and compelling value proposition, which can have a direct and positive effect on your bottom line, align your organization, from the C-suite to the field.
A value proposition helps your organization come together with the same goals, which increases efficiency across departments and reaps cost savings over time. Here are some examples of how different positions within a company benefit:
A company’s executives will use a clear value proposition as a rudder for strategic focus and value creation. It gives leaders peace of mind, knowing the organization is united around a common objective
For finance leaders, a value proposition shines a strategic spotlight on budgeting and accountability. They know they’re spending on the right initiatives and inventory.
The operations teams aligns with value proposition by streamlining the number and type of suppliers they work with, and nurturing those relationships. As a result, the warehouses have the right inventory on hand and less excess.
When customer service teams and other front-line team members understand the value a company provides, they can have more meaningful conversations with customers and prioritize their time with the right customers.
Sales teams benefit from aligning with value proposition because it helps them sell the company’s value, not just products or services. Identifying a value proposition can also help them focus on the right customers from the start.
When it comes to marketing, the team benefits deeply from an aligned value proposition as it directs the right messaging to the right audience.
What’s the bottom line?
When a distributor can rally its organization around a value proposition, it benefits from stronger internal and external communication, goal setting and efficiencies at every level of an organization. This organizational alignment is key. Without organizational alignment, a value proposition lacks any strategic value; without consistency across every customer-facing touchpoint, a distributor will remain undifferentiated in the customer’s mind. And that is a matter of life and death in today’s market.
Jonathan Bein, PhD, is the managing partner of Distribution Strategy Group, which helps distributors make marketing a profit center. He has developed and applied analytic approaches for customer segmentation, customer lifecycle management, positioning and messaging, pricing, and channel strategy for distributors. Reach him at jbein@distributionstrategy.com or visit DistributionStrategy.com.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
