Standing out in a crowded marketplace is a challenge for almost every business, particularly when referrals are an important source of new clients. In this BNI Education Slot, Gail Biddulph tackles this challenge by examining the Unique Value Proposition, commonly shortened to UVP, and asking businesses to think about it in a much more human way.

Rather than becoming lost in marketing terminology, Gail suggests starting with some straightforward questions. What does a business or individual actually do that nobody else does? What makes them stand head and shoulders above their competitors? Perhaps most importantly, what do other people say about them when they are not in the room?

https://youtu.be/tJJLM99rUGI

To demonstrate the point, Gail uses examples from two BNI members. The first is Zoe Devenport of Henry R Davis & Co. On the surface, Zoe is an accountant working within a firm providing accountancy, tax and related financial services. That description alone, however, does little to distinguish her from the many other accountants a potential client could choose.

Looking at the firm’s positioning and, more importantly, at the things clients say about Zoe begins to reveal something different. Testimonials describe her as someone who gives great advice in an easy-to-understand way, who is always there when needed, who is professional yet friendly and who has become an important extension of clients’ businesses. One client even says they would be lost without her.

Those comments suggest that the value Zoe provides goes considerably beyond producing accounts. Gail proposes that what she may actually be doing is reducing financial anxiety. That is a much more human benefit and gives fellow BNI members something far more meaningful to talk about when referring her. Someone complaining that their accountant is stuffy, difficult to understand or unapproachable presents a very different referral opportunity when Zoe is described in terms of the experience and reassurance she provides.

Gail then turns to Darren Jamieson and Engage Web. Darren operates in digital marketing, where websites, SEO and social media are services offered by countless other businesses. Simply telling somebody that Darren produces websites or helps with digital marketing therefore does little to make him unique.

Instead, Gail looks deeper into the messages Darren repeatedly communicates. He talks about attracting attention, becoming an authority, being remembered, helping others and building trust before people buy. From that perspective, his UVP is not necessarily about websites or SEO at all. It is about helping businesses become recognised as the authority within their field.

These examples lead to the central message of Gail’s talk: businesses should stop relying on their profession as the reason somebody should choose them. Qualifications, technical services and experience may matter, but prospective clients are often more interested in the transformation they will experience.

That transformation might be from confusion to clarity, uncertainty to certainty or anxiety to confidence. Ultimately, Gail argues, a UVP is a human concept. It is connected to how working with a particular person or business makes the client feel.

To uncover that value, businesses can start by reviewing their testimonials, reading what customers say about them online and having direct conversations with existing clients. Asking a client why they chose one business rather than a competitor can produce surprising answers and highlight strengths the business owner may never have considered significant.

Gail closes with a simple test. If three business cards were sitting on a potential client’s desk, what would make that person choose one over the other two?

A strong Unique Value Proposition should help answer that question. It is not simply a description of what somebody does. It is the reason they become the only choice for their ideal client.

Full Transcript

[00:12]
So, what makes you stand out in an ocean of noise when you’re actually trying to get referrals?

[00:21]
I think it’s something that a lot of marketers actually call your unique value proposition. And it’s one of those things, isn’t it, that’s sort of clouded in mystique, and you go, “Okay, right, yes, let’s sit here and let’s sort this out.”

[00:35]
But I look at this and say, it is a unique value proposition, but let’s be human about this.

[00:43]
What is it that you actually do that nobody else does?

[00:49]
What is it that makes you stand head and shoulders above your competitors? And what is it that other people actually say about you when you’re not in the room?

[01:02]
So, I thought it might be an idea, just to have permission for this, to pick on a couple of members and actually talk about their unique value proposition.

[01:13]
So, unusually, I’ve got some notes because I’ve done quite a lot of research on this.

[01:23]
Zoe.

[01:27]
[Audience reaction]

[01:28]
Zoe’s an accountant. How does that make you feel?

[01:33]
We love you to bits, Zoe, but you’re an accountant. Oh, an accountant.

[01:41]
How many other accountants do you actually know? Probably hundreds.

[01:48]
Why Zoe, then? Well, if we look at Zoe’s firm, Henry R. Davis, on the surface, yes, they sell accountancy, you know, and all the tax malarkey and that and what have you.

[02:05]
All the stuff that Zoe and the team are really, really good at.

When you look at their website, they actually say they’re straight-talking.

[02:14]
They value personal relationships and long-term partnerships with business owners.

[02:22]
So potentially, a marketing person could create their UVP, their unique value proposition, as: “We help owner-managed businesses stay financially healthy with practical advice they can understand and trust.”

[02:44]
Would you actually say that to somebody?

[02:46]
I know I wouldn’t.

But what about: “Straight-talking accountants who become long-term business partners”?

[02:54]
Is that Zoe? Well, that’s Henry R. Davis. But then let’s look at Zoe.

[03:01]
Zoe, you’re a bit different.

[Audience laughter]

You’re just a tad different.

[03:07]
So, how can we then find out what Zoe’s unique value proposition is?

Well, let’s look at testimonials.

You know, what are people saying about you that you can draw from this?

And what are people saying about Zoe?

[03:22]
So, they say things like, “I’d be lost without her.”

“An important extension to our business.”

“Great advice.”

“Easy to understand.”

“Always there.”

“Professional yet friendly.”

And the list goes on.

[03:39]
So perhaps Zoe doesn’t just produce accounts. Perhaps she actually reduces financial anxiety.

[03:47]
And maybe then there are some things that you can think about and talk about when people say, “Oh, crikey, my accountant is so stuffy and boring and I don’t understand a thing that they say.”

[04:01]
You’ve then got some things that you can actually talk about Zoe which are human and actually take people from being confused, not really knowing the human aspect, to something that is very, very human.

[04:14]
So we can all actually look at our own testimonials, our own websites, and start to draw things and create our own unique value proposition.

[04:25]
Here’s somebody else.

You ready?

Darren.

[04:32]
What do people say about Darren?

Now, this is a real, real dodgy one, isn’t it? Because obviously—

Well, it is.

[04:39]
[Audience laughter]

[04:40]
It is. I’m standing on really, really tricky ground here because, obviously, Darren and Engage Web are brilliant direct, um, digital marketers.

So that’s why I’m like, “Oh, what am I doing here? What am I doing?”

[04:48]
So Darren produces websites.

[04:58]
Yeah. So do a million and one other companies.

But how often does Darren actually talk about websites?

[05:06]
He doesn’t, does he?

He talks about lots and lots of other things.

So he talks about attention, authority and being remembered.

[05:17]
So what he’s actually selling is websites, SEO, social media, digital marketing.

And, as I say, anybody can say that.

[05:24]
But the outcome that we need to look at for our UVPs is he actually helps businesses attract more attention online and generate more enquiries.

[05:36]
Still not that unique.

So if we dig deeper — and this is all available on your websites, in your testimonials, what people say about you —

[05:45]
But his real UVP is that Darren actively listens, and he says things like, “Don’t copy others. Become an authority. Be remembered. Be the most helpful person in the room. And build trust before people buy.”

[06:07]
So, cutting to the chase, perhaps Darren’s UVP has got absolutely nothing to do with SEO, websites or digital marketing, but it’s all about helping you become the authority.

[06:25]
So, if you’re going to refer Darren, perhaps you want to say, “Do you want to be found online? There’s only one person that I would trust to help you be found online, and that’s Darren.”

[06:33]
So what we’re doing with our UVPs is nothing really to do with our profession.

[06:41]
So stop talking about your profession.

People don’t care that you’re an accountant or you’ve done 27,000 hours of continuous professional development this year.

[06:49]
They don’t care.

[06:54]
What they actually want from you is how you’re going to take them from something that is uncertain to something that is certain.

[07:02]
And when you dig down deeply, this is a human thing.

And it’s about how you make people feel.

[07:12]
Do you make them feel happy, content, confident in what you’re going to deliver?

[07:20]
So, if you’d like to think about your UVP this week, why don’t you have a look at your own testimonials?

[07:27]
Why don’t you have a look at what other people are saying about you online?

Perhaps even have a conversation with your clients and say to them, “Why did you choose me and not one of my competitors?”

[07:35]
You might be quite surprised to hear what people will actually say.

[07:43]
And at the end of the day, if there were three business cards on somebody’s desk, how is somebody going to choose you?

[07:52]
So, your UVP is about making you the only choice for your ideal client.