Every business has a value proposition, whether they’ve written one down or not. The problem is most of them sound exactly the same. “We provide innovative solutions that help businesses grow.” Cool, so does literally every other company on the internet.
A good value proposition tells someone in one or two sentences why they should pick you. Here’s how to write one that actually works.
Start with what your customers actually say
Don’t start with what you think you do well. Start with what your customers tell you. Look at your reviews, your testimonials, the emails people send after a project wraps. What do they mention most? That’s your value prop — you just haven’t written it down yet.
When we did this exercise for ourselves, we expected people to mention our design quality. What they actually mentioned most was that we’re easy to work with and don’t disappear after the contract is signed. So that became part of how we talk about ourselves.
Be specific, not impressive
“We help businesses succeed online” means nothing. “We build websites for restaurants that actually show up on Google” means something. The more specific you are, the more the right people will pay attention — and the wrong people will self-select out, which saves everyone time.
Skip the jargon
If your value proposition includes words like “synergy,” “leverage,” “ecosystem,” or “end-to-end solutions,” start over. Write it like you’re explaining what you do to a friend at a bar. If it sounds weird out loud, it’ll sound weird on your website too.
The formula (if you need one)
Here’s a simple structure that works:
We help [specific audience] [achieve specific outcome] by [what you actually do differently].
For example: “We help small businesses in LA build brands that don’t look like they were made in Canva, by pairing real design expertise with the kind of personal attention you don’t get from big agencies.”
It’s not poetry. It doesn’t need to be. It needs to be clear and true.
Test it on real people
Show your value proposition to five people who don’t work for you. If they can tell you what you do and why it matters after reading it once, you’re good. If they look confused or say “so… you’re a consulting firm?” — keep working on it.
The whole point is clarity. Say what you do, say who it’s for, and say why you’re the right choice. Everything else is decoration.