© 2003 - 2014 Greener Consulting Limited T/A Futurecurve. All rights reserved.

1

Value proposition or sales insight?

Introduction
The nature of selling and marketing is changing. Suppliers are increasingly finding that the conventional approach of proposing a solution that meets a customer’s clearly identified need is not working as well as it did.

 identify a need the customer does not know they have, and  offer a compelling insight into how the customer should solve this newly identified problem.

The best organisations have identified a new approach, with insight-led selling and marketing at its heart. Using this approach, suppliers can differentiate their engagement with customers and prospects when they need to.

This approach completely reframes the conversation with the customer. It is no longer about price but about the value that supplier and customer can create together.

This paper explains what these insights are, why they can make all the difference and how they differ from – and are related to – a value proposition.

The nature of selling and marketing is changing
The long-established method of selling has been for organisations to discover a customer’s needs, then propose a solution – whether products, services or both – that meets those needs. This approach was effective because customers could not identify these solutions themselves. So what is a sales and marketing insight?
Our discussions with organisations show that many are confused about what an insight is and how it differs from a value proposition.
We define a total value proposition as:

The sum of the offerings and experiences delivered to your customers, during all their interactions with your organisation
Within this definition:


Now, suppliers face a quite different customer – one that is armed with the ability to conduct wide-ranging online research, as well having as an expert procurement function and specialist buying consultants.
As a result, customers can be a long way through the purchasing process – as much as 60-90%, according to leading research firms – before they even contact a supplier. This is materially later than in the past. With customers having a clear understanding of their needs and potential solutions, suppliers are left to compete on price and fulfilment – a situation few want to be in.
Research has also shown that high-performing organisations are now taking a different approach, based on insights that create value for customers by teaching them about a business issue.
These organisations:
 look for customers who are going through change and who can take decisions quickly

© 2003 - 2014 Greener Consulting Limited T/A Futurecurve. All rights reserved.




Offerings means all your products, services and solutions, and their functionality.
Experiences means how your customers experience your products, services and your company.
Interactions captures your customers’ experiences through all their touch points with your company, such as marketing, sales, delivery, customer service and legal/contracting.

The value proposition is therefore created at the organisation, business unit or sector level. It defines the high-level strategic offerings and experiences that your organisation, business unit or sector delivers to customers and the value you therefore create for them. Messaging for marketing and sales is then created from this.

The total value proposition is not the message in itself but the design framework of how you want your customer to engage with and experience your company and your offerings.
Messaging comes from this.
By ‘offerings’ we mean anything you sell and deliver to your customer, whether that’s services, products or solutions. By ‘experiences’ we mean how you sell and

Value proposition or sales insight?

A marketing and sales insight, in contrast, is specifically at the sales level. It can be created at a product, service, or customer level, and has the following features which are
communicated