Associations and businesses spend money, time and man hours on all kinds of business issues: be it financial, policy, member, technology, education, customer service issues – and this is the short list. Many spend no time at all discussing, discovering, and investing in the most critical business issue: their value proposition.
A value proposition is a rationale that sets an expectation with members about what they should look to your association for. It is not your board’s rationale for why members should belong, nor is it your list of services (or your list of member benefits).
Here is a checklist to uncover when you know you have a strong value proposition:
- Your three strongest member services connect directly to answering your members biggest needs.
- Your receptionist and your president can both give your member value elevator pitch with confidence and believe every word they say.
- You get feedback, unsolicited from new or uninvolved members who comment:
- “I understand what you do”
- “I know what I get for my dues dollars”
- “You do X, and you do it really well”
- What you advertise as valuable is backed up with customer research. Their needs are linked directly with something you do well today.
- If you have a tagline, that tagline has an explanation behind it that tells the member why they need you to be successful.
As said by Jack Welch: “Change doesn’t come from a slogan”; It comes from unifying around a well-thought-out proposition based on the real business needs of your members.
How do you rate your value proposition?
