| Value Propositions: Secure organization-wide adoption |
|
|
|
The route to a compelling value proposition for your product should allow everyone in the organization to climb aboard, from the shop floor to the executive suite. The carrot trumps the stick. Rather than trying to admonish your associates into seeing things your way, use positive reinforcement instead. Encourage your top salespeople to share success stories with their colleagues. Let the rest of the sales organization hear from their own peers how well your value proposition works in closing sales. Let success, rather than mandates and enforcement techniques, drive adoption of the value proposition. • Lead by example. Successful deployment of your value proposition should start at the top with your CEO, according to Gretchen Jezerc, Director of Corporate Marketing for PPG Industries. That process includes incorporating key messages into her CEO's employee speaking engagements, employee publications, and meetings with news media. A “blueprint” document that distills the company's essential messages into talking points based on the value proposition can be easily referenced by the CEO, as well as other employees, at any time. Commitment from the top influences all levels of the organization. • Introduce the message early and often. Keep the value proposition short and memorable, something all members of the organization can easily grasp and repeat. Incorporate learning your product's value proposition into all new employee orientations. Incorporate it into every piece of marketing literature, demos, displays, and presentations so that it becomes second nature to everyone associated with the product. • Make it a team effort . You are more likely to get buy-in from constituents if you include them in the process. Right from the outset, invite key players throughout your organization to join you in crafting the value proposition. That way, you avoid encouraging the belief that the result is simply more marketing babble. Value Proposition series This Quick Tip is one of a series on offering tips on how to improve your value propositions.
|
