The power of the forever promise
A key concept in company-building and product innovation is the notion of a „value proposition“. It asks what the core value of your business or your product is that you offer to your customers? The problem I’ve seen many times with the concept of value proposition is twofold. One, it offers too much room to stay vague in what you’re proposing to your customer. And two, it frames the message in a way for you to tell what you want to tell. Both of which lead to ambiguity on the customer’s side and you never want to confuse your (potential) customer.
A concept that I found enormously beneficial and which bests the value proposition in my opinion is the "forever promise". I’ve learned the concept from Robbie Kellman Baxter who’s been championing the subscription & membership business model for quite some time.
The forever promise is the promise you make to your customer about what she will get, if she continuously uses or buys what you’re offering, may it be a product or service.
Even if you might not have a subscription- or membership-based business model or product, the concept of the forever promise is still an invaluable exercise to work out. It demands clarity on what your customers can expect from your business or product and by that shifts the focus from your offering to what your customer needs to hear.
As a bonus, this thinking shifts the context from a one-time transaction to a long term relationship.
And who know’s maybe this exercise will enable you to build a subscription or membership product.
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