As we move toward “The Next Normal” in a blended, post pandemic reality, there is a growing need for 
business leaders to refine their approach to delivering value to their customers.
Over the past few months as the impacts of the next normal has started to settle in for many, I have had the unique opportunity to work with hundreds of business professionals as a facilitator helping to develop their future Business Acumen skills. Most of these instances have been as part of virtual talent development engagements that utilize digital business simulations to enable participants to learn-by-doing.
One of the first things participants do when they are promoted to the Executive Leadership Team of their simulated company in a Business Acumen workshop is to determine their strategy, value proposition, and how they are going to play to win. It sounds easy, but it’s extremely difficult to execute. It’s exponentially harder in the “real world.”
One of the emerging areas of skill development needed in the portfolio of Business Acumen skills is helping business leaders focus on developing and executing great brand strategies that deliver real value to their customers.
A strong brand with a poor brand strategy and value proposition will end in disaster like the Facebook 
portal that was a nice technical idea but didn’t deliver any type of differentiated brand value proposition. In other words, it was a bigger more expensive phone screen that wasn’t portable.
Brand Value Proposition vs. Product Value Proposition
To communicate your value and to generate revenue, you will need to present a value proposition to your customers. To do that, you must first understand the different types of value propositions a company can offer.
Brand Value Proposition
A Brand Value Proposition is a brand promise. It is a commitment to deliver a set of unique benefits to customers. These benefits include how the brand helps solve a challenge or takes advantage of an opportunity. It also presents a reason for why the brand exists. This type of proposition is also tied to your “position” in the marketplace. It influences how customers see your business and helps them make competitive comparisons.
Product Value Proposition
A Product Value Proposition presents a direct impact that the customer will receive from a product or service. Unfortunately, too many Marketing and Sales professionals think that a discount is a benefit. For example, the Sales Professional selling a unique type of batch chemicals that is used to produce other products. Instead of talking about the brand value, he presents to the customer a 10% discount to try the product instead of using a competitor’s product.
3 Tips to Developing a Brand Value Proposition
Having a strong Brand Value Proposition is essential to business success. Here are three tips that can help you develop yours:
Functional Value
A strong brand works. It has functional value and goes beyond customer expectations. Product design engineers don’t cut corners and believe in the work that they do which will eventually help their customers achieve success.
Competitive Advantage
A strong brand creates competitive advantage for your customers. By utilizing / selling your brand, they are telling their customers that there is both a functional and technical advantage that is better than their competitors ultimately riving higher revenues and profit.
Emotional Value
The most important part of the Brand Value Proposition is the emotional connection related to the brand. It inspires confidence, prestige, and security in an environment where your competitors are going to try to create advantage by cutting price.
The emotional connection will beat the price discount for every customer segment except those customers who only make their decision on price. And besides, you don’t want those customers anyway!
In summary, there is going to be an emerging subset of Business Acumen skills needed to be effective in this new reality. Developing a strong Brand Value Proposition is going to require a sophisticated set of skills that can balance the attributes that contribute to a strong brand including the functional value, the competitive advantage, and the emotional connection.
