What is it that sets your digital product apart from the alternatives? What makes your software stick out from the crowd? Why should users choose your app? To answer these questions, you must have a crystal clear value proposition.
In this article, we break down how to define the value of your digital product so that there can be no confusion – whether that’s within your team or your user base.

When the value your app provides is unclear, you will struggle to attract, convert, and retain users. Low differentiation in a crowded market leads to low adoption and high churn.

Even with little to no direct competition – like a bespoke internal business app – a murky offering will still mean high app abandonment since your users won’t understand how your app solves their most pressing problems.

At the same time, without an understanding of the value guiding your app development, you risk misalignment within your team on what matters. This can result in feature creep and high-effort functionalities that don’t deliver the results you or your users need them to.

Value, and how your users perceive it, is what will make or break your app.

Take Beepi, for example. The company raised more than $150m to disrupt the second-hand car market platform by streamlining the purchasing process. The app aimed to take away the frustrations of buying and selling second-hand cars by handling the inspection, delivery, and paperwork.

The biggest issue that Beepi faced? Its users didn’t trust a third party without a local physical presence. They wanted to see the vehicles themselves before they handed over any money. Sure, there are frustrating elements involved in buying second-hand cars in-person. But users felt that the peace of mind from being able to inspect the vehicle for themselves was worth those frustrations. The solution didn’t account for users’ actual desired outcomes and a Discovery Workshop would have shown this.

It was a similar story with Homejoy – the on-demand cleaning platform – that focused on price when users prioritised quality. And Quibi – the short-form video platform – which spent close to $2 billion on its app and content library only to then find out users aren’t willing to pay for content they can see for free. 

Different apps. Different industries. Same lesson. The value proposition was wrong. The right digital product, on the other hand, is the one that delivers the results you need and has the right value proposition behind it.

What is a Digital Product Value Proposition?

In short, the value proposition of your digital product is all about clarity. This means clearly defining the problem that your bespoke software solves and explaining how it does this more effectively and efficiently than any other option. It’s also about highlighting what makes your app unique. 

Simply put, your digital product’s value proposition is what you offer users that others don’t. It’s what distinguishes you from competitors. Think of it as the meeting point between your software and its users. It combines your app’s benefits, its features, and its user experience with the goals your users want to achieve, their frustrations, and their values.

The right digital product that successfully meets the needs of your business and your users also needs the right value proposition to communicate that and ensure its success.

The Benefits of a Value Proposition

A digital product value proposition has many benefits to your business. First off, it helps you cut through the noise. It’s like a multiplier that makes all your messaging, marketing, and user experience more effective. It makes every penny you spend on app development, customer support, marketing, sales, product go further.

But it’s not just an asset for everything externally facing. Internally, having a clear value proposition is the difference between a successful product company and a failure. Think of your company like a bunch of boats trying to get to the same place. Without direction, you’ll end up splitting up. And even a small misalignment can make a huge difference. But with everyone behind the same direction, with a clear value proposition, you can move in the right direction and see the right results much faster.

Where to Start

If you want the right value proposition for your digital product, then you need to start by getting inside the heads of the people using it. You need to understand them. To understand them, you need to talk to them. And not just in one way, but several.

The best place to start is often one-to-one conversations. When it comes to uncovering the insights you need, there are very few user research methods that beat a long-form conversation with your ideal user or persona.

“When it comes to uncovering the insights you need, there are very few user research methods that beat a long-form conversation with your ideal user or persona.”

Meanwhile, user surveys let you collect feedback at a much larger scale. Reviewing studies and social media comments can reveal what users are already saying about the problems they face, how they’re currently solving them, and which tools they’ve already tried using.

We’re already seeing AI begin to make this process even easier. AI in UX Design can streamline your research gathering by sorting through massive amounts of data. This way, you and your team can focus on what really matters—refining your digital product’s value proposition. This saves you time while also helping you zero in on what resonates the most with your user base.

The more specific your understanding of your users, the more tailored and powerful your value proposition will be. And that’s what leads to a higher rate of adoption, faster growth, and a stronger digital product in the long run.

The Competition

Reviewing the competition is a key part of defining your value proposition. You can’t articulate how you stand out if you don’t know what the alternatives are doing.

Start with your direct competition. These are the other products that solve the same key problem or challenge as you do. Ask yourself, what sets your digital product apart from the rest?

It’s always best to avoid falling into the trap of defining your product by what it doesn’t do. “We’re not like X.” Frame your value proposition positively. Do it in a way that focuses on what makes your product unique and different.

But don’t stop at your direct competition. Your non-direct competitors can offer just as much insight – sometimes more. Instead of obsessing over your direct competitors and what the default for your industry looks like, zoom out. Explore how other industries are solving problems. For example, business tools can learn a lot from consumer apps in terms of user experience.

Combining insights from direct competitors with apps from outside your immediate circle allows you to find creative ways to position your product and deliver value in ways that resonate with your target users. This is how you carve out a distinct space in the market. And that’s how you build a value proposition that not only captures your users’ attention but engages and retains them for the long term.

A Template for Your Digital Product’s Value Proposition

Here’s a tip from one of the top rated app development companies in the UK, if you want to craft the perfect value proposition for your app, then start with your Job Story template. 

In [situation], I want to [action] so that I can [expected outcome].

The Job Story framework is what we use in our Discovery Workshops. It keeps everyone focused on what really matters. It’s about what your users are trying to achieve, not individual features. It’s a statement of the real value your product delivers.

Once you’ve drafted your value proposition using the Job Story framework, you need to test it just like you would your app. How do your user personas respond to it? Is it resonating with them? Do they understand it?

You can use this feedback to iterate and refine your digital product’s value proposition. The more you refine it, the stronger it becomes which makes everything else more effective.

Watco: An Example of a Successful Value Proposition

Watco is the UK’s leading manufacturer and direct supplier of industrial strength paint, repair, and maintenance materials. Always keen to offer more value to its customers, Watco’s Marketing Director chose Sonin as their trusted tech partner to define what this value should be. 

We did this through a Discovery Workshop where we found that in the business-to-business world, most conversations are done over the phone or email. Product information and instructions are often found in physical books or unoptimised websites. These are the frustrations faced by Watco’s customers.

The resulting platform and proposition – your back-pocket maintenance team – made sure the Watco customers know the app has everything they need wherever they are. The platform has been used by hundreds of customers and has maintained a five star rating on the App Store.

A clear value proposition drives user adoption and helps to ensure the success of your product. It cuts through the noise and makes all your efforts more effective, maximising your impact and delivering the right results you need.
At Sonin App Development, we have more than fifteen years of experience helping companies from start-ups to enterprises build the right digital products that deliver the right results. Our App Discovery Workshop will give you a clear understanding of the value your app provides. Get in touch.