Over the weekend, a startup (and friend) asked me what I thought their Unique Value Proposition was and I replied with a qualified response saying that I didn’t have any deep domain experience in their business – so I wouldn’t know how to differentiate them amongst any other companies doing the same thing. I did provide my impression of what their business did.
People frequently use Unique Value Proposition (UVP) when describing what their company does. Some folks use this interchangeably with Unique Selling Proposition. Others state that it’s your elevator speech. There are differences but the real driver is Who. Who is your current audience?
To be very clear, your UVP is what your company does beyond that of your competitors. (We do it faster, more efficiently, with a unique process, etc.) When you state your UVP, you’re also assuming that your audience knows your market. In terms of detail, the UVP is one step above your tag line. Tagline: Get to know your customer…fast.)
How about a PVP? (You won’t find this in Wikipedia folks) Your Primary Value Proposition (PVP) describes what your company offers to its customers: “We build behavioral analysis software that helps companies better understand their customer’s online activities.”
VCs will ask you about your Elevator Speech. There are several opinions about the best way to develop it and what to say. Some say do a comparison: We’re the Google of market search. We’re the Tesla of grid computing, etc. Suffice it to say that you’ve got to state the business you’re in, give some scale to your claims, and try to do it in a way that captures the attention and imagination of a potential investor. Lastly, VCs keep saying they never have enough time (grin) so you have to do it with a minimum of words.
