Looking to attract the right investors, talent and customers? It all comes down to positioning
Friday, September 20, 2024
Having recently worked with Leah Sanford and Joel Kelly from Kelford Inc. on the Digital Marketing Asset Program (DMAD), we asked them what entrepreneurs — specifically start-ups — want to know most about marketing.
According to them, it’s straightforward. Start-ups want to know what to say to attract investors, talent, and customers.
As Value Proposition and Marketing Message designers, Sanford and Kelly do just that — help companies figure out what to say in the form of value propositions and marketing messaging.
“This is especially difficult for founders in start-up mode,” says Kelly. “They lack the data and in-depth customer research afforded to more established companies.”
That’s why having a clear, specific, and powerful value proposition helps start-ups find their ideal investors, talent and customers. By making sure they use the right words, at the right time, in the right places.
Building a value proposition
So, what’s a value proposition?
- Part 1 is the value: What is the unique value you deliver to your ideal customers?
- Part 2 is the proposition: How do you deliver that value in your own unique way?
“The first step in creating a value proposition is defining the start-up’s unique value and approach,” says Sanford. “That includes identifying the source of uniqueness - their process, innovation or IP, perspective — and the category within which it sits in the customer’s mind.”
Kelford Inc. Co-founders and Principals Leah Sanford and Joel Kelly
Next, how does the start-up deliver that value? What unique means and mechanisms are they able to make a difference in the customer's life? How does that specific customer assess the return on their investment?
“We test how a business can demonstrate their value proposition across space and time,” says Kelly. “We consider existing marketing channels like websites and profiles. We investigate compliments and testimonials the business receives. We dig into prospect interviews and study the unique language real people use to describe them.”
By understanding how their unique solution delivers real value to those people, start-ups can create a value proposition that best represents them from the start.
Experimenting and adapting
“So, what do you do?”
That’s the question posed to start-ups every day and it’s a great place to leverage your value proposition.
Value propositions enable entrepreneurs to communicate three things, whether they’re at a networking event, writing a social media post, or speaking to a funder. This includes:
- The current value missing from the market their start-up provides
- The unique way they deliver it
- The right way to express that value in words, using the real language of potential prospects and buyers
“Out of the gate, no value proposition is perfect,” Sanford cautions. “But, done right, it gets better and better—more focused and more effective—over time.”
Knowing when to change, though, requires knowing what’s working and what isn’t.
“If you’ve noticed the words you’re using to describe your business no longer accurately represent your value proposition, it’s probably time to adjust,” Kelly says. “Work to understand how you can update your value proposition to match,” Kelly says.
As a Business Growth Executive at Invest Nova Scotia, Kaitlin Webb works directly with start ups and reiterates the importance of understanding that the customer discovery never really ends.
“It’s so important to stay close to your customer and continually understand their needs versus getting lost in iterations of your tech. Really understanding your buyer persona, their exact attributes and behaviours, ensures you are adaptive to market changes and needs."
Invest Nova Scotia Business Growth Executive Kaitlin Webb
What if you don’t have customers yet?
Creating a value proposition pre-customer is challenging enough, finding ways to experiment and test it adds an extra burden.
“The challenge start-ups face is understanding and articulating their value before they have customers,” says Sanford. “It’s vital to remember start-ups develop solutions to real problems. There are potential customers out there already buying, doing, or making solutions to that problem.”
That’s why Kelford Inc. recommends leveraging your existing assets like your website, social media channels, founder profiles, member organizations, and community.
“Use your website to test new homepage introduction copy and edit your about page to accurately reflect your value proposition,” says Sanford. “Use LinkedIn to experiment with new language and phrasing and pay attention to the response you get and how those responses are written. Mine them for real words real people use to talk about your business or solution.”
“You want to take your value proposition for a spin outside of the office by going to networking events,” says Kelly. “Don’t go to sell, go to learn. Express your value proposition when you’re asked, ‘So what do you do?’ and be intensely curious about the questions or comments the other person makes.”
We’re here to help
Invest Nova Scotia helps businesses across the province grow and advance their value proposition, investment readiness, R&D, and export sales. Our team members are ready to talk through challenges and market opportunities and connect you with programs and resources.
From IP questions to capacity building to export market research and all the paperwork that goes with it, challenges are always evolving in the early days of business.
To help navigate these complex times, we offer hands-on business advisory services through our Regional Business Development, Business Investment and Business Growth teams.
What’s more, we can make those important early connections to help you accelerate your business potential.
Programs to help your start-up grow
When your business is ready to grow, we offer a suite of specialized programs. Here are just a few:
The Early Stage Commercialization Fund (ESCF) helps move Nova Scotia university, college, and university-affiliated hospital research to market.
Our milestone-based Accelerate program is tailored to Nova Scotia technology companies looking to scale rapidly and raise investment. In addition to funding, companies get access to industry experts, investment-readiness workshops and resources.
Invest Nova Scotia manages the Nova Scotia First Fund targeting emerging venture-grade technology companies with high growth potential and attractive risk-return prospects. Bringing more than just investment capital, we work side-by-side with you to figure out your immediate struggles and the steps needed to overcome them.
Specialized spaces and places
When you have your value proposition and are poised to scale up your MVP, you're ready to explore our incubation facilities.
From The Labs for Life Sciences companies, the Start-Up Yard at COVE for Ocean Tech start-ups, and The Bays for Nova Scotia's cleantech entrepreneurs, Invest Nova Scotia can provide highly specialized infrastructure for growing companies.
Ready to be Nova Scotia’s next business success story?
Accelerate program participant Hollo Medical is developing next-gen inhaler chambers.
They entered the program with bold ambitions for growth. Focused on solving those early-stage challenges of pre-seed investment preparation, they sought to develop strong positioning and create a robust medical device testing plan to meet FDA regulatory requirements.
Hollo Medical - Sara Fedullo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder and Dr. David Hodgson, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder
Through the program, they leveraged resources, including funding, one-on-one advisor support, and connections to the local investment community. And as a result, Hollo Medical refined their value proposition and investor pitch, established a regulatory path, and successfully completed their first equity raise—with Invest Nova Scotia investing in the company.
“We joined Accelerate early in our entrepreneurship journey,” said CEO Sara Fedullo. “And through the program we learned about the milestones needed to complete our first fundraise, we determined our regulatory path to market and gained access to knowledgeable mentors and industry experts.”
“As new founders, reaching out for help is often the first step towards building a successful business, and Accelerate is a great place to start.”
Value proposition work: the best time is now
As a start-up founder there are many demands on your time and energy. Bringing your innovation to life is only part of the equation. A strong value proposition is a key tool to set your company apart in the market and give your ideal customers the clearest view on who you are and what value you deliver.
According to Kelford Inc. starting can be as simple as answering these two questions:
- What is the unique value you deliver to your ideal customers?
- How do you deliver that value in your own unique way?
And with those answers in hand, reach out to us to start a conversation. We’ll connect you with the resources, supports, and programs to transform your value proposition into a demonstrable promise.
It starts with you. It grows from there. We’re here to help.
Invest Nova Scotia offers programs, services, advice, and other resources that Nova Scotia companies need to grow. Early stage deep technology start-ups are a key focus area for the organization, supporting them through venture capital, incubation facilities, expert advice, and other acceleration initiatives. Get in touch today.