The role of value proposition and branding in a cost of living crisis

“A solid value proposition alone is not enough to drive long-term sales and market share. These rely heavily on consumer preference and customer loyalty, and that’s where your brand comes into play.”

In a recent report by Statista, 56% of British households stated that the cost of living had increased in the previous month, indicating that the Cost of Living Crisis is still ongoing for many of us in the UK. 

As we face increasing financial pressures, we’re having to adjust our spending habits, prioritising the essentials and hunting out maximum value for money wherever possible – meaning that it’s even more important than ever for businesses to have a strong value proposition.

This fundamental reason why a customer should buy from your company over your competitors sets you up for long-term success, and keeps your business rooted in why you exist.

However, a solid value proposition alone is not enough to drive long-term sales and market share.

These rely heavily on consumer preference and customer loyalty, and that’s where your brand comes into play.

Branding is the way you communicate your value proposition to your potential customers – combining the logical reasons to buy with the emotional triggers to drive action. 

Here are three ways to, firstly strengthen your proposition and, secondly, create a brand fit for the future.

How to strengthen your value proposition

To be meaningful to potential customers, your value proposition has to be three things:

01 – Valuable

A pretty basic one, but is there a market for your product or service? Do people actually want it? What specific need or desire do you address? Will people want to buy from you?

02 – Differentiated

Is your product or service easily substituted? Will customers settle for something nearly as good/cheap/with fewer benefits? What do you offer that no-one else does?

03 – Believable

Do you have the credentials to back up your offer? Are you being authentic?

If you can build a coherent story around these three elements, then you’re ready to build your brand.

How to create a brand fit for the future

As an awards geek, I love the work WARC and Cannes Lions have done in creating The Creative Effectiveness Ladder – check it out here if you haven’t already.

The Ladder suggests that the ultimate brand achievement is to become an ‘Enduring Icon’, where long-term brand and sales growth is the ultimate goal.

To do this, they’ve identified that you should do at least one of the following (if not all three):

01 – Uncover a genuinely enduring insight

02 – Find a limitless idea

03 – Commit to the long-term – and stick with it

Snickers, for example, realised that we’ll always underperform when we’re hungry.

Their ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ brand idea has run for nearly 20 years and is still going strong, transcending the world of advertising and even being responsible for ‘hangry’ entering the dictionary.

Dove recognised that us women will never stop wanting to feel beautiful.

Their ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ has tackled negative stereotypes head on and helped to shape society’s perception of what beauty is for 20 years.

And in our own repositioning work with Primark, we took their value proposition of ‘making fair, affordable fashion a choice for everyone’ and created ‘Love The Feeling’ as the brand idea to connect with its customers (see case study here). 

Primark now has a brand that is authentic, flexes to customers’ needs, and, as it’s built on emotional connection over price, will withstand an ever-changing economic climate. Hopefully, for the next 20 years…

So there you have it. When people are looking to cut spend, only one brand can win on price.

By getting clarity on your value proposition and building your brand around it, you can give your customers a reason to choose you beyond price, driving action, loyalty and future success.

If you'd like to speak to a member of our team about creating a strong value proposition, email enquries@wearecontinuous.net