A Simple Yet Effective Way For a Marketer To Identify Value Proposition For Customer

Value proposition is the core element for a marketer to influence the buying decision of customers. It answers ‘why’ someone should do business with you. The value proposition is a powerful tool to drive business and build a customer base. It should convince a potential customer on why your product or service will be of more value to them than similar offerings from your competition.

Means–End Value Chain Theory 

Means–End Value Chain Theory has been developed in order to understand how consumers link attributes (A) of products with consequences (C) l in terms of functional and psychosocial , and how these consequences satisfy their personal values (V). The associations in the mind of the consumer between A’s, C’s and V’s are labelled as Means–End Chains (MEC).

Laddering Exercise 

Laddering is a qualitative marketing research technique, which pursues to recognize why people buy and use the Products and Services.

A Marketer can derive which product features are important to the Users and conclude with the User’s Emotional benefits. The Marketer use this technique to create ads, positioning messages and develop new products.

Marketers usually ask “3 Why questions” to analyze the consumer behavior on buying the similar products they usually purchase and to find out what the consumers value.

1. Why did you choose this product/service? – To identify the important attributes.
2. Why is it good/bad that…? – To identify the consequences of each attribute.
3. Why is this important to you/your business? – To establish the values of the respondent which are affected by each consequence.

Laddering technique applied on two contrasting products for Illustration purpose

Illustration 1: TVS WEGO Scooter – Complex Buying Behavior

Illustration 2: Himalaya Complete Care Toothpaste – Habitual Buying Behavior

Consumer Behavior Analysis Summary

What you should know about Laddering Technique?

1. A Powerful method to derive USP – Unique Selling Proposition of the Brand and its product category.
2. Identifies the enablers for motivating the purchasing decisions.
3. Unleashes the underlying values which leads to the buying pattern.

So next time – if you wish to understand what your customer is looking for, try Laddering Technique.

Disclaimer:

This article is created as part of Digital Marketing Analytics course at IIM Trichy. The opinions expressed in this article are personal view of the authors- Arasuprakash, Jenson Alex, Arifullah and Nibeditha Shome. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.