How we approach and refine value propositions for B2B campaigns

We've refined over 2,000 client value propositions to better match their campaign types and target personas. What did we see as a result? A boost in appointment setting rates during outreach.

After A/B testing and experimentation, we’ve developed our own approach to refining value propositions, ensuring that each campaign runs smoothly and effectively.

Here’s how we do it.

Gathering all the possible information about a company, its product, and its competitors

The first step we take is doing in-depth research, reviewing all the materials a customer provides. This might include surveys, marketing docs, a website, and/or LinkedIn posts, plus notes from any interview call between an account manager and the client.

Here’s an example of the value proposition survey, which helps us better understand the company and the product. Having clear answers to these questions helps us better understand the product’s unique value. 

If the initial information is not enough to create a unique selling point, our team often schedules a follow-up meeting with the client to ask extra questions and learn what really sets the company apart from its competitors. Interestingly, the answer often differs from the original value proposition.

Also, our content strategists check review websites like Clutch to see what real clients are saying about our client. It’s great for spotting what people actually value and revealing areas for improvement.

Another option for figuring out the unique selling point is conducting competitor research.

In addition, it’s crucial to get a general idea of industry trends, buyer needs, and how the client’s value prop stands out. Belkins’ content strategists also do this research initially to get a general idea of the clients’ prospects.

Digging into audience pain points based on ideal customer profile (ICP)

At this stage, we want to ensure that the value proposition we create for outreach is fully aligned with the buyers’ needs. That’s why we personalize each email sequence or call script for different decision-making roles that fit the ICP. Belkins’ copywriters craft each value proposition by writing a message that makes sense to the recipient and, most importantly, delivers specific value they can walk away with.

Let’s say we’re working on the value proposition for a B2B healthcare platform. When reaching the head of marketing, the value proposition should focus on how the company’s offering helps drive customer acquisition and retention, as these are key responsibilities for someone in that role.

However, when creating an email sequence for a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), the value proposition should focus more on technology optimization, system integration, and data security, all of which are CTOs’ top priorities.

To further refine our approach, we extend our ICP search using AI to fill any gaps. Here are some AI prompts that our team uses to understand the end reader’s needs better:

• Act like a customer insight specialist. Examine [topic] through a job-to-be-done lens, exploring the underlying ’jobs’ customers are ’hiring’ the product or service to accomplish. Detail the customer needs, contexts, and pain points. Propose alignment strategies to meet these ’jobs’.

• Act like a customer insight analyst who specializes in qualitative research and message development. Your job is to extract emotional patterns, objections, and language directly from real customer voices. Here are 20 recent customer reviews, testimonials, or call transcripts. Analyze them and tell me: 1. What emotional triggers show up repeatedly? 2. What objections or hesitations are hinted at? 3. What words or phrases do customers use that we don’t?

Boiling all the info down to the strongest points and refining the value proposition

Before starting to refine value propositions, our team removes all the extra information that doesn’t resonate with potential prospects. This helps us focus on the essentials.

Here’s a basic template we use within our team to craft value proposition drafts:

 For one email campaign, we usually prepare 3–4 value proposition variations for each ICP that are used for initial and follow-up emails. Below, we’ll review some “before/after” value proposition examples so you can see how our team actually refines them depending on the client profile and campaign type. 

Refining a probio product value prop for different outreach campaigns

Here’s a value proposition initially submitted by our client.

To refine this value proposition and ensure it drives positive campaign results, we reviewed all the materials provided by the client, analyzed the competitors’ messaging, and researched the unique needs of each target audience.

We also considered the different goals of each campaign and ICP and refined different value propositions based on those factors.

Campaign #1 background: Email campaign to find networking opportunities during a conference for medical hygiene and cosmetics companies.
ICP:  Heads of product development and product managers

What makes this value proposition strong:

• Focus on innovation and market leadership: The proposition emphasizes that Company X could be among the first 10 companies to enter the next-generation skincare market, which will directly appeal to a Head of Product Development. These roles are focused on identifying and capitalizing on emerging trends to maintain a competitive edge.
• Addressing tangible problems with a strong differentiator:  Product managers and development teams are often tasked with creating solutions to real-world problems, particularly those that affect a large customer base, like skincare issues. This makes the product highly relatable and tangible for them.
• Partnerships with recognized companies: Product managers often look to benchmark against industry leaders. Knowing that other reputable companies are already using the technology can help reduce perceived risk and provide a sense of validation for their decision-making.

Campaign #3 background:  LinkedIn cold outreach to get the attention of distribution companies
ICP: Marketing managers at a distribution company

What makes this value proposition strong:

• Focus on market research: The market research aspect is key because distribution managers are interested in staying ahead of the curve and understanding the latest market trends and consumer demands. The fact that Company X is conducting focused research positions it as an industry leader that is proactive and data-driven — two qualities that marketing managers value when choosing distribution partners.
• The inclusion of reputable clients: Distribution marketing managers, who rely heavily on proven products to satisfy their clients’ needs, will feel more confident about the product’s value if it has been successfully integrated into established brands.
• Brief and concise messaging: The value prop is clear, concise, and to the point, which is important for LinkedIn messages, where people typically don’t have time to read long paragraphs. It covers the main points (innovation, market research, product efficacy, and credibility) concisely, ensuring the reader’s attention is captured quickly.

Proofreading and making final adjustments 

Finally, Belkins content strategists use the following checklist to ensure the value proposition is ready to be used in campaigns:

At this step, our team also uses AI prompts to get a fresh perspective, double-check the value proposition copy for any mistakes and weaknesses, and refine the tone if needed to make the final message even more persuasive. Here are some popular prompts shared by our content strategists:

• Perform a value proposition audit and give me some recommendations for improvement in terms of [clarity/persuasiveness/etc].
• Optimize the following value proposition to be more engaging and persuasive for [your ideal customer persona]: [insert paragraph].
• Proofread and provide feedback on the tone, style, and clarity of our value proposition, considering that it will be sent to [your ideal customer persona]: [text].
• Improve the clarity of this sentence for [industry/niche]: [insert sentence].

Integrating all these steps is not simple.

And that’s why we also leverage A/B testing for each project we work on to test different value propositions and adjust them for maximum effectiveness.