Hard Truth: Your “Value Prop” Isn’t Actually Valuable To Your Customer

How to bridge the gap between what you want to say and what your audience actually cares about.

Most companies talk about “value” like it is something they get to define in a meeting room. But your customer decides what is valuable, not you. And if your messaging does not meet them where they are, it does not matter how polished your deck looks. They will tune out. They will move on. They will pick someone who feels closer to their world.

This is one of the most common issues we see at Speak Friend. And I mean across manufacturers, distributors, tech-driven industrial teams, and all the B2B groups that are doing great work but struggling to explain it in a way that actually connects.

Why most value props fall flat

A lot of companies build their value prop by looking inward instead of outward. They end up describing their company instead of describing what changes in the customer’s life.

Here are the most common problems:

1. It is built around what you want to brag about instead of what your buyer actually cares about.

It usually sounds like this:

• "We are the leader in…"
• "We offer end-to-end service…"
• "We combine innovation with…”

And none of that tells a plant manager, engineer, or VP what gets better for them tomorrow.

2. It skips the real tradeoffs buyers think about.

Buyers always weigh risk. Always. They are asking themselves:

• What will break if this does not work?
• What will my team push back on?
• How much of my credibility am I putting on the table?

If your message ignores this, it is not grounded enough to feel believable.

3. It does not match real-world decision-making.

Decisions are never made on features alone. They come from a mix of:

• Hard numbers
• Real frustrations
• Team expectations
• Internal pressure

When messaging leans too far into one side, it loses accuracy.

4. It is disconnected from what sales actually hears.

Marketing often talks about one thing. Sales wins deals with another. That gap is the reason most value props never stick.

Here is the truth many companies do not want to face: buyers are not thinking about your positioning. They are thinking about the problems that are draining their time, money, and energy. If your value prop does not start there, your message will never land.

Start with what your buyer is really betting on

If you want messaging that resonates, you have to start with the question beneath every buying decision:

What outcome is this person staking their reputation on?

Not the corporate answer. The human one.

For example:

• Operations leaders want fewer surprises and fewer fires.
• Sales leaders want a predictable pipeline instead of lucky quarters.
• Execs want results that do not require doubling headcount.

These pressures drive decisions more than any feature list ever will.

Before you rewrite anything, write down three things:

1. The bet they are making when they say yes.
   
   • For example: "If this works, we finally get ahead of downtime instead of reacting to it."
2. The cost if they are wrong.
   
   • Loss of trust
   • Team frustration
   • Missed targets
3. The upside if they are right.
   
   • A calmer team
   • A cleaner operation
   • A stronger business case for future investments

Now you have the real foundation. The rest of your value prop should grow from here.

Run a message gap audit

Most teams assume they already know what customers care about. But assumptions are where messaging goes to die.

Here is a simple exercise that brings everything into focus.

Step 1: Pull your internal story

Gather:

• Website hero text
• About page copy
• Sales deck intros
• Recent social posts meant to show your "value"

Highlight:

• "We" statements
• Generic claims
• Anything that sounds like a slogan instead of a solution

Step 2: Pull real customer language

This is where the magic happens.

Grab:

• Call recordings
• Email chains
• Notes from site visits
• Feedback from sales and support

Look for lines like:

• "Our biggest headache is…"
• "I am tired of…"
• "What scares me is…"
• "I do not want my team to…"

Write them exactly as they say them. Their words matter.

Step 3: Put them side by side

When you line these two worlds up, the gaps become obvious.

Ask:

• What are we promising that they are not asking for?
• What pain points matter to them that we never mention?
• Where are we using language they never use?

This is where messaging finally becomes real.

Turn claims into customer-centered value statements

This is where you take internal claims and rebuild them so they speak directly to the buyer’s world.

Use this structure:

1. Who it is for
2. What situation are they in
3. What you actually do
4. What changes for them

Example internal claim: "We provide real-time visibility."

Rewritten in a way that speaks to your audience: "For operations leaders who are tired of chasing answers from the floor, we connect your machines and send clear alerts so your team can fix issues before they turn into real problems."

Clear. Simple. Real.

If you cannot finish the phrase "so they can…" in a way that feels grounded, the statement needs more work.

Bring proof in early

Buyers do not trust claims until they see them backed up.

Attach:

• A number
• A quote
• A before-and-after example

Use this pattern: 

"Here is what we say. Here is where we did it. Here is what changed."

This removes the pressure on the buyer and gives them the confidence that they can trust you.

Test your value prop in the wild

A value prop should live everywhere people encounter your brand.

Test it through:

• LinkedIn posts
• Emails
• Ads
• Sales openers
• Website hero text
• Trade show messaging

Look for:

• More replies
• More DMs
• More qualified clicks
• More engaged conversations

Data tells you what is resonating, so you can refine it.

What to do next

If you only take three actions this month, make them these:

1. Identify the real bet your buyer is making.
2. Run a one-hour message gap audit.
3. Rewrite one value statement and test it in real conversations.

This is the work that takes your message from company-centered to customer-centered. It is also the work that builds trust faster than any fancy framework.

Speak Friend lives in this space every day. If you want messaging that feels real, grounded, and relevant, this is exactly the kind of work we love.