When it comes to ensuring engagement and collaboration between a range of stakeholders, a strong value proposition is essential and a key topic that must be tackled meaningfully by marketers and business leaders alike.

So what are the steps which need to be considered and consolidated into a strong value proposition and stakeholder engagement plan?

1. Ask the right questions

Creating a value proposition means finding a unique set of competencies and values which makes your organisation stand out. This will allow you to communicate in a differentiated, compelling way that resonates with your target audience.

2. What is the common purpose?

Define your common purpose, splitting your target stakeholder audiences of businesses, local government and education providers, and identifying where your commonalities exist. Again, this makes communication and influencing far easier, allowing you to speak in a language that resonates with stakeholders and to use messaging which is important to them; introducing the idea of joint gains and common goals.

3. Be authentic in your marketing

With so many providers on the market, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and to capture the attention of your stakeholder audience. Remember, they will be dealing with reams of marketing and communication attempts from all kinds of diverse directions, so you need to be strategic and planned in your approach, and support this with excellent delivery. Above all, be authentic. Once you have defined your true, authentic purpose this becomes easier and allows you to create key messaging that stands out for its originality and allows you to be consistent in the things that you say.

4. Identify the tipping point

Every stakeholder audience will have a tipping point, and identifying this will allow you to bring the value proposition to life. Map out each stakeholder and define how you create value for them. This will allow you to be targeted and intuitive when talking to each stakeholder, focusing on the value elements and delivery outcomes that are genuinely meaningful to them.

5. Communicate your value proposition

Once you have defined your value proposition, created an authentic marketing plan, mapped out your stakeholders and identified key messages, agree who will engage with each stakeholder for maximum effectiveness and then communicate the plan and approach across your organisation.

This will ensure that everyone understands your stakeholder engagement strategy, prevents errors and will allow you to start seeing a return from your investment in a coordinated, strategic and structured approach.

If you need help in defining your organisation's value proposition, just give us a call on 01372 363386.