Developing compelling propositions is a key function of marketing. But it isn’t an activity that can be done in isolation. After all, marketing can only articulate and package the proposition - it still has to be sold. And then, of course, it has to be delivered. . . which means sales and operations have to own the proposition too if the whole piece is going to hang together.

For very small businesses, the marketing, sales and operations functions may be one in the same thing. But there are still learnings to be had from considering the 360 degree nature of good proposition development. Because without thinking through the implications of your offer to your client or customer, you could be in real danger of overselling or mis-selling. . .which might deliver quick wins in terms of sales, but is likely to lead to disappointment and fall out, further down the line.

If proposition development is something on your mind, I found some rather nice downloadable resources here. Have a look and see what you think. But don’t forget that us marketing types like to dress up our own proposition with fancy models and lots of neat looking structure. When you strip all of this away, developing a good proposition is a fairly straightforward business: Make a compelling offer to the customer, that’s been thought through in terms of delivery. . .and make the offer from a position of insight or truth - an identified customer need and the ability to do a good job of satisfying that need.