Does your business use landing pages to reel in leads and boost conversions? If so, you’re no stranger to lead generation, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and the value of top-tier copywriting that grabs attention and drives action.
But what’s the secret ingredient that turns a good landing page into a conversion magnet? Hint: It’s not just snappy headlines or pretty visuals. At the core of every successful landing page is its value proposition—the promise that makes visitors say, “Yep, this is exactly what I need.”
In this guide, you’ll discover what makes a high-quality value proposition and how to craft one that resonates with your target audience. We’ll also share tips for fine-tuning your messaging to make your landing pages that much more persuasive.
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
What makes a strong value proposition for landing pages?
A well-crafted value proposition is memorable, clear, and unique.
- Memorable—because all your competitors are trying to capture the same audience’s attention.
- Clear—because your audience needs to understand quickly what they’re getting.
- Unique—because readers need to know the value you bring that others don’t.
To put it simply, your value proposition should make it easy for visitors to understand what they’ll gain from you—especially benefits they can’t find anywhere else.
Sometimes, it’s easier to show than tell. Let’s look at two strong value proposition examples in action.
Think about the last time you booked an Airbnb. Did you notice how it felt like more than just finding a place to stay? That’s exactly what their value proposition, “a new world of travel,” taps into. It promises a fresh, exciting alternative to the typical hotel experience—one where you can explore unique stays, connect with local cultures, and discover something new every time.
Now, imagine you’re running an online business and trying to juggle payments, financial tools, and growth all at once—it’s a lot, right? Stripe understands this struggle.
Originally focused on digital payments, they’ve expanded into a full suite of financial tools designed to make business growth easier. Their value prop, “Financial infrastructure to grow your revenue,” sums it up perfectly: Stripe is a one-stop shop for payments and finance solutions so businesses like yours can grow without the headache.
These examples work because they address specific customer needs and stand out from the competition. Airbnb shows how it solves traditional travel pain points, while Stripe promises to simplify the chaos of business finances. Both make it easy for their target audience to understand the value they’ll get—and why they should choose these brands.
Understanding your audience’s needs and pain points
Before you can craft the best version of your value proposition, you need to define what your audience truly needs—and what’s standing in their way. When you pinpoint these challenges, you can shape your messaging to offer solutions that resonate. Here are three tactics to help.
Conducting audience research
Want to know what your audience needs and where they’re struggling? Just ask.
That’s really the heart of audience research—connecting with your customers to uncover their perspectives. Whether it’s a focus group, survey, social media poll, or a deep dive into customer feedback and analytics, your goal is the same: gathering insights that help you address their concerns and unmet needs.
Somewhere in that data, you’ll notice trends. Maybe your customers rave about one feature but struggle with another. Or perhaps they’re asking for something your competitors don’t deliver. These patterns can guide you in crafting a value prop that speaks directly to them.
Analyzing competitors’ value propositions
Your competitors are vying for the same audience, and their messaging is part of the battle. If they’re thriving, their value propositions and landing pages must be working on some level.
Take a close look at their approach. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers and ask yourself:
- What about this feels compelling or unique?
- Where does it fall short?
- What do we offer that isn’t captured here?
Spotting common themes in competitor messaging helps you understand your customers’ priorities. But don’t aim to simply match what’s out there—your goal is to outshine them. Identifying these gaps is a critical step in learning how to create a landing page that connects with your audience and positions your brand as the clear choice.
Identifying the unique benefits of your product or service
Your value proposition doesn’t need to be completely one-of-a-kind (it’s not the same as a unique selling proposition, or USP), but it should showcase what makes you better.
What specific advantages do you offer that your competitors don’t? Think about the ways your solution solves your audience’s challenges or delivers something special. Maybe it’s a feature that makes their lives easier, a process that saves a lot of time, or a benefit that speaks directly to your audience’s biggest needs. The more specific and relatable you are, the stronger your value prop will be.
What are the elements you should include in a strong value proposition?
A great value proposition is central to the success of any landing page, turning visitors into customers by clearly communicating why your offer matters. As you refine your value props, aim to include these key elements.
Clarity and simplicity
Your value prop may be your only chance to convince a visitor to keep engaging with your site, so clarity is key.
Skip the jargon and technical descriptions. Don’t wax eloquent or try to be overly clever. Instead, focus on keeping your message clean, straightforward, and to the point.
Focusing on the primary benefit
Your value prop should have a singular focus: the biggest benefit your product or service offers to the user.
This can be trickier than it sounds. What you offer likely benefits people in numerous ways, and narrowing it down to one can feel limiting. Plus, the main benefit for one group of users might be secondary for another. That’s why many brands create dedicated landing pages tailored to specific audience segments.
If you’re unsure where to start, revisit your audience research. Look for the most common customer pain points or top-priority needs your product solves. The benefit that speaks the loudest is probably the right place to start.
Creating a sense of urgency
Your value proposition should do more than inform—it should inspire action. Don’t stop with telling readers how you can help them. Go one step further and urge them to take the action you’re after, whether that’s signing up for a demo, making a purchase, or creating an account.
Urgency works best when you incorporate it into the broader landing page, but sometimes, it can live within the value prop itself. Phrases like these can drive users toward taking action:
- Limited Offer
- Exclusive Access
- Hurry! Closing Soon
- Final Week
- Act Now & Save X%
Take Airbnb’s “a new world” as an example. It draws readers in to explore what they’re missing—hinting at opportunities that might not always be there.
One word of caution: Urgency works best when it feels natural. Overusing it or creating artificial pressure can backfire, especially if it doesn’t match your brand tone. Consider your sales funnel and where your potential customers are in their decision-making process when deciding how much urgency to apply.
Social proof and credibility indicators
Social proof, like customer testimonials or partner logos, can do wonders for building trust in your value prop. This is especially important if you’re still establishing brand recognition—customers already know and trust names like Apple, Pepsi, and General Electric, but they might not be as familiar with you—yet.
Sprinkle social proof through your landing page to show visitors they’re in good hands. Share what your current customers are saying, and showcase partnerships with recognizable brands whenever possible.
If you’re worried about cluttering your landing page, you can link to your social proof instead. Bitly short links are perfect for guiding readers to case studies, detailed reviews, and other trust-building content without overwhelming the page.
Common mistakes to avoid when choosing value propositions
We’ve covered what to include in your value props to build landing pages that convert—now let’s look at what not to do. These missteps can lead to confusion and turn potential customers off your brand.
Being too generic or vague
The goal of a strong value proposition is to make your landing page compelling enough to keep people engaged. If your message is vague or generic, they won’t stick around. People need to see exactly why your product is worth their time—overused statements like “we’re the best” or “we help you succeed” won’t cut it.
Here’s an example of what not to do. Imagine a payment processor like Stripe rolled out a value proposition that said, “Sell at the speed of light.” Sounds catchy. Might look great on a billboard. And if you know that the company is a digital payment processor, you can kind of see the connection. But what does it actually mean? How does it help prospects decide between this company and the competition?
Compare that to Stripe’s actual value prop: “Financial infrastructure to grow your revenue.” It’s not flashy, but it’s clear and specific. It tells readers what Stripe does (provides financial infrastructure) and which needs it solves (helping businesses grow their revenue). This is the kind of clarity you should shoot for.
Overloading the page with multiple value propositions
When it comes to value propositions, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.
This is a common challenge for startups and early-stage companies, where passion for their products runs high. That enthusiasm is great—but cramming every positive quality onto one landing page? Not so much.
Sticking to one main value prop keeps things clean and helps visitors zero in on your biggest takeaway—no confusion, no fluff. The rest of your selling points can live elsewhere, like additional landing pages, product pages, or follow-up marketing.
Ignoring mobile optimization
Landing page optimization is all about refining your pages to get better results—and when mobile devices now account for more than 60% of page views, that means optimizing for mobile.
To ensure that your value propositions shine on mobile as well as desktop, follow these best practices:
- Use bullet points for readability and search engine optimization (SEO).
- Stick to short paragraphs, not big blocks of text.
- Break up text with headers and subheadlines.
- Use responsive, mobile-friendly navigation elements that make it easy to tap and scroll.
- Add visual elements to help your value prop stand out more—just make sure it renders correctly across different screen sizes.
Using Bitly for testing and refining value propositions
When you create impactful landing pages with Bitly, you also get access to powerful tools for improving your value propositions. Here’s how Bitly can help you test and refine your value props for better results.
A/B test different propositions
A/B testing, or split testing, has been a go-to method for years—and today’s technology makes it easier and more effective than ever. The idea is simple: Create two versions of something, show each to a different segment of your audience, and track the results.
In this case, this means creating two nearly identical landing pages, where the only difference is the central value proposition. Half your audience sees version A, and the other half gets version B. Whichever version converts better is your winner, and you can move on to testing the next element (like the CTA or header image).
Bitly Pages makes this process seamless. You can quickly set up identical landing pages with different value props and use Bitly Analytics to see which one gets more clicks and engagement. With these insights, you’ll know which value prop speaks to your audience—and can keep refining from there.
Leverage QR Codes and short links to reinforce your value prop
Bitly QR Codes and branded links can communicate your value proposition, increase brand awareness, and empower your CTA—all before your audience even sees your landing page.
Both tools serve as an extension of your core message and give potential customers a simple, streamlined way to access your landing page. For example, you can share your landing page on social media via a custom short link like bit.ly/GrowRevenue.
The link itself concisely reinforces your message, tells your audience what to expect when they click, and is a lot more memorable and easy to share than a long, generic URL. With a Bitly paid plan, you can also choose a custom domain name to increase brand awareness and provide even more clarity.
Meanwhile, custom QR Codes, branded with your company’s colors and logo, add an engaging and memorable touch to your offline marketing materials and make it simple for audiences to reach your landing page with a quick smartphone scan. Add in a CTA like “Scan to Scale With Experts,” and potential customers will understand your value prop at a glance.
Together, these Bitly solutions help reinforce your brand identity, create a cohesive experience across all your marketing channels, and drive the actions you want users to take.
Crafting landing page value propositions that convert
Landing pages that convert start with a strong, compelling value proposition. By understanding your audience, addressing their needs, and emphasizing your unique benefits, you can create messaging that grabs attention and drives action. Avoid pitfalls like vagueness or clutter, and focus on clear, optimized messaging that connects across devices.
Bitly Pages makes it easy to test multiple value props and discover what appeals most to your audience, while Bitly Analytics delivers the insights you need to refine your messaging and boost results. And, with Bitly’s QR Codes and branded short links, you can increase brand awareness, streamline access to your landing pages, and turn your value props into actionable, trackable tools.
Ready to level up your value propositions and create landing pages that convert? Choose your Bitly plan and start creating today.
