pitchThe “We help [target] [action verb] [benefit]” format is a good one, but not the only one. Denis
What are other effective formats to use for our business?
You can use something like the following that I wrote as part of an another answer here.
For (target customer)
who (statement of the need or opportunity),
the (product/service name)
is a (product/service category)
that (statement of benefit)
e.g. For the recently IPO’d enterprise company BOX, its value proposition could be
For enterprise users
Who want safe and secure storage of documents
the BOX
is a cloud-based file sharing service
that provides end-to-end encryption.
The answer you linked to actually gave two examples of alternative formats:
“I bust traffic tickets.”
“I deliver turn-key software that helps VCs do their accounting and expedite their reporting to investors.”
The “We help action target benefit” format tends to shine because it comes naturally in a conversation. (It’s also a great starting point to spell out what a company is about.) But it’s not set in stone as the two examples above illustrate.
The important bits are that your one- or two-liner must:
Be descriptive and understandable.
Be easy and natural to speak out loud.
Articulate a key benefit.
(If it’s narrow,) state who your audience is.
If you’re not sure about your one-liner, literally test your elevator pitch or your unique selling proposition with a 12-year old.
Really. Catch a random young adolescent in the street, tell them you need a minute of their time to test the comprehensibility of a marketing statement, speak your catchy elevator pitch out loud then and there, and ask them what message they got out of it. If they articulate the key benefit back at you, you’re good.
Since an elevator pitch usually only lasts between 20-30 seconds, your pitch should be short and sweet. A good structure for an elevator pitch is this:
[NAME PRODUCT] is used by [CUSTOMER SEGMENT] who want to [WHAT YOUR CUSTOMER WANTS].
It’s a [TYPE PRODUCT OR SERVICE] which helps the customer to [BENEFIT #1] and [BENEFIT #2].
In contrary to [COMPETITOR’S SOLUTION] our product is [EXPLAIN DIFFERENCE].
Link to the article: What Is A Good Structure For An Elevator Pitch?
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