Boxclever is now over 11 years old. We have grown thanks to having a team of great people doing great work, which continues to this day. We are now reviewing and refining our proposition, to ensure we have captured exactly what makes us great, stretch ourselves and consistently deliver quality to our clients as the business grows.

This is crucially important for us to get right. Partly because our proposition is the foundation that informs everything that we do – from how we work with our clients and each other, to how we position ourselves and even how we recruit. And partly because it is important to build empathy for what our clients experience and to demonstrate that we preach what we practise.

Whilst we are in the early stages of evolving our proposition, I wanted to share a few tips, based on our experience so far…..

It is easy to jump straight into how to make your proposition better, but it is critical to first ensure you have properly defined your proposition challenge.

What exactly is it that you want to evolve? The business mission, brand purpose, brand proposition and its sub-components (eg benefits vs RTBs) all play different roles and impact different people and behaviours.

Why do you want to evolve it? It is important to be clear on the opportunity and/or challenge that is being faced today, that needs to be resolved as a result of this evolution. What does this need to impact? A great proposition is not a completed framework, it is something that changes what an organisation does and how. It is important to take the time to map out and work backwards from what behaviours this needs to change. And, once the proposition is created, make sure to map out the implications of it and plan accordingly for the rest of the business.

Doing this right is hard. It requires careful analysis, a consultative approach, creative thinking and multiple re-writes. Don’t expect to nail it in one go and – especially business leaders – don’t expect to get it right on your own.

The best results will come if you work collaborative with a great team, take the time to be rigorous in your thinking and iteratively build your proposition.

Your proposition should impact more than you may initially think. Naturally, it should impact your brand and how you position and communicate it. However, to ensure a good fit between the customer promise and experience it also needs to impact what you deliver (product) and how it is delivered (customer experience). And, to ensure a good fit between the internal and external environment, it should also impact how your team works together, your culture and even how you recruit.

To achieve this, it is important to be empathetic of all stakeholders impacted by the proposition and engage all of them early in the process. Speak to the founders and leaders about the original vision for the company and brand. Speak to your customers, colleagues and employees and put yourself in their shoes. Think about who you aspire to be as well as who you are – where you want to be in 10 years’ time and what brands you aspire to be like.