What's
Your Unique Selling Proposition?
Why should anyone do business with you in the first
place?
Kamau Jackson, InternetKnowledgeSolutions.com
We all want people to use the products
and services we sell, and within our market we can be reasonably
sure they want them. The tallest hurdle we have to overcome is convincing
potential customers or clients that they should buy from us instead
of our competitors. Here’s
how to do it.
"Branding" vs. USP
Rosser Reeves, legendary ‘ad man’ from
over 50 years ago, first developed the term Unique Selling Proposition
and outlined the importance of the concept. It’s probably the
single most valuable marketing asset you can have-- better than even
a great product or service. (But maybe not both, of course.)
Sometime you’ll hear it referred to as the Customer’s
Buying Advantage, Strategic Marketing Position, or something like
that —but the reference point is the same.
What Exactly Is A Unique Selling Proposition?
Dan Kennedy, direct marketing wizard, says that a USP
needs to answer the following question:
“Why, given all the other options available to me—including
continuing to do what I’m currently doing, and, my option to
do nothing at all—should I take you up on your offer, and do
business with you-- rather than your competitor?”
If you use vague terms to describe your
business, like, superior service, satisfaction guaranteed, service
with a smile—you are, well, not unique. How about cutting edge
technology, on time and under budget, money saving,
(_____________) fill in the blank? You haven't distingushed your
business from the 'herd'.
When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be
There Overnight! Yes. (Not ‘speedy service’)
We’re #2; We Try Harder! Yes. (Not convenience and superior customer
service’)
It’s Not Live, It’s_______! Yes. (Not high quality’)
(O.K., you get it.)
Don’t confuse these with slogans
or, as they’re called, taglines like ‘progress is our
most important product’.
Your USP has to offer, in a simple and specific way, a benefit (at most,
two) that offers unique advantages, solves the problems, and connects
with the desires and conversations that pervade your target market. This
means, first of all, that you have to know your market.
Where Do You Find Your Unique Selling Proposition?
Everyone thinks they know their market-- and have formed a set
of assumptions about it that may actually be untrue. As soon as one
business exec abandons that all-knowing mindset, opportunites become
apparent that others in the same industry have failed to grasp.
When FedEx began shipping, their first USP was "We Own Our Own Planes". How
did it work? Their first flight had space reserved for 800 packages--
but they only had
8 packages to ship. Only 4 of them were from customers! "We Own
Our Own Planes" just doesn't pass the "So What?" test.
After really investigating to see what their potential
customers found important, they were able to wrest the market from the
U.S. Postal
Service within a year.
While you'll need to throughly investigate your industry data,
looking outside your industry is where you may find better examples.
Ultimately, however, you'll need to ask the true experts-- your customers,
patients, or clients. But don't just stop there. Ask your inactive and
former customers. You'll learn a great deal when they tell you why they're
no longer buying from you.
[See: "Are They Buying What You're
Selling?" small business marketing ]
Incorporating Your USP
Far more than just a declaration, your USP must be integrated into all
your business processes-- management, maybe delivery systems, inventory,
personnel, office décor, website, stationary, etc., so it is
reflected from every aspect of your operation.
For example, Wal-Mart pushes cost savings in its’ USP
and has integrated into all levels of its business. All the
company executives fly to business
meetings in coach class and share rooms at Motel-6 type motels. And,
to be consistent, Sam Walton never moved from the house he lived in when
he first started the company!
So if you offer the fastest service, you have to make
sure your shipping, inventory, tracking, vehicles, etc., won’t
hinder you from making good on that promise.
These are the fundamental internal business processes that
have to be refined before there can be any rational discussion
about “branding”.
Branding isn't
abstract imagebuilding-- to be effective it must rely on the
demonstrated validity of the "brand promise", i.e., the company's
USP.
In case you’re wondering what makes Rosser Reeves such an
authority, try: “Melts In Your Mouth, Not In Your Hand”…50
years and counting!
The Takeaway
When a bankrupt pizza shop owner was two weeks away from bankruptcy,
image ads and 'branding' were luxuries he couldn't afford. Instead
he incorporated his USP into a direct response challenge to his market
as well as his industry. Fresh Hot Pizza Delivered In 30 Minutes or Less--
Or It's Free!
It took over 20 years before someone finally said "You know, this
isn't very good pizza". By that time he was already included on
the Fortune 500 list of the worlds wealthiest men-- none of whom made
very good pizza either!
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