Unique Selling Proposition

Transcription

1 Unique Selling Proposition A lot of marketing experts make a big deal about being unique. They rave on and on about finding out what sets you apart. They call it a USP, or a Unique Selling Proposition the one thing that you do and your competitors don t offer. So is it really as important as they say? In a word YES!!! Nothing can emphasize enough how important it is to be different. To be a successfu marketer, you need to understand that people have to decide between you and your competition. They have to discern the differences between you and other suppliers, before they can choose who to buy from. Now imagine if you could prove to them, beyond doubt, that they would benefit more by choosing you. For example, imagine a coffee shop serves sensational coffee and cakes. You d probably expect that the quality of their product would guarantee them success. But just imagine if there were 7 other coffee shops, all within a 10 minute walk, and all with the same high quality products. How would you choose which one to go to? The fact is, all of these shops are basically the same. You could uproot them and swap them around and people wouldn t know the difference. They d walk in and say oh, you ve got a new fish tank it looks like the old one. So what about your business? Think of your 2 biggest competitors and ask yourself Am I really any different? If you re first answer was yes, we have better service or our quality is better, you need to re-read the last sentence. Those very same competitors would probably say exactly the same thing if they were asked to compare themselves to you. A unique characteristic is something that really makes an impact when you say it. For example, imagine if one of those coffee shops offered a free foot massage with every order of a coffee and cake. More than that, you also got your very own, personalized coffee mug. Just imagine how successful that would be. The point is, it s something specific and different. You can imagine the advertising slogan XYZ Coffee Shop, where ever customer gets a foot massage and personalized mug. It may sound a little over the top, but it s definitely unique. If you don t have a point of difference, there s no reason for anyone to buy from you, unless you discount. You end up in a price war, with nothing to fall back on but your crazy prices. It sounds like a recipe for going broke. A great way to develop a unique-ness is with an exceptionally powerful guarantee. This is where you take all the risk out of the purchase. Your guarantee addresses the one major frustration your customers have when dealing with your industry, product or services. It makes them feel safe and gives them a reason to always come back to you. This could be the most pivotal point in your entire business life. Without a uniqueness, your business has no reason to exist it s just another drop in an ocean of me-too pretenders. You have to put up your hand and say I m different and this is why It will change your business forever. So what is your uniqueness.. Your Unique Selling Proposition Your company s unique selling proposition (USP) is something that differentiates you from all your competitors both local and industry-wide. It's what makes you so unique that people will choose to do business with you over any of your competitors. Your USP states your distinct advantage. actioncoach.com The World s 1/12 Bldg B Level 2 12 Julius Ave North Ryde NSW Ph:

2 One of the deadliest mistakes businesses make is not being unique. Now more than ever you must differentiate your business. Today there is an explosion of choices for consumers. If you want to survive and thrive you must differentiate yourself in the eyes of your prospect. Your USP is what states to the world why you are different. *Factoid*: The origin of USP comes from a man named Rosser Reeves who was considered the 'high priest of hard sell.' He was an advertising agency chairman back in the 60's. He wrote a book titled, 'Reality in Advertising' that became very popular. It was translated into 28 languages. He introduced and defined the concept called Unique Selling Proposition. Why is Your USP so Important To be successful in business you don't have to be the best, you just have to be unique. Identifying, developing, and incorporating your USP into everything you do is challenging. But the reward is worth every effort. It will differentiate you, distinguish you, and give you an advantage over everyone in your marketplace. 'Me to' businesses rarely survive. They usually end up in price wars because they don't have anything unique about them to establish value in the minds of their prospects. They are left with only one weapon with which to compete, price. And unless you have a significant cost advantage over your other competitors, you will lose. Make Your USP Crystal Clear The more clearly you announce your USP, the more often they'll choose you over your competition. You must use your USP to dominate your local market. When a consumer thinks of buying a product in your industry, your name must be the first one that pops into their mind. Your USP must create a real and perceived advantage in your prospect's mind. For example, Dominos made a very bold guarantee that if they didn't deliver your pizza within 30 minutes of ordering, it would be free of charge. Dominos put their USP into action. Be Specific How many businesses do you hear saying, 'The Best Selection in Town' or 'Service with a Smile.' I have to tell you that these phrases are worn-out, tired renditions of a 'me too' business. Be specific with your USP. When Domino's stated that your pizza would be, (1) fresh, (2) hot, and (3) delivered within 30 minutes, it was specific and measurable. 'Buy it today and install it tonight,' that's specific and measurable. How to Identify and Develop Your USP You shouldn't rush or hurry the decision of your USP. You will spend thousands of dollars on advertising and promoting your USP. Once you've made your impression and then decide to change it you begin to confuse your prospect and it will cost you even more money to re-implement a different USP. If your USP is a promise or guaranteed you must make sure that you can fulfill your USP promise. Domino's had a very bold USP. To get a pizza to anyone's house in their marketplace within 30 minutes was sometimes a difficult feat to consistently accomplish. But the rewards were fantastic. How do you pick a USP? You need to first identify which needs are going unfulfilled within either your industry or your local market. These are called 'performance gaps.' Many businesses that base their USP on industry performance gaps are successful. Here are some examples in different small business industries: Example #1 - Auto Repair Industry * - Performance Gap (problem) = Car workshops have a reputation of being dishonest. - Potential USP (solution) = 'If It Isn t Broke, We Won't Fix It!' 2/12 The World s

3 Example #2 - Dental Industry * USP & Guarantee Questionnaire - Performance Gap (problem) = No one likes to go to the dentist because its such a painful experience. - Potential USP (solution) = 'Sedation Dentistry, The Safe, Pain Free Way to Healthy Teeth' Example #3 - Real Estate Industry * - Performance Gap (problem) = People are wary of letting real estate agents sell their homes because they don't believe they will aggressively try to sell them fast enough. - Potential USP (solution) = 'Our 13 Point Power Marketing Plan Gets Your House Sold in 30 Days or Less' You can see how a performance gap can lead to a powerful USP. You can also have local performance gaps that will give you a great USP as well. For instance, if you are an electronics outlet and you have more inventory than anyone else in town you might your USP could be, 'We Have 10 Times the Selection than Any Store In Town. Go Visit the Rest, Then Come Shop at the Best.' Your USP Doesn't Have to be Unique Although a USP is a statement of your uniqueness it doesn't always have to be something that is only unique to you...if you proclaim it first! For instance, if you were a furniture retailer and you proclaimed your USP to be 'Buy today, we'll deliver it tonight.' Most other competitors can do that too, but because you were the first to proclaim it, it is yours exclusively. This is sometimes called 'pre-emptive marketing.' You can pre-empt your competitors if you take a strong benefit, whether or not its unique, and put your stamp on it first. All others who come after you will just be strengthening an advantage that you have already placed in the minds of your prospects. Live Up To Your USP Be bold when developing your USP but be careful to ensure that you can live up to your USP. Your USP should have promises, guarantees, policies and procedures, employee evaluations and other reinforcing processes to make each USP come alive. Having a strong USP can make your business super successful, on the other hand, having a USP that you can't live up to is suicide. I'm sure that Domino's had to eat the cost of a lot of pizzas when they didn't arrive within 30 minutes, but they developed a system that allowed them to deliver on their promise consistently. Integrate Your USP into Everything You Do Once you have put some careful thought to your USP and have developed it, you need to integrate it into everything you do. Your USP should be found somewhere in your headlines, body copy of ads, direct-mail, s, name cards, websites, signboards, and yellow pages. You should repeat clearly and consistently in every one of your marketing communication. You should include it in your sales presentation, on the walls of your business and even on your business card. You can't over do or wear out your USP, especially if it's powerful. The next few pags contain a whole lot of questions about your business. Go through each question in detail, do the customer questionnaire, and create your own USP. 3/12 The World s

4 Your Competitors- First, let s take a look at the other businesses in your industry... List your 3 biggest competitors... What do they do well? What do they do poorly? What would the average person say about each of these competitors? What is unique about them? What Guarantees do they have in place? How are these guarantees promoted? How genuine are these guarantees? What can t each of your competitors guarantee? What can they do that you can t? Where are they geographically located in comparison to you and your potential market place? 4/12 The World s

5 Your Industry Now let s work through that Industry Describe how your industry has changed in the last 5 years... Describe the changes you expect to see in the next 12 months in your industry... Describe the changes you expect to see in the next 5 years in your industry... Tell us about any regulations on marketing in your industry... Describe the perceived standards of customer service in your industry... Describe the perceived standards of technology in your industry... Describe the perceived standards of product quality in your industry... Describe the perceived standards in sales & marketing in your industry... How does your business compare to these industry standards? Customer Service? Technology? Product Quality? Sales & Marketing? What are businesses in your industry required to guarantee? Your Ideal Scenario if anything now what could your business look like? List 3 things that you cannot confidently guarantee today, that you would love to be able to guarantee... What is the one thing that if you could guarantee it, would make you the market leader? (For example, a newsagent that guarantees to sell you a winning lottery ticket every time?)... 5/12 The World s

6 In an ideal world, what would you like your customers to see as the main point of difference between you and your competitors? If there were one phrase your customers and prospects used to describe what you do now, it would be... Oh, you re the guys who... If there were one phrase your customers and prospects used to describe what you do in an ideal world it would be... Oh, you re the guys who... Think of 3 industries as far removed from yours as you can, then from each one, steal an idea that could give your business a real point of difference (for example KFC - Finger licking good.) Industry.. Industry.. Industry.. Your Market Place so now let s talk about your target market Describe who the average customer is for your industry... How old is the typical customer? (Circle the approximate age groups) Under Over What percentage of your potential market is (avoid putting 50/50)... Male...% Female...% What is most important to an average customer in your industry? (Rank in order, from 1 being most important, 10 being least important). Also circle the one you think is most important. Quality Price Reliability Safety Convenience Speed of service Customer Service Consistency Back up Service Image Guarantee Other Is the current market place growing or diminishing? Please explain. 6/12 The World s

7 In dollar terms, how much money is spent in your industry each year in your geographically serviceable market place? Is your typical customer different from the generic industry customer you have described? Your Specific Niche... Describe your current average customer... Describe your ideal future customer... Rank the priorities of your ideal future customer in the same way as you ranked the priorities of your generic industry customer. Pay particular attention to the differences, if any... Quality Price Reliability Safety Convenience Speed of service Customer Service Consistency Back up Service Image Guarantee Other What are 4 reasons do your customers come to you rather than your competitors? This question is particularly important, so give it some real thought. 4. In what 4 ways do you perceive that you are genuinely different from your competitors? 4. Below are some niches. Fill in where your competitors fill a niche. E.g.Volvo is known for safety, Porsche speed. Quality Price Reliability Safety Convenience Speed of service Customer Service Consistency Back up Service Image Guarantee Other Based on the above, which niche do you believe you fill? 7/12 The World s

8 What can you do that no one else can? USP & Guarantee Questionnaire Claude Hopkins, advertising guru, made a beer company the market leader with one ad... all he did was describe the process the company went through when making the beer. Please describe in detail how your product is made and delivered... What are the 5 things about your product or service that you take for granted, that your customers don t know about? Your Customer s Thoughts... What are 3 things your best customers say about you? What are 3 things your worst customers say about you? What would an average customer have said about you 12 months ago? How would their opinion differ now? Below you ll see 4 questions to reproduce on a Customer Feedback Form... So that we can both get the best possible understanding of your customers perceptions, copy it and get 8 of your customers to complete it during the next week... This questionnaire has been designed to be easily and quickly answered by our customers - it also makes them feel they are helping to improve your service. This information helps us to understand your business from your customers perspective, and it will help you to accurately measure the feeling of your market place. Simply run through the questions with 8 of your customers this week... Once you have completed the Feedback Forms, go on to the next question... 8/12 The World s

9 Customer Feedback Form Questions What are the three major reasons you buy from us and not somebody else? What is the point of difference that makes you want to deal with us? If you could improve 2 things about us, what would they be, and how would you change them? 4. What are the 2 things that annoy you the most when dealing with businesses in our industry? Having now completed the Customer Feedback exercise, how do you feel, and what have you learnt? 9/12 The World s

10 Your Customers Frustrations... USP & Guarantee Questionnaire What are 3 problems or frustrations that buying your product/service solves? What are the 3 major benefits of buying your product or service? What frustrations do customers experience when trying to find your product or service? What frustrations do customers experience when making a decision whether or not to buy your product/service? What frustrations do customers experience when they go to buy your product/service? What frustrations do customers experience when receiving or picking up your product/service? What frustrations do customers experience when using your product/service? What frustrations do customers experience after they ve bought your product/service? If you were a customer, why would you dislike buying from you? Describe the sort of customers who dislike buying from you... and tell us why? Describe the sort of customers who love buying from you... and tell us why? 10/12 The World s

11 If you could easily overcome any 2 of your customers frustrations, what would they be and how would you overcome them? Your Past and Present... What is your current written guarantee? How is this different from your guarantees of the past? How do customers react to your current guarantee? What have you learnt from the changes that you have made to your guarantee to date? If you have one, what is your current marketing positioning statement? (ie. It s Mac time now, or Always Coca- Cola.)... How is this different from your past attempts How do customers react to your current positioning statement? What have you learnt from the changes that you have made to your positioning statement to date? 11/12 The World s

12 What You CAN Guarantee... USP & Guarantee Questionnaire What 6 things will relieve your customers frustrations that you can guarantee and deliver 100% of the time right now? What 3 additional things will you be able to fully guarantee within the next 3 months? Your own USP and guarantee Now take some time to complete in your own words, your own using all of the information above. 12/12 The World s