Your USP (Universal Selling Proposition) will make or break
your business. Let me put this differently. With a great USP, success is nearly assured. Without one, you will
be at best, just an also-ran, someone struggling to remain in the race.
You need a USP for the business itself, and one for each
product being sold. If you are selling products produced by others, the sales literature available may already
include a great USP. If it does not, however, one needs to be created.
There is lots of debate about what a great USP is. I have no
intentions of seeking to end it. But I must point out lots of people have it wrong.
Differences Of Opinion About The USP
Some believe it is a statement that explains how your company
or product differs from others. Something that makes it unique, and thus better.
Since all is about selling benefits, some believe the USP is
a statement about the greatest benefit offered by your company or product. A benefit that sets you apart from
others. One others can not claim.
I don't agree with either or related views.
To side step debate as possible, let's ignore the marketing
strategies used offline. Let's focus on those that work online. This allows me to state without reservation
that such positions won't work on a website.
The Key Is To Focus On Behavior
Your visitors don't give a hoot about you, your product, or
how hard you have worked to make it available. The simple fact is, they don't think about you at all. They
have only one question when they hit your site: What's in this for me? You have only seconds in which to
provide an appropriate answer.
Talk of you, your company, or your product, regardless of
uniqueness, will only bring a click on the Back button. Soul-searched words about the benefits your company or
product offers will also bring immediate exit.
What's required is a USP that provides your Perfect Customer
with a PERCEIVED benefit that sets you apart from and above others. Note it matters not at all whether this
benefit is your strongest, best, or whatever. It doesn't even matter if it's so. It only matters that your
Perfect Customer perceives it as such.
Further, to the degree possible, you want your Perfect
Customer to grasp this in a glance, even to shout out loud, "Hey! This is it. This is what I need!"
USPs And The Big Boys
For examples of great USPs that have proved to be winners,
check out some books on marketing. Here's one: Coca Cola - The original.
Pepsi has been trying to beat this for some time. And they
have put millions and millions of dollars into the effort. But Coca Cola remains the first and original cola,
a position that can not be taken from them. (It is unlikely a new Web Business can establish such a position.)
The story of the ferocious marketing efforts of these two
competitors makes fascinating reading. For example, Coca Cola has tried a number of alternatives to, "The
original." Pepsi seemed to have a winner in, "For the new generation." But they, too, have been experimenting.
And both continue to spend great gobs of money in hopes of gaining an edge over the other.
Years back, Avis strongly challenged Hertz in car rentals
with, "We're second, so we try harder." This captures attention. While many cheer the underdog, most go for
the favorite when they reach for their wallet. But this worked for Avis. That they tried harder implied to
many that Avis would thus make life easier for them.
Over many years this proved to be an extremely effective
position. As in the cola battle, Avis came off this now and then to an alternative, only to watch sales
plummet. They recovered quickly with a return to this position.
USPs For The Rest Of Us
Whether or not you already have a business, nothing matters
more than discovering a great USP for both your company and products. Your USP will be your company's greatest
asset.
A small business does not have the money to launch large
institutional branding campaigns to popularize a USP. However, you can be just as effective as the big boys
are in building a great one. Take the time to get this right.
Using Your USP
Incorporate your USP into a small logo and include it on
every page of your site. Include it in some way in every communication sent out about your company or product,
particularly in sales literature. Use it in a signature file that is automatically appended to every email
message sent by your company.
No, you're not going to beat Coca Cola this way. But people
will come to associate you and your product with your USP and logo. While not a megabuck branding campaign,
this can be remarkably effective.
Tag Lines Are Great
A tag line is a three to five word statement that captures or
at least reminds of the essence of your USP. For Avis, "We try harder" works. Staples gets attention with,
"Yeah, we've got that." This implies they can fulfill all needs. "The quicker picker upper" suggests Bounty
paper towels to many.
Use your tag line wherever you lack the room to state your
complete USP. Done properly, a tag line tends to add a aura of superiority, something that can never be
claimed directly.
As suggested, a good USP and tag line can mean the difference
between success and failure in a small business. And in building these, you are on equal footing with the big
boys. So take advantage of this opportunity, and get it right.
About the Author:
Bob McElwain is the author of "Your Path to Success", and "Secrets To A Really Successful Website", he is also one of the
founding members of i-Cop.org and runs a very successful website call Site Tips and Tricks.
http://www.sitetipsandtricks.com/
Subscribe to Bob's "STAT News" today!
mailto:join-stat@lyris.dundee.net
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