Why Do you need a Unique Selling Proposition? (call it a slogan if you would like)

Years ago I attended a GKIC conference in Texas. At the time, I was young and it was a bit of a sacrifice to get there, but I made the trip and ended up learning all about Unique Selling Propositions. Something that would prove to be extremely valuable to my businesses. We have also been able to apply the lessons to our client’s businesses.

A USP answers the following question in 5 seconds.

“Why should I do business with you verses every other option, including doing nothing?”

When you stop and take a look at the message you’re sending out to people, you’ll find 90% of the time you’re confusing everyone. This is the norm. We have a tendency to try to be everything to everyone. When our visitors come to our website, they leave because they don’t know what we do, nor do they want to put forth the effort to figure it out.

When we are so wrapped up in our own product or service we tend to fall victim to “the curse of knowledge.” This phrase was created by Lee LeFever a few years back. LeFever uses “the cures of knowledge” to explain how business owners talk above their customers heads and confuse them.

So, let’s take a step back, simplify our message, and nail down our Unique Selling Proposition. Simplicity is key. Your USP is going to be used everywhere over and over again. Memorize it and have everyone in your company memorize it. It’s what defines you in the market place.

Your USP can’t please everyone

Have you ever had a complaint? Have you ever had one person send you a nasty email complaining or whining about something you did or said that offended them?

I have…

Just the other day I had a comment on Facebook from a guy that was upset because we did not provide him with enough FREE stuff.  I guess our FREE video marketing checklist was not good enough for him. Complaints are going to happen, but how we handle these complaints is what makes all the difference. You do not want to go change your whole business because of one persons opinion.

You are not going to be able to please everyone.

Have you ever heard the story about the man, the boy, and their donkey?

It goes like this…

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

 

Later, they passed some people that remarked, “What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.” They then decided they both would walk!

 

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.

 

Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.

 

The moral of the story? In marketing, if you try to please everyone, you might as well… Kiss your “butt” good-bye.

Six samples of USPs:

GKIC Community

“Entrepreneurship is hard, don’t go at it alone. We created a community of like minded entrepreneurs and business owners that are focused on improving their business, income, and their lives.”

Pet Store

“Pet owners are concerned about what their pets are really eating so we source our food from trusted, local vendors which ensures your pet stays happy and healthy.”

Financial Advisor

“Most people can’t get their heads around their financial future so we created a financial map that puts all your info on a weekly dashboard giving you peace of mind about your finances.”

Used Car Sales

“Nobody likes to haggle with a car salesman so we removed the salesman entirely. You can choose and test drive a car hassle free so you have a peaceful experience getting the car you want.”

Real Estate Agent

“Our 20 step marketing system will sell your house in less than 45 days at full market value.”

Ydraw

“Do you have a story that needs to be heard? We’re a Whiteboard Animation Company that loves creating incredible animation videos for you. Want one?

How To Create A Unique Selling Proposition.

  1. What is your customer’s problem?
  2. What did you create to help them?
  3. If they use your product or service how will their lives improve?

We have put together a simple guide you can use to create your USP. Click on the link to download it.

https://marketinghy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/How-To-Create-Your-Unique-Selling-Proposition.pdf

It’s best if you make your business stand apart from the crowd, everything you do will be easier. When you run online ads, customers will be easier to come by because they understand what you actually do. There is no confusion.

On the other hand, if you confuse your audience and don’t develop an effective USP, building an audience or getting any customers to pay attention to you will be a constant struggle.

Your USP can mean the difference between success and failure.

Delivering your Unique Selling Proposition

One your USP is complete your job is to deliver it to your target audience. I like to use YouTube and Facebook ads to do a little testing and see how people will react to my new message. If I get good results and quality leads, I know my USP is working.

If I get zero response, I make the necessary adjustments.

All of this can seem a little daunting at first. I’ve seen plenty of people get hung up on the concept of the USP for weeks or months. But remember speed matters. You do not want to spend 6 months creating a simple USP, that type of research and planning would result in a disaster.

If you can’t create your USP in a couple of hours, you’re making it too difficult. It’s better to start working on your idea and refine it as you go along, than it is to get stuck contemplating the perfect USP without doing anything.

As Steve Jobs said:

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

If you have any questions, let us know. We would love to take a look at your new USP.

Good luck on creating your Unique Selling Proposition.