Category Archives for "Unique Selling Proposition"

If No One Cares, It’s Not a Unique Selling Proposition

By Johna11 | Sales and Marketing , Unique Selling Proposition

Have you heard marketers tell you that you need a unique selling proposition or UPS? They’re right – provided you understand what they’re really saying. Usually when we talk about unique selling propositions, the emphasis is on unique. That is, and should be, the primary point. However, at the same time, we often ignore the word selling as being vital to the USP. The really important consideration is that if no one cares, it’s not a unique selling proposition.

It either contributes to being able to make the sale or it’s just a unique proposition, which for business purposes is useless. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” – just so with unique selling propositions. Remember here that the customers are the ones who determine value.

Wasting money on things customers don’t value

I had a client a few years ago at a small town auto dealership. He loved pin striping so he paid to have his used cars pin striped feeling that it added value. As I pointed out to him, I have never bought a car in my life because it had pin striping. I did once take pin striping as a“discount.” I’ve never since then had it done to any other car. The recommendation I made to him was to stop this practice unless the customer wants it done. This savings was worth several thousand dollars over just 12 months.

How to find what’s important as a selling proposition

So how do you tell if you really have a unique selling proposition? Ask prospects what’s important to them. Ask past customers what they recall about why they bought. Typically, it’s the things that we have an emotional reaction to which we can remember a couple months later.

If you don’t yet have customers, put yourself in their shoes. What is really important to them? Then when you talk with prospects listen to and watch their responses as you discuss what you think is the unique selling proposition. Should you get no response or it’s lukewarm, keep looking because that wasn’t a unique selling proposition.

Example of perceived value

I have several purchases I recall fondly years later, one forty years later. I can tell you what was important about them. Two of them were clothing purchases. I enjoyed these purchases because I got outstanding service combined with great product knowledge, which they used to give me tips that helped me dress better and feel more secure in my choices. Furthermore, they guided me with patient suggestions instead of pressure.

So when you are trying to identify your unique selling proposition, check with your best customers and your prospects. What was or is important to them? Bring up what you think is great to see if they feel the same way about it. If no one cares, it’s not a unique selling proposition.

Unique Selling Propositions – A Quiz of Famous Marketing Lines

By John Aberle | Sales and Marketing , Unique Selling Proposition

This article is about famous marketing lines often called taglines or slogans. This week I finished the 6th lesson that’s part of my opt-in bonus, an ecourse, 9 Steps to Finding Prospects Who Want What You Provide. This lesson, “How to Stand Out in a Cast of Thousands,” describes how to identify your unique selling proposition.

Having been frustrated with this topic myself in the past, I really wanted to help members of my community develop their own unique selling propositions. Specifically, whenever I researched the topic, I found lots of articles telling me how important it is to have one and almost none giving me any tips for designing one. I felt like a joke we used to have back at the Air Force Academy when I was a cadet, “It’s intuitively obvious to the most casual observer.” That line generally was related to the explanation that they did it all with “strings and mirrors.” So in “How to Stand Out in a Cast of Thousands” I told the readers that this lesson would accomplish the following:
1.    Help you recognize that the differences don’t need to be major in order to be unique
2.    Show you what some USPs look like when stated as taglines or slogans
3.    Provide questions and exercises you can use to identify your distinctive qualities
4.    Give you ideas of how to use them to establish your brand, your presence in the market

Writing that article inspired this blog post. Here are some of my favorite taglines for you to match up in a little quiz. To keep it interesting, I researched a few movie taglines too. These slogans become brief statements of the company’s or movie’s unique selling proposition. Notice that some describe very minor differences between the company whose slogan it is and its competitors. The key point is that they are establishing their position in the minds of the public. Not all of these statements are taglines. Some will be identifiers I think you’ll recognize because the company’s branding is so strong.

Try matching the company – or the movie – up with its tagline or identifier:

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