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Advertising
Unique Selling Position
Concentrate your advertising efforts on what makes your company
special and communicate that to potential customers.
By Michael L. Stahl
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What
makes your business unique in order for you to sell more and position
yourself in the market with great name recognition? Is your marketing
on target? What is your “promotable advantage?” Is your
business different from your competitors? What do you offer above
and beyond what your competitors provide? With what do people associate
your business?
You need to actively define what is known as your Unique Selling Position
(USP). This concept was introduced by Rosser Reeves (then the chairman
of the Ted Bates Advertising Agency) in the 1950s. The USP is meant
to tell the prospective customer three things:
1. What you specifically have to offer.
2. What you do that makes you special that the public did not already
know.
3. What you will do for them that would make them want to do business
with you (a short pitch in less than 15 seconds).
TAGLINES
The USP usually comes in the form of a tagline that is used with your
company name. In a nutshell, your USP is the tool with which people
identify you. It makes them think about what makes you special.
In Ford Motor Co.’s case, its USP (“Have you driven a Ford
lately?) implies that you should try out a Ford now even if you had
one in the past. They are positioning themselves as having improved
their vehicles’ ride, comfort and quality with a simple USP in
the form of a question.
Typically the USP is presented in a statement rather than a question,
but you have to use what works for your business. There are a couple
ways you can approach your Unique Selling Position. Here are some
famous examples:
• Ford: Have you driven a Ford lately?
• Federal Express: When it absolutely, positively has to be there
overnight.
• Xerox: A simpler way to do good work.
• 7-Up: The Uncola.
Or you can be even more descriptive on your business cards, letterhead,
advertising, packaging etc. Here are some excellent, more in-depth
USPs:
• My company helps small business people who need help creating
practical accounting procedures in order to keep accurate, easy-to-use
records on a daily basis.
• Our goal is to create eye-popping trade show booths for progressive
companies who want to sell their products effectively while having
the luxury of easy set-up and tear-down of their area.
Think about why your prospective client should do business with you
instead of using another company or just doing nothing. Really think
about what makes your business different and what benefits you offer
people.
The market is too competitive to ignore the necessity of a strong
Unique Selling Position.
Michael L. Stahl is the author of “Focus Your
Power,” a motivational guide for life, and the former managing
editor of Business Solutions magazine. He also writes a weekly column
called “The Motivational Moment” that talks about how to
focus your power for maximum productivity and well-balanced success.
He is a popular radio and television guest and has appeared on CNN
Financial News discussing successful business strategies. He works
with small businesses, Fortune 500 companies and government agencies
in addition to national and international associations. An active
martial artist, Stahl is a former member of the ATF National Tae Kwon
Do Exhibition Team. |
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