How to Create a Truly Unique Selling Proposition
I’m about to reveal to you some things about creating a unique selling proposition that most of your competitors don’t know. Once you understand these things, it will help you to create a USP that is many times more powerful than your competition.
But in order to do that, you first need to know about the man behind the concept.
Rosser Reeves: The Man Behind One of the Most Important Activities Companies Must Constantly Engage In
Theodore Levitt, a professor at Harvard Business School, once described the importance of differentiation with these powerful words…
“Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage.”
Do you know what I find so interesting about the concept of a unique selling proposition or point of difference?
Many companies these days think they understand the concept, but they don’t know the origin of the term.
And for that reason, they really don’t grasp the full meaning and potential of the concept.
I don’t want you to be like these companies that only know the general concept. I want you to understand the full meaning and power behind a unique selling proposition.
To do that, you need to know about the man who coined the term USP.
Who Was Rosser Reeves?
He was an American advertising executive who was a pioneer of television advertising. How good was he at what he did? Well, he generated millions for his clients.
Do you know what I’d say his own personal USP was?
He didn’t think companies should advertise just for name recognition. Instead, he believed the purpose of advertising is to sell.
In fact, he insisted that the purpose of an ad or commercial was to show off the value or unique selling proposition of a product.
He didn’t think that the purpose of an ad or commercial was just to be funny or clever.
So, what did Rosser Reeves actually say about the unique selling proposition? I found this quote below from him. In it, he shares some powerful thoughts about a USP.
Let me share this quote about the USP and then I’ll share some insights we can glean from it…
The Powerful Thing Rosser Reeves Said About the Unique Selling Proposition
“Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: ‘Buy this product and you will get this specific benefit.’ The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique-either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions; i.e., pull over new customers to your product.” Photo by Matvey99 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, |
4 Lessons About Unique Selling Propositions from the Man Who Made the Concept Popular
Now let me reveal four lessons we can learn from what Reeves said. To do that, let’s look closely at four things he said about USPs:
1. It should promise a specific benefit.
The mistake that some companies make is they don’t make any promise at all to their prospects. The mistake that other companies make is that they make a vague promise.
Why is that a problem? Because vague promises don’t stand out. How could they? When something is communicated in an unfocused or imprecise way, then its meaning isn’t clear.
Something unclear doesn’t stand out. Only a specific promise does.
If you want to harness the power of the 4th marketing fundamental, you need to make a specific promise to your prospects. That’s the first way to stand out and be different in the marketplace.
2. It must contain a claim the competition can’t or doesn’t offer.
Another mistake that some companies make is they just copy the promises of every other company in the market. That will never make a company different.
That means you need to start by asking and answering some important questions:
– What are all the claims that your competition is making in the marketplace?
– Is there a common theme? Are they trying to solve a common problem or relieve a common pain?
– What claim is not being made in the marketplace that your company can honestly make or that can be made about your product or service?
– What is the gap or blind spot that is being overlooked by your competitors? Is there a way to relieve the problems or pain in the marketplace that isn’t being offered? Or is there a problem or pain that is not being focused on at all?
If you feel stuck trying to answer these questions, then the next point might help.
3. It must express a uniqueness of the brand or the claim being made.
If you don’t feel like you can make a unique claim, in what other ways can your brand stand out?
You see, a unique claim is not the only way that your company, product, or service can be different and stand out. The other way is through your brand.
What makes your brand different than the others? You might not think that there are many ways to make your brand stand out, but there are actually 9 different ways you can do that.
I’m don’t have the time to go over all 9 of the different ways, but I will share three of them with you:
- Personality or Brand – Who is the founder/CEO of your company or who represents your company? Do they make your company different? Examples: Steve Jobs & Wendy’s
- Backstory –The story of how the company (or founder) got into this particular line of business. Examples: TOMs Shoes or Clif Bar
- Experience – The experience people get from buying or using your product or service to get the end result they want. Examples: Disneyland and any “high end” restaurant
Hopefully, these will give you some ideas to get you started.
4. The claim must be strong enough to move the masses.
Wow. Now that’s setting the bar high, isn’t it? But before you just dismiss this completely, let’s think about what it says for a minute.
I think the key point is that you shouldn’t focus on a claim about your product or brand that just moves one person or a few people. You want to find one that hits the nerve of a large amount of people.
In other words, you want to find a claim that speaks to a universal need, desire, pain, or goal in the marketplace.
Look, I’ll admit something to you. It might not always be possible for you to literally come up with a unique selling proposition that moves the masses.
But if you don’t aim that high, you’ll fall so short of the power that the unique selling proposition could bring to your company and its marketing.
Now that you know the original concept of the unique selling proposition, you have insight that many companies have overlooked, which means you now have the opportunity to use it in a way that your competitors have no clue is even possible.
My hope is that you’ll take this insight and implement it to the fullest. By the way, if and when you do implement it, I’d love to hear about it.
If you missed my previous article, you can check it out at the link below:
The 4th Marketing Fundamental You Need to Succeed in 2021
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