I was consulting with a client recently. And they had provided me with 5 pages of notes and copy fragments. Then they asked:
Question: What Do You Think of Our USPs? (Yes plural. USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition if you don't know)
I have to admit that the question took me aback. Unique implies one. Not '5 pages of USPs' as the client thought. So I don't know who taught them anything about copywriting but if that is the case we have a problem.
Answer: When originally conceived the USP was designed to differentiate my soap from your soap. That is what Rosser Reeves was on about. He was selling consumer products over the television. And he was beating the customer over the head with the same message until they bought. And it worked. He has the data to prove it worked.
I read through them and answered "these are all valid reasons to order from you." Most of the 5 pages I have to admit were actually features and features being presented as benefits rather than actual benefits but that is another question for another day.
The best way to ask the USP question now is "Why should I do business with you over all of the other options I have at my disposal?" Which is Dan Kennedy's way of asking the question, to which I must add two options that are omnipresent: DO NOTHING and DO IT MYSELF.
A lot of the features the client listed as unique were actually things the competitor could list as well. None of them were that unique. And none of them answered the 'why should I do business with you' question.
Dominos initial Tagline is one of the best USPs in recent history: "Fresh, Hot, Pizza, Delivered In 30 Minutes or its Free"
The other pizza chains copied the USP and the guarantee... all seemed to be pretenders to the throne. Dominos had to drop the guarantee as they expanded - it wasn't possible in some locations and drivers were having accidents to meet the commitment.
Subway, without every really articulating it, "The fast food to eat when you want to lose weight," when they got Jarred on their commercials.
Remember, McDonald's soon after launched their healthy menu and looked like a lame pale imitator.
Reis and Trout's book "Positioning" is vitally useful for this. You need to be able to stake out a space and claim it as your own. That is what makes you unique.
Disney has claimed, 'The Happiest Place on Earth.'
Nothing to gain from being the second happiest place on earth.
Find your answer to the question and you will succeed too.
Question: What Do You Think of Our USPs? (Yes plural. USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition if you don't know)
I have to admit that the question took me aback. Unique implies one. Not '5 pages of USPs' as the client thought. So I don't know who taught them anything about copywriting but if that is the case we have a problem.
Answer: When originally conceived the USP was designed to differentiate my soap from your soap. That is what Rosser Reeves was on about. He was selling consumer products over the television. And he was beating the customer over the head with the same message until they bought. And it worked. He has the data to prove it worked.
I read through them and answered "these are all valid reasons to order from you." Most of the 5 pages I have to admit were actually features and features being presented as benefits rather than actual benefits but that is another question for another day.
The best way to ask the USP question now is "Why should I do business with you over all of the other options I have at my disposal?" Which is Dan Kennedy's way of asking the question, to which I must add two options that are omnipresent: DO NOTHING and DO IT MYSELF.
A lot of the features the client listed as unique were actually things the competitor could list as well. None of them were that unique. And none of them answered the 'why should I do business with you' question.
Dominos initial Tagline is one of the best USPs in recent history: "Fresh, Hot, Pizza, Delivered In 30 Minutes or its Free"
The other pizza chains copied the USP and the guarantee... all seemed to be pretenders to the throne. Dominos had to drop the guarantee as they expanded - it wasn't possible in some locations and drivers were having accidents to meet the commitment.
Subway, without every really articulating it, "The fast food to eat when you want to lose weight," when they got Jarred on their commercials.
Remember, McDonald's soon after launched their healthy menu and looked like a lame pale imitator.
Reis and Trout's book "Positioning" is vitally useful for this. You need to be able to stake out a space and claim it as your own. That is what makes you unique.
Disney has claimed, 'The Happiest Place on Earth.'
Nothing to gain from being the second happiest place on earth.
Find your answer to the question and you will succeed too.
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