How Many USPs Do You See?

I had been working as a copywriter for a good 10 years before anyone introduced me to the concept of the Unique Selling Proposition. Perhaps I missed it because I studied English literature and Theatre in college rather than Advertising. Or perhaps it was because nobody had bothered to talk about it before then. But whatever the reason for the delay, I was blown away by the concept when I was first introduced to it.  

Still I wonder why it took so long for a concept that gets a whole chapter in the advertising book I used to teach my college students to come up out in the “real world” of advertising. 

Rosser Reeves, former chairman of the Ted Bates Agency, introduced the concept of the USP in his book Reality in Advertising, and it’s a formula that deceptively simple: 

1. Make a proposition to the consumer that says, “Buy my product and you will get this benefit.”
2. Make sure your proposition is one that the competition does not or cannot offer.
3. Make sure your proposition is compelling enough to get the consumer to buy.

 Creating a USP takes a lot of research and a lot of thought, but it’s a handy tool to have in your arsenal – especially if you’re a direct marketer.  Once you know what sets you apart, it gives direction to everything you do. It puts all your products’ supporting benefits into a context that makes each benefit stronger and your entire sales pitch more compelling.

 Many direct marketers simply ignore the USP and try to build brand image. Others use the USP in ways that I find incomprehensible.  Here’s what I mean:

 I was working as a CD on a large financial account where we were selling the benefits of their credit cards.  The client loved the concept of USP so much that we not only had to have a different one for each credit card they offered. we had to also create a separate USP for each target market to whom they decided to offer that credit card.

 This meant that a single credit card could have as many as four or five separate USPs depending on the number of groups we were targeting. The result was advertising that had absolutely no continuity – not to the benefits and not to the brand. But the client was very pleased with their collection of Unique Selling Propositions.

 At the opposite end of the spectrum was a company who had an easily definable target market and a product that fit that market like a glove – a product no one else was offering. Yet in creative brief after creative brief, the reason given for developing the new campaign was this: “To sell more at a lower cost and improve our ROI.”  Wow!

 Knowing exactly what makes your product stand out from the crowd and appeal to your customers gives you an incredible advantage in the marketplace. It’s an advantage that, when used properly, will not only keep you in customers for decades, but also keep you ahead of the pack.

 Try it.  Sit down with your product – or your client and his product – and construct this simple sentence.

             “For [our target market] our product is the best
              choice because…”

 Keep it short.  Keep it simple. Keep it compelling. Oh, yeah and don’t forget to make sure it’s unique.

Advertisement