Marketing Coaching & Consulting

Would you like to learn how to make your marketing work?

Smart marketing begins with a well defined USP (unique selling proposition) a concept developed by television advertising pioneer Rosser Reeves. Reeves had three rules for an effective USP, the key element of any advertising campaign.

The advertiser must present a definite proposition: If you buy X, you will get a specific benefit;
The benefit must be unique to the particular product, unavailable in the products offered by competitors;
The proposition must be a “selling” one—that is, the benefit must be one that many people will want.

While the above items are simple in concept, discovering a truly impactful USP takes some work to develop, and your best unique selling proposition might not be as obvious as thing you think it is. Often a business owner is too close to the business to see what their USP really is.

There’s even a fourth element of a strong USP; the USP must address the investment the business is asking from a customer; your USP is really a UIP  (Unique Investment Proposition).

For example, you’re likely familiar with the economics concept of “opportunity cost.” If a customer buys from you odds are they aren’t buying from your competitor. If your product or service fails to live up to their needs and expectations, they’re not only potentially out their financial investment but their time investment as well. While the financial investment can be insured by a guarantee, the customer’s time is a “sunk cost” (another economics term) and can never be recovered. So how do you overcome the customer’s fear of financial and time investment?

Offer a bold, strong guarantee, the second essential ingredient to effective marketing. You must address your prospects fears, real or perceived, of doing business with you. If you believe in what you are selling, prove it with a guarantee of 100% complete and unconditional satisfaction. Statistics prove that the stronger the guarantee, the more sales you will make, and in most cases, lessen the incidence of returns or claims against your guarantee.

Your third marketing requirement is a commitment to constant testing. Mr. Wannamaker would not have been ignorant of his wasted advertising dollars had he implemented tests to determine what wasn’t working, what was working, and of the ads that were working, which created the greatest return for his investment. Fortunately for you, technology has made testing much easier today than it was for John Wanamaker, affording accurate methods to test your email marketing efforts, your pay-per-click campaigns, website and landing page conversion rates, and more.

Chances are good that you haven’t fully exploited all the marketing assets available to you; assets you already have. Together we’ll uncover those hidden assets and convert them into increased efficiency and profits.

If you would appreciate some gentle guidance to help ensure your marketing investment isn’t “wasted,” call 970-591-3777 or Make Marketing Work!