WHY SHOULD ANYONE DO BUSINESS WITH YOU?
Why should ANYONE do business with you?
What’s in a slogan? Not much apparently.
Recently I came across an extensive survey, by brand consultancy Emergence, done way back in 2003. It measured the effectiveness of advertising slogans among 22 of the nation’s largest marketers that spend more than 100 million a year on ads. Only six were recognized by more than 10% of the consumers surveyed.
By the way, 10% isn’t exactly something to write home about!
Funny enough Circuit City, Kmart and Staples got 0% recognition. When was the last time you saw a Circuit City? How’s Kmart done since 2003? As of writing this, Staples stock is down over 50% from its high ten years ago.
More interesting is that Wal-Mart’s “Always low prices. Always.” got a higher than 50% recognition rate (64% to be exact) AND it’s the only one that that represents a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and not a slogan.
Many businesses I work with (at least when they are initially presented to me) have no USP. Even if they say they do, most of the time, what they really have is a slogan.
A USP answers the question; “Why should I do business with you verses every other option, including doing nothing?”
A good example of a company with a popular USP is GEICO’s “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance.” No mistaking what they do, is there?
The fact of the matter is this study was done at a time when advertisers at least had your full attention when advertising on TV, Radio, etc… Now lots of money is being made online and via social media sites like Facebook where literally dozens of messages fight for your attention simultaneously!
What was once important for success is now CRITICAL for success!
To get you started you’ll need to answer three questions that’ll help you to attract your EXACT, IDEAL prospect and leave your competition in the dust:
- What is unique about my product or service? (El Famous Burrito…”Burritos as big as your head”)
- What is unique about the delivery of my product or service? (Think about Sedation Dentistry vs. Normal)
- What is my story? (Tom’s Shoes “Each pair of shoes you purchase = a pair of shoes for a child in need”)
Now that you have your USP created, you can start to utilize the latest online tools such as Facebook to drive super-targeted traffic to your ultra-specific message.
The most successful Marketing Mindset Alliance members are using USP’s as a core part of their message to market. Come experience for yourself what being part of this community can do for your business…