Wed, 7 Sep 2011 16:56:46 GMT
The Unique Selling Proposition, or USP was a concept invented in 1940's America by marketing guru Rosser Reeves which was designed to differentiate a product/ service by benefits, uniqueness, and 'needability'. Indeed it was highly successful in defining brands such as Dominos, Fed-Ex and M&M's chocolates, in an era when competition was significantly less than in today's world.
However, nowadays the concept is widely misunderstood (or not understood at all) where the term is used casually to refer to any aspect of a product/ service that has some nebulous differentiating factor.
But in these days of intense competition between rival products and services, it's pretty difficult if not impossible to describe uniqueness by way of characteristics alone.
This is where the Value Proposition comes in. The value proposition is a summary of what you do for people, as opposed to what you offer. It's a headline that clearly shows why you are different from your competitors in terms of value delivered.
Here's one we did for a client recently:
Before (owner centric): XYZ Architects are a small team of design professionals dedicated to providing creative design and practical solutions to alterations and extensions to individual homes. We aim to provide a professional and friendly service steering clients through every element of the design and build process.
After (customer centric): XYZ are passionate architectural creatives who add immeasurable value to your lifestyle by transforming your home into the beautiful living space you’ve always dreamed of.
You can see that this value proposition starts to paint a picture in the mind of the reader at this early 'emotional' stage of the marketing process, and forms a firm basis of all future marketing messages.
By contrast, you will see that the owner centric copy was purely about them and what they offered as opposed to demonstrating any end benefits or value to the end consumer.
So accepting that you are no longer unique in what you do or sell, you can become unique by telling your own 'value proposition' story about your product or service that will set you apart from the competition.
