Tweet

Are You In Search of the Unique

Written by: Jim Straw

Article Overview: Here lately, I've had a number of calls saying ... “I really need to find a unique product to sell by mail or on the Internet” - or - “My product doesn't have anything unique about it” - or - “How can I make my product more unique.” The first thing I tell them is to ‘go back and read the book,’ again. — Not my book, Dan Kennedy's book (or newsletter). Dan Kennedy, as you should know, is the chief proponent of using a “Unique Selling Point” to market your products or services. But, Dan does not say ...

Are You In Search of the Unique

Here lately, I've had a number of calls saying ...

“I really need to find a unique product to sell by mail or on the Internet” - or -

“My product doesn't have anything unique about it” - or -

“How can I make my product more unique.”

The first thing I tell them is to ‘go back and read the book,’ again. — Not my book, Dan Kennedy's book (or newsletter).

Dan Kennedy, as you should know, is the chief proponent of using a “Unique Selling Point” ... or “Unique Selling Proposition” (either way, I’ll use USP from now on) ... to market your products or services. But, Dan does not say you have to have a ‘unique’ product, or find something ‘unique’ about your product, or make your product more ‘unique.’

It is the “selling point” (or “selling proposition”) itself that has to be “unique” ... which may, or may not, have to do with your product or service being unique.

As an example: Coffee is pretty much coffee ... isn't it? But, Folgers is “Mountain Grown” coffee; while Maxwell House coffee is “Good To The Last Drop.”

Whoa! You say “Mountain Grown” coffee is unique.

Wrong ... caffeine breathe. All coffee is grown in the mountains ... even Folgers ... because that's the only place coffee plants grow.

Folgers used “Mountain Grown” as its USP for their coffee back before most people knew coffee was only grown in the mountains. — Beyond that, once Folgers used that USP, no other coffee company would dare say their coffee was grown in the mountains, too. It would sound too much like they were trying to copy Folgers.

Back when I was in the banking business, the USP I used for our bank was “We Never Forget What Gives Money Its Value ... Somebody Exchanged Work For It!”

When you begin creating a marketing program for your products (or services), before you do anything else, you need to make two lists.

The first list is your Fact List. — In that list, you annotate everything about the properties of your product ... what it’s made of ... where it comes from ... what it does ... what it doesn't do ... how it does what it does (Sometimes, I go so far as to take a product apart and separately list every component in it.)

Once you have your Fact List, you need to make a Benefits List. — I usually make two Benefits Lists. One is labeled “Tangible Benefits” and the other list is “Intangible Benefits.” — The “Tangible” list may include the words ‘light weight,’ while the “Intangible” list may say, ‘you can lift it with one finger.’ — I try to write at least one benefit ... preferably more ... for every item on the Fact List.— Get the idea?

When you have all your Facts and Benefits written down, read those lists over and over until something ‘unique’ hits you between the eyes. It might be a phrase from your Benefits List ... like “Good To The Last Drop” ... or a descriptive from your Fact List ... like “Mountain Grown.”

Remember, it is the “selling point” that has to be ‘unique’ ... not necessarily your product or service. — But, you might not want to carry it too far.

Although I have wracked my feeble brain ... squeezed my little grey cells until they cried ... I can't for the life of me remember who it was who commented on an ad they had read. I can't remember whether it was in one of Johnny Carson's monologues; or some stand-up comic's routine, or if the ad being commented on was even real but, the punch line; supposedly from the ad itself, was ...

"Made From Real Plastic!"

That might be carrying the concept of the USP just a step too far. Then again, it might just be ‘unique’ enough to grab the reader's attention and get them to read the rest of the ad.

---

Related Articles
  ••••••>Get Me On Top Free SEO Tip of the Day: Refrain from Duplication of Content When Performing SEO Techniques
  10 Things That Hurt Your Search Engine Rankings
  How to keep the search engines happy
  Googles Preference For Older Domains
  A Patent Search in 7 Steps

Article Tags: chief proponent, coffee company, coffee plants, folgers, good to the last drop, grown coffee, mail, marketing program, maxwell house coffee, money, mountains, unique selling point, unique selling proposition, usp



Related Forum Posts
Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
Re: This is Marketing Warfare! - Hey GT, I guess this was from a while back, and it'll test your memory a bit but could you possibly elaborate on Unique Selling Proposition? Can you give us some examples of good USPs?
What Do You Want To Be Taught? - Hi, My name is Jeff Foster, I will be moderating this new section. I want to get your opinion on topics you would like to discuss & be taught on. I see a great need for small business owners to learn how to perform basic Search Engine Marketing (SEM) which would include the basics about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). What do you want to be taught on? Jeff
Re: Search Engine Tips and Ideas - Share Yours - Hi there, I answer this post, to start off. I am still learning a lot on all these subjects. Moreover, we have a wonderful tool to find out from previous posts. On the top right corner, use 'Advanced Search' and write 'Search Engine Tips'. It brings up all the previous posts with that information. Check it out. You will be surprised all the inherent information stored.
Amazed! - Hi Takuya, Your info is phantastic. Would it be possible to have some sort of directory to find this info at a later date? Can one find it in the 'Search' section? If I understand it right, it covers only the Subject Titles. Is that correct? I started writing this post before checking the 'Search' and all its possibilities. Kindest Regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

ROSI Return on SUNK Investment

You Have A Website What Now

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.