Tweet

Unique Selling Proposition Little Things Can Make A Difference

Written by: Jim Meisenheimer

Article Overview: Your unique selling proposition defines you from the competition. In sales little things mean everything.

Unique Selling Proposition Little Things Can Make A Difference

According to Wikipedia the "Unique Selling Proposition (also Unique Selling Point) is a marketing concept that was first proposed as a theory to explain a pattern among successful advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. It states that such campaigns made unique propositions to the customer and that this convinced them to switch brands."

I'd like to take some poetic license with this definition. When you're selling I believe it's the little things you do for your sales prospects and customers that make the big difference. These little things turn heads, add value, show interest and when it's all said and done just makes people feel better about you and your company.

Last week Bernadette, my wife, and I went to New York City for the National Speakers Association Black Tie Awards Banquet. We also had dinner at a great steakhouse - Bobby Vans on 54th St. And we went to Broadway to see August Osage County. The show recently won five Tony's and after seeing the show I understand why.

During the visit however, we were touched by little things.At the Courtyard Marriott Hotel on 3rd Ave we had a late breakfast on Sunday morning. As I was signing the check the server presented us with two bottles of water and said, "You might need these today because it's going to be hot."

I've been to a lot of restaurants and this is the first time I walked out with a bottle of water to help me get through the day. A little thing and a nice touch.

The next morning at the same restaurant and with the same server, there was a little mix-up between what we ordered and what was served. Not a big deal! When the server gave us the check she told us, "Because I screwed up, one breakfast is free." A little thing and a nice touch.

One afternoon, following another late morning breakfast, we decided we were in the mood for a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It took us awhile to find a restaurant, but T.G.I. Fridays had exactly what we were looking for. The soup was good and I asked for the check.

I saw something on this check that I've never seen before, maybe you have, but I haven't. On the bottom of the check were the words "Suggested gratuity." Then there were three lines:

GOOD 15% $1.83
GREAT 18% $2.19
EXCELLENT 20% $2.44

Remember these amounts are for two bowls of chicken noodle soup. Makes tipping easy and a no-brainer. A little thing and another nice touch.

If you don't already know this I grew up in New York. Back then the taxi cabs were dirty. Now they have to be washed everyday. When they first installed partitions separating the front seat from the backseat for safety reasons - during the summer, the air-conditioning never got to the passenger's side of the partition.

That's all changed. Bernadette and I are in the backseat of a taxi cab. Yes the partition is still there and so are the new controls for air conditioning to the backseat. VeriFone also had a built-in credit card machine.

VeriFone also had a small TV monitor so we could watch TV from our air conditioned backseat. Little things and a very nice touch.

During the last 20 years I've traveled around the world delivering my keynote speeches and sales training programs. As a result I have stayed in hundreds of hotels. Usually big associations stay at big hotels for all of the obvious reasons. These bigger hotels have banks of elevators.In the past, if you're at the Lobby level you waited, along with the rest of the crowd, for a green light and an opening door, and then you had to muscle your way into the elevator.

The National Speakers Association was held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel located in Times Square. Over the years I've stayed there at least 10 times.

We entered the lobby and headed toward the bank of elevators. Ah, but this is a new experience for us. As you approach the bank of elevators we came upon, what looked like a very large calculator with a LCD screen. All you had to do was punch in the floor number you wanted and look at the screen for the number of the elevator that would take you to your floor.

Now that's brilliant and makes it extremely easy for all guests to find their next elevator. This is an example of another little thing that's more than a nice touch.

I guess the secret to selling success is continuous improvement. This continuous improvement should become your unique sellingproposition.

Everyday ask this question, "How can I do it better?" If every body in every company asked this question every day and followed-up with changes that made things better - guess what would happen? Your sales prospects and customers would line up to do business with you and your company.

Any company that has a Unique Selling Proposition that's focused on doing a lot of little things better than the competition would have to be, eventually, the market leader.

Related Articles
  How To Do Effective Local Marketing & Advertising
  How to Have a Unique Selling Proposition for you Online Affiliate Marketing Business
  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR SINGLE MOST COMPELLING ARGUMENT SHOULD BE TO YOUR PROSPECTS?
  Developing a Value Proposition
  Match Your Message To Your Market - A Unique Selling Proposition

Article Tags: 1940s, august osage county, awards banquet, black tie, chicken noodle soup, courtyard marriott hotel, marketing concept, marriott, morning breakfast, national speakers association, next morning, poetic license, sales prospects, successful advertising campaigns, t g i fridays, tie awards, unique selling point, unique selling proposition, vans, wikipedia



Related Forum Posts
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?
Re: Readers, Money or SEO? Which comes first? - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":35az7o03]Hi Chris, Do you have any great PR strategies to share? [/quote:35az7o03] Be different. Its hard to promote anything that doesn't have strong Unique Selling Points. Read 'Purple Cow' by Seth Godin for inspiration and why good PR and promotion starts with a great product. As a publisher, our content is a significant part of our product lineup. Following that you need to reach out and network with influencers. I've managed to get mainstream press coverage a few times in the past, but I'm certainly not an expert on this though and I'm always learning.
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
List of a few legitimate online business - Well My main methods to make money so far are adsense,affiliate marketing and freelancing and I think these are some more sites that can help me to make some more money.Your reviews are welcome: ::linkworth dot com>This site is awesome and offer lots of ways to make money. ::mturk dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::microworkers dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::shorttask dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::istockphoto dot com>sell stock photos ::eHow dot com>Make money writing ::Bukisa>Make money writing ::Associate Content>Make money writing ::Triond>Make money writing ::fiverr dot com>$5 freelancing job ::cpalead dot com>make money by completing offer ::peerfly>make money by completing offer
Re: Kevin's Case Study #10 - When to become an entrepreneur? - When the bug bite you. A lot of successful entrepreneurs started in their teens or at school. Selling sweets to fellow students or lemonade to firends in the neighbourhood.


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

Basic Operating Question (BOQ) for Empowerment

Join Conversations Politely, Part 1

What Makes an Extraordinary Business Consultant?

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.