It’s Word Carnival time again! In this month’s episode we learn all about the dreaded Unique Value Proposition (or USP), why it’s so deceptively hard to figure out, and how you can nail it without having an emotional breakdown.
Jargon is for jerks. Ninnies. Lazy marketers.
Telling me your company’s product or service will create synergistic buy-in with all possible stakeholders?
Please. What does that even mean?
So it’s no wonder your eyes glaze over when folks mention “critical-to-your-business-success” terms like Unique Value Proposition.
Period.
Where you get tripped up is thinking this promise must be contained in a single sentence or tagline.
It can’t.
Those are merely starting points. Places where you begin to tell the stories (plural!) of how you solve a particular problem and why you’re uniquely suited to be the one to do it for a particular type of person.
Do you know what your promise is?
You wouldn’t be the first one to stammer in response to that question.
No, it’s not a promise like outstanding customer service! Yawn. That’s like saying All our salads include fresh lettuce.
Or, All our pencils come with erasers.
We’re not talking about things that should be a given.
Nope. Your potential customers want to hear something altogether different from you.
They want you tell them about your true value to them.
They’re uniquely different, after all. And they have specific needs all their own.
Usually, those special problems are invisible to outsiders.
But to those who live where they live, the problem looks and feels like a huge GAP. A hollow white space. A hole just big enough to be problematic, but small enough to be ignored by the rest of the world. Especially by your competitors (which is why we’d ever pay attention to what our competitors are up to).
An enticing promise is one that bridges that gap. One that connects previously unconnected dots.
You may have figured out how to fill that hole in your customer’s life.
If so, congratulations! That’s 75% of the battle.
The last 25% is figuring out how to explain the value of what you’ve accomplished in such a way that your right people find you magnetically attractive.
You want to SHOW them, not TELL them.
Showing value requires two things:
1. A clear understanding of the emotional (non-tangible) benefits of using your products or services; and
2. Specific proof to back up your claims.
Let’s look at two fun videos that show us how it’s done.
For each of these video/marketing stories, notice the following structure (see my Copy Writing Starter Recipe for more on this):
1. Name the problem in 10 words or less.
2. Why hasn’t the problem been solved? What stands in the way? Is this even a real problem?
3. What’s possible? Show (don’t tell) how the problem can be solved or disproved.
4. Explain your approach to solving it. < — Is your approach unique? Are you doing it the same way as all the other people who do what you do? Give proof with hard numbers.
5. Include a call to action (buy now, sign up here, etc.)
Ready? Let’s take a look at the first video… (if you’re reading this via email, click here to watch.)
1. Name the problem: There’s a social stigma attached to chewing gum.
2. Question the validity of the problem.
3. & 4. What’s Possible + “Proof” that problem isn’t true: Experiment as art installation (conflates science with arts)
- 481 people participated in the experiment
- 73% favored those who chewed gum
- Chewing gum gives people a better impression of you
5. Buy and chew (our) gum.
Intelligent folks will see immediately that the twin not chewing gum isn’t smiling. Not even a little bit.
Would the results be the same if they were smiling? Probably not. Does it matter?
Lesson: This video/marketing story talks about the value of chewing gum. But not just for anyone. For those who were previously concerned that chewing gum would make them somehow look bad. It speaks to both an emotional benefit (feeling loved, admired) AND uses specific numbers to back up the claim.
Its specific promise(s) centers around one thing: likability.
You may have already seen video two…(email readers click here to watch):
1. Name the problem: Nothing’s worse than stinking up the bathroom and having everyone know it was you.
2. Why hasn’t the problem been solved: Aerosols don’t work – and they’re not healthy for you; they barely mask the odor.
3. What’s possible: You can make the world believe your poop doesn’t stink.
4. Proof of Why you? Explain your unique approach: Poo-pouri is PROVEN to trap embarrassing odors at the source and save relationships. We’ve sold over 4 million bottles. Over 1K reviews on Amazon rating it 4.8 out of 5 (better rating than the iPhone 5). Comes with “Unconditional Stink-free Guarantee.”
5. Call to action: Buy our product.
This video/marketing story talks about the value of the absence of something. And not just for anyone. For those who specifically worry about embarrassing themselves in the bathroom. The emotional benefit here is a lack of embarrassment. (Or, positively stated, the presence of self-confidence.) They also use hard numbers to back up their claims.
The Specific promise: You’ll never be embarrassed in the bathroom again.
The story is re-told in here in video three with a specific twist for men…(email readers click here to watch):
In all three cases, the marketers use elements of storytelling (showing us real people in real situations and using a bit of drama and/or humor) to talk about their USPs. They don’t rely on just telling us who they are and what they can do for us. They show us.
How do you apply these storytelling elements to your marketing?
Especially if you feel like you don’t have any hard numbers you can point to?
There are ways!
First you need to clearly understand the hole that’s not being filled by your competitor. This requires research. Talking to your existing clients. Or to many, many folks like them. Being observant. Paying attention to their needs. And then comparing those needs to whats available through others in your industry.
In my case, I noticed a few years ago that most online marketing courses and communities (at least the affordable ones) were too large to give newish business owners the specific guidance and accountability they needed to learn, implement and succeed.
My answer: go small. Create an intimate, high-touch atmosphere online. A place that would allow everyone to know everyone else. To build real relationships with each other.
And a place where folks could get specific help and accountability from me.
Thus, the Digital Dining Room was born.
It’s the opposite of pre-packaged, low-touch learning programs geared specifically for the solopreneur. And it solves the problem of providing real value with a just-right investment for the clients.
But it’s not for just anyone.
It’s specifically for folks who are serious about doing the work of figuring out who they are and what’s unique about them.
Who don’t believe in roadmaps or blueprints to quick 6-figures. And who crave a supportive community of like-minded people.
While I’m certainly not the only marketing coach out there, my unique approach centers around storytelling and putting relationships first. I also tell my stories and use elements of my life and passions (for example: metaphors that involve food and dining).
You won’t get this specific mix anywhere else.
In my sales copy, I point to the emotional benefits of implementing on a plan and the hard numbers of my clients’ success.
I use stories to illustrate all of this — stories in formats we’d call testimonials, case studies, emails and blog posts.
And these are stories you can tell, too. But they need to be your stories.
Your stories are those based on your experiences. That’s what makes them unique.
They are the ONE thing your competition can not copy.
Your stories will also keep you from employing useless industry jargon (and sounding like everyone else).
So, listen to your customers. Really listen to their stories.
And from there, find the hole that needs to be filled. Fill it like only you can. Tap into the special mix of your history, background, strengths, and yes — even quirkiness.
And once you’ve filled a few holes, share the stories of how you did it.
Before you know it, all the seats at your table will be filled.
***
Would you like help getting there? I’ve got three timely options for you:
1. The Marketing Mastermind & Storytelling Soiree (happens next month in Portland — if you can’t attend in-person, join us via simulcast!)
2. The Digital Dining Room (we’ve got just 10 seats available and the annual enrollment cost goes up July 1st.)
3. Testimonials Done With/For You (get exactly the right mix of emotional benefits and hard proof you need to back up your promises — I’m beta-testing this service which means you save 50% right now.)
***
This post is part of the June Word Carnival. Our theme this month is how to talk about the value and worth of the work you do. Read the rest of the fabulousness here.
OH EM Gee!! What a gloriously fun post! 🙂
My biggest takeaway:
“Your stories are those based on your experiences. That’s what makes them unique.They are the ONE thing your competition can not copy.” Truer than true. Although I must say I’ve run into a few people who believe their stories are too boring to tell. I disagree. There’s always something of a personal nature you can make work for storytelling for business. Show your “human” side and there’s bound to be other humans who will relate. (Poo-Pourri certainly did a bang up job of it!)
The chewing gum ad still gets my goat. They scored big in the “cleverness” department and, yes, they backed up their experiment with numbers. I have to admit, however, (avid gum chewer here), their ad doesn’t impress me nor does it convince me to switch to their brand. The “believability” factor is missing for me. I think every one of their claims is false and misleading. Actually, downright ridiculous.
Thanks for another fantastic, value-laden post!
The gum video DOES have several issues, Melanie. So glad you noticed them. I think it’s important to look at every marketing story with a critical eye. Does it hit home? If not, why not? In this case, conflating science with art could backfire for them big time. Also? It’s target audience is based in Argentina — so I’m not sure about how wide-spread the “gum-chewing problem” really is, LOL. Just fun to pick it apart and see what works — if anything; and what they could’ve done differently so as not to lose your trust.
That’s it! You found the word I was grappling for — “Trust”. I simply don’t trust there’s a grain of truth in the gum ad. I think you’re right. “Conflating science with art could backfire for them big time”.
Truth be told, I have a hunch some companies are hoping consumers DON’T have a critical eye. LOL
I agree with Melanie, this was super fun. Beldent – clever bastards! That was great. Although I did kind of think gum-chewing cop was bad cop 🙂 He looked arrogant. I think most of us know that was pure fabrication but it was fun and we all feel like we’re inside on the joke.
Anyway those are great examples of part emotion, part storytelling and part “science” to sell products.
I, too, dislike the big fancy marketing terms like USP (or should I say acronyms) because it distances us from the point of what we’re doing and the people we’re doing it for. I guess everything needs to be official-ized in some way but then we need people like you to bring them back to what it really means and how you can make it work for your business… without having an emotional breakdown. Love it!
I like the way you bust the jargon, Tea and I love this: “your stories are the one thing the competition cannot copy”. Great stuff that shows why storytelling really works.
Identifying the hole in the customer’s life definitely takes a lot of research—and simply paying attention to what your current customers are saying. I love that you point out the importance of hitting an emotional chord with prospective clients as well: if you don’t “get” them on an emotional level, the sell is going to be more difficult.
Most of my clients, for example, have a very specific need (“I need this paper edited,” etc.), but there are emotions going on underneath the service: “If ABC Journal accepts this paper, it would do wonders for my career,” or “I really need my advisers to like this paper; it’s the fifth time I’ve had to rewrite it and I can’t handle the stress anymore.” They come to me with their most important documents because they want piece of mind: someone to make sure it represents them in the best way possible. It took me a while to figure this out, but the more I play to the emotional aspects of “How can I help you?” the more I see a return on my marketing efforts.
Amazing post; it really made me think!
“All our pencils come with erasers.” Once I managed to stop laughing I saw how absolutely brilliant this was on many levels. In fact for me it summed up all the things that many people do wrong, and I include myself in there.
I had never considered how the storytelling is proof against copying by your competitors. Can I use the word brilliant again Tea? I’m going to start using this with people who are worried someone may steal their idea. And it’s a great – free – insurance on your brand.
Score. Two things:
#1: “all our pencils come with erasers” is the business equivalent of the kid’s menu. Seth Godin just did an awesome blog post on encouraging adventurousness as a habit (because ruts/habits are… habitual). But an analog to your blog post hits at the very core of most done-for-you service businesses (website designers, graphic designers, copywriters, editors, etc).
I have these features, I have these benefits. But very rarely does anyone discuss (as Nicole pointed out in her equally brilliant Profit Wingman post) that the bottom-line benefits of working with an editor far outstrip the costs, and how that’s possible, and that an editor not only helps your work live more grammatically correct, an editor gives you a peace of mind to move on to your next work knowing that you can blame the editor for whatever mistakes were still left in the piece (thereby freeing up X number of productive hours you would have otherwise spent fretting over commas and hyphens).
Not a bad trade-off, but one that’s very difficult to articulate in hard numbers – let alone simplify down to a concept that could be articulated in 10 seconds, 140 characters, or the span of a Facebook ad.
#2: Storytelling works best when your subject matter is intensely focused. In the case of PooPourri, their subject matter is so narrow (remove poo stink) that their ability to deliver their message is unhindered by a thorough explanation – your framework works in that case. H+R Block did this with a much more complex topic: taxes. Nobody knows how taxes work. Seriously. But H+R Block turned your taxes into a pile of money which gets dumped off an aircraft carrier. Super focused. Highly visual.
Dollar Shave Club did this same thing. Razors are insanely boring. But they told a great story through a video that’s now wicked viral.
Apple does this in reverse. The computer is not the thing. The thing you do with the computer is the thing. “What’s your verse?” indeed.
Simplification in storytelling is what makes the classics classic, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, etc, etc, etc – they have a single premise which can be retold, shared, elaborated with intimate local details, and repackaged. But there’s only ever one moral (and it varies depending on the unique culture, but it’s always in the same tenor).
Anyway, great all the way around, thanks for these thoughts Tea!
Twitter: LindaUrsin
on April 27, 2015 at 1:33 pm
Congrats on having this article featured in the 30 day Course Creation Challenge on ruzuku 🙂
I had no idea, Linda. Thanks for letting me know. 😉
Twitter: LindaUrsin
on April 27, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Anytime 🙂