amp,#34,Why,The,USP,Doesn,#39, marketing "Why The USP Doesn't Work Anymore & What

Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t

Word Count: 680Character Width: 60Resource Box: Choice of 2==========================================================="Why The USP Doesn't Work Anymore & What To Do Instead" - by "Dangerous" Debbie Jenkins(c) Debbie Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.http://www.debbiejenkins.com===========================================================The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on theassumption that if you can't be better than the competitionthen being different will usually suffice. It is true that most businesses scrape by in the midst ofmediocrity. The bosses of these firms see an industry orprofession that looks lucrative and join the ranks in a 'metoo, I'd like some of that action', kind of way. If there'senough of a market for what they do then they'll pick up theodd client and eke out an existence without having to thinkor work very hard on their brand. Most of these companies make up the headlines of casualtieswhen the market they're in gets tough and only theoutstanding or well-positioned firms stay safe. So, the USP, in principle, enables the enlightened businessowner to rise above the ranks and be noticed. This isusually achieved by: - High Value Promises - Guarantees - Under Promising and Over Delivering - Finding An Under-serviced Niche I applaud and support this way of thinking and believe thathigh value promises, guarantees and aiming to delightclients are all important. I actually believe that thesethings should be the baseline for any business. So the notion of a USP is fantastic. There's just one tinyflaw... Finding your USP can be like the quest for the proverbialHoly Grail. You could end up spending inordinate amounts ofmoney on research, product/service development and brandingwithout ever really attaining a true USP. The quest to find'unique' when 'relevant', 'outstanding' and 'decisive' arejust as good can be frustrating and wasteful. I've seen people stumble upon some really great propositionsfor their brand that would have worked like a dream, butthen dismiss them because they're not "unique" enough. Some of the problems with USPs: - Nearly every idea you come up with will have already beendone, so struggling to find unique will be frustrating andwasteful.- You'll spend lots of time trying to invent something trulyunique and if you do ever find it you'll never really knowif it's unique anyway.- If you are unique then as soon as you start telling peoplethe reasons why, somebody else will copy it and, alas, it isno longer unique. - Most people realise the above as soon as they startlookingand instead of doing the hard work they'll just slap a USPlabel on something that is 'me too' or mediocre. - USPs feed many money-hungry textbook marketers withresearch, positioning and creative brainstorming projects.Then once somebody copies you it's back to the drawing boardand they can get paid all over again. I want you to get the notion of 'unique' out of your head byreplacing it with 'decisive'. We'll look at how to achievethis shortly. Too many "textbook marketers", in myexperience, really don't understand USPs. It's just anotherbuzzword they throw at you to sound clever and important butunder the surface their USPs are usually little more thanover-dressed features. So What Should You Be Aiming For?Right, back to the programme... I'd like you to ignore'unique' and replace it with 'decisive'. I call this theDecisive Power Point (DPP). A "Decisive Power Point" is more effective than a "UniqueSelling Point" for a number of reasons: - Unique doesn't necessarily mean favourable to the personchoosing - Decisive does! - If all else is equal your DPP will tip the scales in yourfavour - it will be the deciding factor.- DPPs work from your client's viewpoint - they are triggersthat help your client decide, not just things that you thinkare unique.- A decisive difference is much easier to find and maintainthan a unique one.So, don't settle for unique! Be decisive!NOTE: An example of the DPP chart can be found here...http://www.debbiejenkins.com/academy-pics/DAY17-dpp-example.gif Your goal is to have a benefit that is higher and further tothe right than three of your best competitors.REPRINT GUIDELINES=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=You are free to publish the following article in it'sentirety in your eZine or on your website. Our onlycondition is that you MUST keep the information about theauthor,(c) notice and resource box at the end intact.Please let us know when you use an article bysending us an email... mailto:[email protected]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Article Tags: Work Anymore