Identify Your USP

Your Unique Selling Proposition(USP) is the single, most important asset you possess. It answers the heart-breaking questions that every one of your readers ask...

“Why should I buy from you?”

“What can you offer me that your competitors can’t?”

Let’s use the following snippet (from Peapod) to show you how So What? works...

Convenience, pure and simple

•Shop anytime, night or day.

•Choose your delivery time -- any day of the week.

•No more trips to the grocery store. No more checkout lanes. No more lugging groceries.

OK, take the above and ask yourself, “So What?” “Shopping fits into your schedule, not vice-versa.” Better. But... So what?

“Because you have better things to do with your time.”

BINGO! There’s no “So what?” to that one. It’s the essence of the shopping experience…

So now let’s rephrase “Work when you must and play when you want”… • Tired of losing time for the old “travel-push-checkout-lug-travel-lug” routine? • Whenever you have 10 minutes free, day or night, “click-and-pick” at

Peapod.

• Then just tell us when you want them.

• Because you have better things to do with your time.

It’s all about benefits, not features. Keep asking “So What?” and you can’t miss.

Joe is absolutely right. People continuously confuse benefits with

features. It is so critical for you to completely understand a benefit and, in turn, the benefits of your products.

Let me strengthen that a bit... if you can’t convert product features into customer benefits, you’re doomed to write bad copy. The good news is… Joe’s So What? technique is the single most brilliant way that I’ve ever seen to force you to realize what the benefits are as opposed to what the features are of your product.

I’m going to give away a bit more of Joe’s So What? technique now, so you can keep it in mind (he elaborates upon So What? below).

Don’t just ask yourself “So What?” about a feature once. Take the answer and ask yourself “So What?” about that response. Keep doing this until you crystallize that feature into the most important benefit of your products. Keep asking “So What?” until the question stops making sense.

Think I’m over-stressing the importance of this? Nope. Most companies mistake features for benefits over and over again. Why? Because they design features into the product.

But they don’t experience the benefits... the customers do.

And the customers want the benefits, not the features. You know the old saying... “Customers don’t want quarter-inch drill bits... they want quarter- inch holes.”

So you simply must deliver benefits, not features. Don’t confuse the two, like most sites do.

“Tell me why I should stay here and read your sales message.” And if you don’t come up with a good reason -- a compellingUSP…

... Click!

Because without a USP you are just another face in the crowd. It’s your USP that sets you apart from your competitors.

What do you mean you don’t have a USP? Yes you do! Everybody either has one or they can create one!

And just because your product is the same as lots of others, it doesn’t mean that you have no USP. You simply haven’t been shown where to find it!

Until now!

Here’s how and where to look...

Think about the benefits of your product and choose the single, most important benefit that you can offer your reader.

Is it something your competitors offer? If not, great! If they offer something similar, blend your biggest benefit with some unique aspect that you do offer... Write down a full description of your personal experience and your company’s background. Is there something in there that your competitors can’t match? Perhaps you have a number of years as a personal consultant, advising business owners on the best uses for your product. Can your competitors claim the same amount of professional expertise as you?

They can? Hmmmm...

Combine your biggest benefit with something that your competitors haven’t even thought to offer. For instance, overnight delivery may be a standard feature in your industry. So it may never be mentioned by you, or by your competitors. But does your potential customer know? Or is it...

See Joe’s little mouse up above? You’re going to learn to hate him. He’s a great reminder of what you must avoid at all costs. There’s only one click you ultimately want to get...

The click that submits the order.

So watch for Joe’s little mouse... and avoid that click, the one off your site!

... a big secret?

Then reveal it and feature it as your USP.

Are your potato chips “90% Fat-Free?” Or do they only contain “10% Fat” like the others?

Have 197,450 boxes of your software been sold in 5 months? Or do you simply tell your reader “It’s the fastest selling program of its type on the market” like the competition does?

There are countless ways to present you, your product, or your company in a way that is perceived by your reader to be unique or different.

Your most important benefit does not have to be something that’s actually different, although that is your first choice! If you’re stuck for a point of true difference, your USP can be a benefit that appears to be unique in the eyes of your potential customer!

So you see? You do have a USP. You just haven’t looked hard enough. Relax. I’ll show you how to do that in more depth in a later chapter. Until then...

Start digging for it now because it’s crucial that you find an outstanding USP. Get a head start. Write it down. Then compare and see if it meets my criteria that I discuss later on.

Once you find your USP, thrust it in front of your reader where it’s impossible to miss. If it’s missed…

... Click!

Now we come to a really exciting section of this chapter. You’re about to learn something that very few of your competitors ever even consider, let alone apply. Once you grasp this concept, your sales will soar!

Let’s see how to...

Let me give you a hand, before you reach Joe’s detailed chapter on the USP...

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is your product’s mostpowerful benefit, combined with a strong, unique aspect of your business. It answers that most difficult question…

Why should potential customers buy your product, from your company?

Here’s how to develop your USP…

First,what are you selling? Write down what your product is and does.

Second,what is the benefit to your customer? What pain does it cure, or what gain does it provide?

Third,what is unique about your product? About you? What makes you stand out from the competition? Keep working on this until you can clearly separate yourself from the field. There must be a convincing reason for doing business with you, instead of your competitor.

Fourth,summarize the above into one tight, powerful, motivating phrase that willpersuade your customer to do business with you, to trade their money for the benefits delivered by your product.

As you start to work through the above four steps, you may find this to be a lot harder than it looks. Don’t blow it off and give up!... You must have a USP. If it was easy, everyone would have a great USP! Come up with a tight, sharp USP that SELLS your customer.

There’s a second benefit to this exercise... one for you! It will crystallize your own vision of what you do! Write your USP down. Keep it firmly fixed in your mind.

Match your USP to your “ideal” customer’s strongest motivator, either “pain” or “gain”…

1) Pain -- people feel deprived, almost all in either wealth, health, love, or