You’ve heard it before: “There’s so much competition right now?” “How can we compete when we are perceived as a commodity?” “Why isn’t marketing helping us with our messaging?”
We believe that it everyone’s responsibility within a company is to craft and communicate their company’s “Unique Selling Proposition”.
Call it what you like: “competitive advantage”, “reassurance statement”, “raison d’être”. It still has to answer the following questions:
- What is your company delivering that your competitors are not?
- Why do clients keep buying from you?
- Why should your client-to-be invest their time with your sales staff?
- What are you providing that makes your client’s life easier?
Ask your customers
It’s not a tag line. “Built for tomorrow” is not a competitive advantage. It’s a snappy little ditty that your company spent tens of thousands of dollars on. Far too often, unique selling propositions are developed in the vacuum of the corporate boardroom by the marketing department alone. It’s not what you say, it’s what your customers say that counts. By involving sales and customer service; the people that are in the trenches with your clients who advocate your solutions, in the development of your unique selling propositions with your marketing department will create more realistic and compelling advantage statements.
Keep it current
Unique selling propositions can become short-lived. With the onslaught of competition in this open market economy, what was new can become a commodity like “quality” and “value”. Your clients have minimum expectations when they invest. They expect that everything they buy will “save them time” and “save them money”. Look way outside of yourselves to determine what matters to your customers. Dawn dishwashing detergent is using “Helping wildlife for over 20 years” at the end of an emotionally arousing commercial. Who would have thought to link dishwashing detergent with wildlife? Unilever did.
Collect letters of endorsement
Make it a policy that when your company is chosen as the preferred vendor, and your solutions deliver on exactly your clients’ requirements, that a letter of endorsement be asked to be written by your sales staff and that permission be granted to publish this letter. Collect endorsements from everyone that was involved in the project from the CEO to the manager in charge. These written words will spawn the new script for your sales team.
Numbers paint a clearer picture
Measure what you have accomplished and then brag about it. Create mini case studies with your clients. These are one page factual descriptions of their original situation, the solution that was implemented, and the data supporting quantifiable results. They should be exact and measurable, like percentages or specific numbers. For instance, 6,489 new customers may not be a compelling measurable. However, “a 36% increase in new customers in just one year” may be. State the measured value perceived by your customer’s, not internal quality control.
Testing, one two three, testing
Share them with your marketing team, your sales team and your customer service team. Ask them to test them with their customers and clients-to-be. Your positioning statement must be in alignment with what your customers think. If they don’t respond with the words: “Really? How do you do that?” you do not have a compelling competitive advantage.
Oscar® winning performance
A carefully crafted compelling advantage statement, after being tested in the marketplace, should be used willingly and often by everyone in the company. Develop at least three to match the market that you are addressing and to not sound like a broken record. Take the time to memorize them, and then use them, often – with new clients and as well as existing. Today’s over-stressed buyer needs to be constantly reminded of why they invested with you in the first place. Provide them with the tool that will enable them to retain the conviction to not stray when your competitors comes a knocking on their door.
If your company needs a more clear, concise and inspiring message that new customers will respond positively to, contact us.
Got other ideas? Post them here!
Pauline O’Malley, Founder & CEO, TheRevenueBuilder – Selling Made Simple
www.TheRevenueBuilder.com 1-800-998-4547 Pauline@TheRevenueBuilder.com
Labels: compelling value proposition, Dove, marketing messages, Sales advice, Unilever
"I appreciate Pauline’s acknowledgment and affirmation of my efforts as we work together. She is masterful at positive feedback! I am happy that I now have practical tools that will assist me in my work as a Melaleuca Marketing Executive. I have a renewed confidence in myself as a business woman, and am excited about my future success. I think that Pauline would benefit anyone who is looking to be successful in their sales career." – Marjorie Warkentin, Marketing Executive, Melaleuca Wellness
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