If you are having trouble getting people to say yes, you don’t need to change what you are proposing; you need to change how you present what you have to offer.

Robert Cialdini Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Arizona State University, summarizes the concept behind his “Principles of Persuasion.”

Principles that can change the way you think about marketing.

Influence is an art – the following six principles are the canvass to enhance your business, sales and marketing skills!

1. Principle of reciprocation. I’m obligated to give back to you what you first give to me.

This rule requires that one person try to repay what another person has provided. By obligating the recipient to an act of repayment in the future–the rule for reciprocation allows one individual to give something to another with the confidence that it is not being lost. This sense of future obligation according to the rule makes possible the development of various kinds of continuing relationships, transactions, and exchanges that are beneficial to society. Extended to marketing and sales, this is a very powerful principle that companies use all the time!

• Free product samples…
• Free test drives…
• Free workouts…

…are all implemented to get the customer to try the product or service, but also so that we become indebted at a psychological level. Another key example is business relationships…if someone refers a customer to us or utilizes our services, then we will remember that particular person when we need their product or service or we will refer someone over to them that does.

2. Principle of scarcity. People want more of what they can get less of.

You have to convince prospects that your offer is unique and rare, and that they will lose something if they don’t take advantage of your offer. How does this tie-in to your marketing? Consider your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and how you can convince your prospects that they will be losing out if they choose not to purchase. This can include money, health, youth, looks, success etc. Or, next time you write a promotion, try placing a limit on your offer, “limited to the first 1,000 customers,” and watch your response skyrocket.

3. Principle of authority. People want to follow legitimate experts.

It is important to position yourself as an authority with the media, your clients and your target market. Getting media publicity on TV or in your newspaper, giving presentations or workshops and even distributing a monthly email newsletter with an article like this one are a few ways to show your expertise. Don’t be embarrassed because you think you sound boastful! As strange as it sounds, you could also mention a weakness in your position, which will establish you as both powerful and honest. Immediately after admitting a weakness is when you need to deliver your strongest argument.

4. Principle of commitment and consistency. People have a tendency to live up to what they write down.

Simply stated – obtain anything in writing that might result in additional sales. For example, if you convince someone that overexposure to the sun is bad, then it’s easier for them to agree they need your products, whether it’s sunscreen, sunless tanner or a baseball cap. After making a commitment, taking a stand or position, people are more willing to agree to requests that are consistent with their prior commitment. This principle also applies to terms and payment for products or services rendered; though this doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t get ripped-off, it does decrease the likelihood as it is physical proof you can take to court! To apply this principle to your marketing, add a money-back guarantee and/or warranty to show you stand behind your product/service.

5. Principle of consensus or social proof. People tend to follow others.

In the end, most people are followers. You might decide what you should do by looking at what others do in that situation. For example, you could decide to use a product or service that is strongly recommended by another business associate. This comes down to “Word of Mouth” and testimonials—provide those that are most similar to your prospects, and use clients who refer others to you as communicators for your services. Be sure to include testimonials on your company website, brochures, newsletters and any other marketing communication.

6. Principle of liking. People who like you will buy from you.

This last principle applied to business means that your prospects will buy from you if they admire and feel a bond with you. People want to do business with someone that they know likes them in return and that shows a genuine interest in helping them and their company. In one word, Relationships! Colleagues and associates will purchase products and services from those who go that extra mile to help their businesses. Those that are great at networking are often able to refer individuals to other business owners or influential individuals who can help grow their business. And like any great counselor, this involves listening more than talking!

Reciprocation, scarcity, authority, commitment, consensus and liking…all six are suggestions that will enhance your sales and marketing skills, build confidence and increase your chances for marketing success!

Located in Phoenix, AZ, Thrive Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising firm specializing in website design, full-service search engine optimization and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online advertising services. Thrive offers the expertise to assist with your marketing campaign so that you will see better results and a return on your investment. Every thing we do is done with the end result in mind: more clients for your business.

Getting your marketing to keep its best foot forward

There’s no question about it—the economy is tough.  However, as we discussed in last month’s article, a business can still thrive in downtimes.  In fact, ThriveMarketing can help you double your sales with some creative marketing automation and some inside knowledge that can make your website a more effective selling tool.  You can be more efficient at what you do.  Here we are, one month later and, you maybe missed a month of improved sales.

Since most Americans like us are not in line for a billion-dollar government handout, we must push ahead and keep ourselves in the winners’ circle when it comes to making money in a downturned economy.  Now, more than ever, it is important not to miss an opportunity due to lack of follow-up on a sales contact.

Automating your follow-up

Are you being as efficient with your prospect follow-up as you should be?  Much of the time, the more you try and make your business grow, the less time you have to enjoy life which is why you wanted to be your own boss, right?  We can help.  Many of the repetitive tasks that eat up your time can be automated.

Not only does that provide you with more time for growth and leisure pleasure, it also provides you with more income per hours spent.

One customer in recent months who used the automated marketing systems reported that they MORE than doubled their sales units within three months and unit value was up of over 16% due to up-selling in the website shopping cart.

Tweaking your website to work harder for you

After setting some of the most time-consuming tasks on automated marketing systems, a review of their site revealed it was not working as hard as it should be.  That’s true with all of us who are going as fast as we can—something has to be a lower priority.  Often it is the website.  Here are a few things that we would expect the website to be doing, automatically, that were not happening in this case.

• Capture leads from the website
• Segment the leads
• Promote products with follow-up marketing sequences
• Us a referral system to sell more products
• Upsell products on the website.

Is your website doing these things for you?  If you are not sure whether your website could work harder for you, give ThriveMarketing a chance to go through it with you to be sure.

If you had any doubts about the reality of really being able to prosper in a downturned economy, this is proof that not only is it possible to work smarter and improve your return, but if you plan it right and use the right tools, it is almost assured.

With more selling time, improve your presentation

Here’s a thought for improving your presentation to your leads when you make an initial contact.  Have you ever thought about writing a short commercial for yourself?  Actually, this is a practice with résumé development.  Not only is it an excellent and succinct way to present yourself, it forces you to organize your thoughts around what you do, what you represent, and who you are to your client.

First, develop a short statement about your strengths and attributes.  Second, you should be able to memorize it and be able to say it (without sounding memorized) in about thirty seconds. The real beauty of it is that you will be able to use it both as an introduction and response to the question of “Tell me a little bit about yourself.”

Add your half-minute commercial to your brochures and introductory selling material.  However, developing a concise and articulate statement is a great way to begin gathering your thoughts around who you are and why you are qualified.

Trust that this is no easy task and that it will take some thought, some note taking and several rounds of editing before you get it the way you want it.  Have another person read it and provide feedback on whether it suits you or not.  If you think this is an easy exercise, watch how tongue-tied you get when you start talking about yourself, but it is well worth the effort.

Yes, the economy is the pits again this year.  Things are not going to look much better for a long time so give us a call and let us help you accomplish your goals.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Quoting the Lords of Kobol (Battlestar Gallactica) “Everything that happens, has happened before and will happen again.”  So, don’t be surprised when it does.  Just be better prepared.

• Are you your own best salesman?
• Do you often find that all the other little matters of business operations get in the way of both sales and sales follow-up?

While you are trying to grow your business, you depend on a sales staff to broaden your base of clients. However, your best sales person – you – can’t really take on any more. Perhaps your focus is on sales calls when it should be on marketing programs. The increased revenue you seek might well come to you through other marketing channels.

Good marketing is more than just good sales

The fuel that keeps the company engine running is sales. The typical owner of a sales-based company would agree that the sales department is where the real fun is. Sales is also the core activity in marketing, but sales is not the only activity.

Where even the best salesmanship falls short

The problem with sales is the time and effort it takes to follow-up. In order to grow the business, which takes increases in sales, you need more productivity from the sales people. With new sales contacts being the priority, there seems never to be enough time for other follow-up. That fact that business has grown by even one sale means that the company and its staff is stretched – even a little – with each new sale completed. Business owners wear so many hats. While they wear them, they must search out new clients. Further, while doing that, they put out the fires caused by friction in other projects. There has to be more to the sales activity than just person-to-person sales.

More sales people isn’t always necessary for more selling

Sales activity is people intensive. In order to increase sales (assuming your selling staff is already efficient and hard-working) a company would have to hire more sales people to make those additional person-to-person contacts.

The traditional sales process begins with generating leads.

Following that, sales people need to educate the prospective client about the products or services. Third comes the closing. Odds are that in any given 1000 leads, 100 prospects will arise that your sales staff can take to the next step: educate. From those 100, maybe ten new customers will develop.

What of the other 90-out-of-100 prospects?

If they were interested at first contact and became a prospect, they were likely still interested after the first contact. What happens to them? Often, it is about timing, but after the first contact, and before the follow-up, it is anybody’s game. A good share of them just waits to buy, as they are not in that big of a hurry. Maybe they come back to you but more likely they end up buying from someone else. The point is, if you don’t follow-up your contacts in those nine times out of ten, someone else will make the sale.

In addition to those ninety, sometimes prospects just come to you through word of mouth reference or a through a cold call. The time to educate the new prospect is devoted by a sales person but the follow-up is often not followed-up. Someone once said that you could make a million dollars in follow-up. The way to overcome the shortfall is through marketing automation.

Automated marketing tools to follow-up, educate, and cultivate

One of the great tools of marketing in the twenty-first century is the use of automation for sales follow-up. Automation can relieve your sales people of the follow-up, which, unfortunately, often doesn’t get done anyway. Through automation, you can carry-out the necessary follow-up on the remaining ninety prospects, cultivating them through other marketing and communication channels, and converting a few more each time you use it to live, paying customers.

New users of new tools need skilled help

This web-based software helps you double your sales by automating your marketing, sales, and customer relationships.

Using Automated Follow-up Technology, we can help you fix follow-up failure and:

• Convert more leads
• Get repeat sales
• Grow your business

Ready to see it in action?

Sign up for a live demo to experience first hand the power of Automated Follow-up Marketing.

About ThriveMarketing

We measure our success by your success. Through creative marketing strategies, we help our clients generate more leads, build more profits, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brands. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be effective. Not to mention right for you. We work with all types of marketing budgets and have become experts at working with what you have – with one goal in mind: to produce results. For more information, please visit www.ThriveMarketing.net or call 1.866.521.0827.

ThriveMarketing is a proud recipient of multiple American Marketing Association Spectrum Awards and is ranked in the Top 25 Web Design Firms by The Phoenix Business Journal.

Luxury Marketing. Does anyone really need an iPhone G3? For that matter, is there anyone who could not actually live without a cellular mobile telephone? Probably not, but in the recent introduction of the iPhone G3 in the United States, Australia and several other countries, millions have scrambled to be the first to get one and among them are people who really cannot (or should not) afford it. The iPhone G3 is probably one of the best, recent examples of an effective luxury marketing campaign.

Luxury marketing is not exactly a cakewalk

Luxury marketing is to marketing what cake is to bread—it is similar, has similar ingredients, but the expectation is nothing alike. Marketing luxury products is one marketing segment that is the more unfamiliar and more confusing to the marketer than other consumer products. Marketing luxury products is a specialized area that most marketing professionals avoid because of that lack of familiarity. Yet, luxury marketing is the most recession-proof. If a business wants to protect itself in tough economic times, it would be a good idea to keep luxury products in the product line. The reason luxury products are resistant to bad economic times is that buyers do not base decisions to purchase on need, durability or utility; they base their decisions on style, quality, glamour, and because they wish to stand out in a crowd. These buyers want the product; they do not need it.

“What’s all the hubbub, Bubba?”

The new model of iPhone was introduced a few months ago and the line-ups to purchase one were reminiscent of the line-ups for the last Star Wars movie. What causes such a remarkable hoopla over such a pedestrian product as a telephone device? Many of those lined up to purchase the iPhone would sleep in a car to save money, yet spend hundreds on the phone and up to $2,000 a year at ATT Wireless just to use its features. It isn’t the product that is needed; it is the status the product provides that is needed. The iPhone fulfills a need for status and exclusivity. The newest generation of consumers sometimes referred to as Gen-Y is picking up where Generation-X left off: a blurring of the difference between wants and needs. The basic characteristic of the generation is an “it’s all-about-me-and-what-I-can-do” attitude.

What is the main focus for branding luxury products?

Luxury marketing is largely about personal selfishness and indulgence. The primary audience is Gen-Y (the twenty-somethings), its predecessor, Generation-X (thirty- and forty-somethings) and the affluent buyers. Further, luxury marketing is not subject to the ups and downs of the economy because price is not the object. Actually, the price of the product is not a measure of quality or reliability as we all learned in past generations. Price is more of an indication of its scarcity or uniqueness. Think back three or four years ago to the introduction of another cellular telephone, Motorola’s RAZR. Although the RAZR commanded a high price, it was subject to failures and flaws that kept Motorola busy with its customers for many, many months. Quality and durability simply were not there but the uniqueness and cuteness of the product still commanded large sales, even throughout the troubled introductory phase.

What we once thought of as “rich people” has been replaced

Even the new definition of the luxury marketing audience is not the same as it was thirty or forty years ago. Our old definition of “rich people” focused on the “old money” population of inherited wealth, the elderly and white, male-dominated population. These were the children and grandchildren of the nineteenth and early twentieth century captains of industry. This audience bought Paris fashions, fine furs, and real gems in their handcrafted jewelry of unassailable workmanship.

The new products and the new “rich people”

The “new rich” is a completely different audience made up of athletes, film stars, rock singers, and trust fund kids. Even the children of the instant millionaires from the dot-com bomb era are part of it. In addition to all these people who have access to money (although many didn’t really earn it) there are what is known as aspirational buyers, or those who deserve to have the great, quality, latest-rage, cutting-edge items but really cannot afford them.

The Gen-Y buyer is at the heart of this audience and the iPhone is a perfect example of the promotion that rings bells with this growing and spending audience.

The appeal of the new generation of luxury products is different from the appeal of other consumer products. It is not about need, durability, utility or value. It is about exclusivity, scarcity, craftsmanship and innovation. Branding luxury products takes years of consistent promotion, focused solely on the attributes of luxury and pointed at the emotions of the new affluent buyers. The benefit, of course, is that successfully marketed products are virtually bulletproof when it comes to bad economic times.

Case Study

Thrive Marketing helped Vala Dancewear create a brand identity for their new dancewear manufacturing company, which wholesales to dance retail stores across the US. The inspiration for the brand identity and accompanying marketing collateral is 1940’s Hollywood glamour. This is not only a big trend in the fashion world today, but also conveys the classic elegance that appeals to their high-end audience. Read Case Study

Request a Proposal

Request samples of our work and/or interview us to help with your marketing efforts by requesting a proposal online or by calling 1.866.521.0827. We look forward to the possibility of working with you!

About ThriveMarketing

We measure our success by your success. Through creative marketing strategies, we help our clients generate more leads, build more profits, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brands. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be effective. Not to mention right for you. We work with all types of marketing budgets and have become experts at working with what you have – with one goal in mind: to produce results. For more information, please visit www.ThriveMarketing.net or call 1.866.521.0827.

ThriveMarketing is a proud recipient of multiple American Marketing Association Spectrum Awards and is ranked in the Top Web Design Firms by The Phoenix Business Journal.

Quoting Anthony Hopkins in the movie, The Edge:

“Never feel sorry for a man with his own plane.”

Marketing to the affluent is different in its aspect from marketing to the middle-class consumer. We really don’t have to feel very sorry for the product choices that are open to those with healthy disposable incomes. Those with accumulated wealth and cash reserves have the ability to make decisions based on a wider range of choices. Because of that, luxury marketing helps businesses recession-proof their own business while bringing the enjoyment of servicing high-quality products and services and a higher return on your dollars and efforts.

How tight is today’s money?

Regardless of the chatter about down-turning economy and the official administration position on that the price of gasoline is not going to adversely affect the economy, those of us who work for a living have a clear view of the recession that has been underway for the better part of last year and this. Even the price of gasoline is approaching the price level of a luxury item.

However, those with wealth make purchasing decisions in a different way that the rest of us. When marketing to the more affluent audience, one of the challenges is to be able to think in those terms. The wealthy consumer exhibits a loyalty to products that is different than those who select products out of need or budget limitations. The affluent do not simply choose a product to fill a need at a reasonable price. For example, usually, what each of us buys is to fill a specific need: tools for the garden, basic cars for basic transportation, or office, school and business supplies. Luxury items are bought for reasons surrounding the experience of owning them, and the decision process does not make a lot of sense to the average consumer.

People choose between luxury products with a different measure than other products

It seems funny for most of us to imagine basing a purchasing choice between a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW because one has a better stereo system than the other, or because one has wider arm rests than the other. Again, that is because the decision is based on the enjoyment of the experience rather than filling a specific need to solve a problem (in this case, providing basic transportation). The choice between these two products isn’t about practicality or efficiency; it is about sensory pleasures, quality and status. These consumers, like most consumers, are discriminating about their product choices but the game of product discrimination for luxury products is played by very different rules.

Marketing luxury products has an enjoyment not unlike owning luxury products

Marketing luxury services and products is enjoyable, too. Because decisions are based on superior experiences rather than need fulfillment at an economical price, the style of selling such services and products is different.

To get into the proper mind for creating marketing for luxury products, exercise your expensive tastes and aspirations for top quality. For example, think about automobile marketing. For most of us, we look for comfort, roominess, fuel economy and good luggage space. For the wealthy, the choice has more to do with style, elegance or sportiness, leather, wood, and steel. The choices are not so much practicality as it is touch and feel. For vacations, most of us check rates, get a good deal on transportation and have plenty to do at little cost, like nice lakes or beaches. For the wealthy, the choices have more to do with new adventures, isolation, superior service and uniqueness—something to talk about when they get home.

The basis of choices differ and so do the basis of marketing strategies

Likewise, the strategies differ.

Do you think that BMW runs magazine advertising in consumer magazines with the idea that one of their readers would be prompted to go out and buy a BMW? That isn’t really the strategy.

The intent of the advertising is really to substantiate to those who buy BMWs that they have made an intelligent and quality-oriented decision. This is a strategic aspect of luxury marketing that may not occur to those who are used to broad-based consumer marketing. Consumer products companies would not spend the kind of money needed to run a decision-substantiating advertising campaign.

Not only does the wealthy consumer get to enjoy luxury products and services available for his or her choice, but also marketers of luxury need to have the same appreciation. If a marketer does not have the sense of what touch points trigger the purchasing decisions of the affluent, then the target may be missed.

Thrive Marketing can help your business become better at reaching the luxury products and services market. Not only do we have good taste, but we also have the experience you made need to adjust your selling strategies provide luxurious appeal to your quality and experience conscious customers. Your products and services will never have to apologize to “a man with his own plane.”

Happy Clients

“Christie and Thrive Marketing did an outstanding job with the branding of my PR firm. Every time I give out a business card I receive a compliment on the originality, color and overall design. I am very happy with my Web site as well, and look forward to working with Thrive continuously over the years. It’s also nice to work with someone who is a detailed and reliable account manager. She always kept me informed on where Thrive was during our branding process, and stayed on top of me when I was falling behind on my deliverables! I highly recommend working with Thrive Marketing for all branding needs.”

-Aly Saxe, Phoenix PR Firm

More Testimonials Read Case Studies

Request a Proposal

Request samples of our work and/or interview us to help with your marketing efforts by requesting a proposal online or by calling 1.866.521.0827. We look forward to the possibility of working with you!

About ThriveMarketing

We measure our success by your success. Through creative marketing strategies, we help our clients generate more leads, build more profits, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brands. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be effective. Not to mention right for you. We work with all types of marketing budgets and have become experts at working with what you have – with one goal in mind: to produce results. For more information, please visit www.ThriveMarketing.net or call 1.866.521.0827.

ThriveMarketing is a proud recipient of multiple American Marketing Association Spectrum Awards and is ranked in the Top Web Design Firms by The Phoenix Business Journal.

Although we often forget the difference – even marketers, who of all people should know better – often succumb to the idea that the cheapest offer is the way to go; it is not. Doing something cheaply at the expense of quality did not enter American marketing from American business ideals; it came to us in the post-World War II boom of business abroad as third-world companies flocked to fill the American markets with cheaper alternatives to its own products. But, foreign marketers didn’t bring on this obsession with cheap products; we did that to ourselves.

When is it okay to take a pricing strategy of cheaper?

It is NEVER okay, unless you are Wal-Mart or one of the very few business who can be assured of always being at the bottom.

So what does it mean to maintain a marketing position to be cheaper? Cheaper is where you have to go when you are not a very good marketer. Cheaper is not a good marketing/pricing strategy as it only has appeal in the very short term. Even free cannot last very long as an appeal to customers against seeking a position to enhance one’s market share.

If you find yourself competing on price alone, you will never win. Someone will always find a way to do it cheaper. That leaves out customer loyalty, too, because when you build a customer base based on price alone, then your customers will only remain your customers as long as you maintain the cheapest price.

Sometimes, being cheaper is actually funny.

Jeff Foxworthy, in one of his routines, explains his reaction when he saw a billboard touting the “Cheapest Lasik Surgery in Town!” Funny, but also creepy. The idea of taking your eyes under the knife by the one who will do it the cheapest is not one that would have much appeal to most of us. Yet, it is out there. A quick search on an internet search engine would confirm that such advertising is prevalent and intermixed with those promoting quality, safety and accuracy.

We often go shopping for the hottest new item but want to get it for the cheapest possible price. Entire industries are based on providing the cheapest product possible. But we all know how it feels when we have to return the new can opener, or combo VCR/DVD player because it just didn’t hold up or didn’t work in the first place. We know that buying the cheapest product is often not the best idea but we all seem to forget that while we are shopping and making the purchase commitment.

Why do some industries seem to live on being the cheapest?

Some insurance companies often use cheapest as an exclusive marketing feature. Many of us comparison shop the insurance company sites on the internet to see if we can get a better deal on insurance. There is always a market for cheapest insurance. There are two types of insurance purchasers: those who are shopping for the cheapest rate because they have to have insurance and don’t like spending any more than they have to. And there are those who ask friends and acquaintances for the ones with the best service because disaster has already struck and they found out the cheapest insurance was the next best thing to having no insurance at all. Shopping for the cheapest insurance seems like a good idea until you discover that when you need the insurance, the benefits were not provided.

Quality is the opposite of cheap.

The job of marketing, for any product or service, is to persuade the consumer that the quality derived from a product will meet or surpass the intended goals at a justified price.

In health care manufacturing, for example, being the cheapest is not the goal; being the most effective and consistent is – quality. Even at several dollars a day, a medical solution using a pharmaceutical product is more often preferable to a surgical procedure, especially if the risk of life is great for the surgery. A medical device which can run a process at several times the next best product’s best rate is worth far more than just the difference in manufacturing costs plus a normal profit margin. In such cases, there is a price elasticity that can allow a manufacturer to recover its developmental costs, increase profitability, and make it possible to get ahead on the developmental costs of future products. If such a product can reduce operating costs and operator time, it is worth far more to the customer than the incremental difference in manufacturing costs.

In a business-to-business enterprise, how do you sell quality?

Website managers strive to keep websites fresh and click-through rates high for their customers. At some point, click-through inquiries can be factored against sales.

• Let’s say you have a website that earns about one sale per 100 inquiries. Now, let’s say you hire a firm who re-dresses your website and the result is you now get two sales per 100 inquiries. Good decision? Maybe.
• What if you turned down an offer to re-dress your website from a firm who guaranteed to quadruple your traffic and their cost was just twice the amount of the one you hired. Is it a good decision now?

Such things happen and the missing element in the negotiation was simply a lack of sensitivity to the quality of services rendered for the price quoted.

You want to have your customer value you and your company as much as you value them and theirs. Many small firms are made up of former senior executives – people of experience – who have chosen to form new organizations to stay close to customers and close to quality. These companies have made conscious audience and pricing decisions that allow them to remain small yet profitable, servicing a clientele that has a healthy respect for what quality that company can add to profitability. That, of course, is true for both client and servicing company. The prime goal of such a service company would be to be selective about their clientele. The clientele should be made up of companies who appreciate the importance of quality and are convinced that the difference in the quality makes all other efforts more efficient.

The quality of your company needs to be in everything you do from the presentation of your office, to your customer service, and ultimately in the quality of your product, service, or consultancy.

The true heart of American culture

Cheaper is not better. Better quality is better. Although the American way seems to be the desire for something cheaper, the heart of the American culture desires a better product and better productivity. That is the true competitive spirit. We all enjoy the fruits of our collective labor when we can be proud of the efficiency and quality of our products and services.

Why should your prospects purchase from you instead of your competitors? You may think you know the answer to this, but is your answer a “one-of-a-kind” solution that will convince your target market to sway your way?

Developed in the mid fifties by Rosser Reeves, the top account man at Ted Bates, NYC, a unique selling proposition or USP, is that distinct and appealing idea that sets you and your business favorably apart from every other generic competitor.

The possibilities for building a USP are limited only to your imagination. It’s best, however, to adopt a USP that dynamically addresses an obvious void in the marketplace that you can honestly fill.

Be careful that you don’t develop a USP that you can’t fulfill a promise for (such as unrealistic delivery times or guarantees).

The following are some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:

Domino’s Pizza: “Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less — or it’s free.”

FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”

M&M’s: “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand”

Wonder Bread: “It helps build strong bones 12 ways”

Though features including price and quality are important, these are not considered unique selling propositions as most businesses focus on these items. Consider how you can make your company special in the eyes of your potential customers…what is it that your competitors are doing well or not doing at all?

You can always survey your customers and prospects to find out what they would like to see your type of business doing that your competition isn’t. Brainstorming with your staff is also a great way to arrive at useful ideas for USP’s – silly or serious, they can be the basis of a real winner!

Can’t come up with a totally unique concept? Even if only three to six competitors offer that same USP, you are still in the top tier of your competition!

Your unique selling proposition needs to be in front of the customer at every possible opportunity for optimum brand positioning.

They need to know why you have chosen the USP and how it benefits them. For example, the USP should be included in: your website home page, brochures, print ads, press releases, direct mail letters, letterheads, invoices, fax-header sheets, catalogues, sales materials and pitches, on the walls in customer areas, and in as many other places as possible.

Thrive Marketing is committed to making every ingredient of your marketing campaign not only “attractive,” but sales- and results-driven so your business can thrive. Thrive Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising firm specializing in Website design, full-service search engine optimization and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online advertising services. We also offer traditional marketing, including brand identity, copywriting, print design, and print management services.