Creating a Powerful USP

Let me give you an example of an ad I heard on the radio just a few days ago. The radio ad was for a jewelry store in my town. Now, as you know there are a lot of jewelry stores out there that are competing in a tough market. Most people have cut back on their discretionary spending.

Separating your self from the competition

This jeweler had a strong USP. In it he separated himself clearly by stating that he was not just a jewelry store owner or manager, but rather a master craftsman that’s been in the business for years. He talked about how he pays attention to each one of his customers needs whether it’s placing a new diamond in an old engagement ring or just simply replacing the battery in a watch.

His USP was simple- He’s not a jewelry salesman trying to sell you something you don’t want or need. He positioned himself as a traditional craftsman who pays particular attention to your needs no matter how small they may be.

Now other jewelers may do this, but you don’t here them communicating it with their prospects.

Be the first to tell your story

A classic example of developing a incredibly powerful USP took place back in the 1920’s with a brand of beer most people are familiar with today-Schlitz Beer. There were about ten other breweries that were competing at that time and Schlitz was near the bottom until they developed a very unique USP.

Almost all the breweries at that time used the same basic message in their advertising- “Our Beer is Pure.’ Schlitz beer however took that message one step further. They hired a marketing consultant who visited their plant to watch the process of making beer. After watching the process, he was amazed the incredible effort and detail that was put into getting the right favor of beer. At the end of walking this consultant through the entire process, the management at Schlitz explained that each batch was tasted to make sure it was pure before it was ever bottled and sent out the door.

The consultant explained to management that they needed to describe this amazing process of brewing beer in their advertising. “Why would we do that that? All brewers use the same process we do.”

The marketing consultant knew this, but understood this but at the same time knew no other brewer was describing their process of how they make the “purest beer”.

Schlitz became the first beer maker to tell the story of how their beer was made and in doing so moved from the number eight beer to the number one in a just 6 months.

As an auto detailer, make sure you are communicating your USP to prospects. You may have a simple advantage that other detailers have, but if they’re not communicating it you can be the first take advantage of it.

Jonathan Taylor is the owner of Strategic Marketing Solutions. You can reach Taylor at www.JonathanTaylorBlog.com.