Are You Unique?

Are You A Robot Or Unique?

Is it true that you are unique? Of course, we all are. We all have looks, traits and characteristics that are unique to us.

So you agree that you are unique? Well picture this.

Let’s say that you weren’t unique. That you looked, spoke and acted like everyone else and everyone else was exactly like you. You were a robot.

Picture yourself standing in a room with 50 other robots.

Then a human enters the room. This human was told before entering the room that they had to select 1 of the robots based on their answer to a question.

You and all of the robots were asked the same question:

“What makes you unique?”

Now if you acted, thought and said the same things as the other 49 robots, wouldn’t you agree that you will all have the same answer? Yes.

Now this makes it difficult for the human to select someone, doesn’t it?

Okay here’s the point.

A high percentage of businesses are like robots – And so too are the customers.

Let us explain.

The majority of businesses all say the same things and make the same claims. They are like an army of robots.

Pick up a Yellow Pages or your local paper – all of the adverts are very similar (not necessarily in style, but in the messages they convey).

Very few businesses stand out from the crowd and appear unique. It is not enough for a business to simply say that they offer great customer service, or stock the leading products.

Every business makes these claims – and in fact they should be a given anyway. If you are in business it goes without saying you have great customer service, have qualified and professional staff, etc, etc…

So most businesses are in affect like robots.

Customers are also like robots. Human nature is such that many of us all have the same basic emotions, needs, wants and desires. Robots need to be programmed and it is your ethical responsibility as a business owner to take the customer by the hand and lead them to your business – because what you offer is so much better than your competitors.

It is up to you to set your business aside from your competitors (robots) and compellingly show the customer why your business is unique and why they should do business with you.

You need to stand out from the crowd of robots.

So how can you achieve this?

The best way is to develop a short statement that conveys why your business is unique.

This is known as a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). You may or may not have heard of this term before.

Now the word USP is well overused these days, to the point where a lot of business owners unfortunately ignore it.

But having a great USP and communicating it is an extremely powerful thing.

Basically, your USP is a distinct, compelling difference that separates you from all of your competitors and answers the question, “Why should I do business with you rather than your competitors - or rather than not doing business with anyone?”

Here’s a breakdown of what a Unique Selling Proposition is:

It’s a unique claim or promise of benefits about your product or service…

… that’s distinctly different from your competitors, and …

… is so strong and attractive that it motivates them to do business with you rather than all the other alternatives available.

Let’s take two common examples of companies with great USP’s:

“When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”
FedEx

FedEx grew into the international, multibillion pound giant it is today because of both its business design and a simple USP that it hammered over and over again in all its initial marketing.

Anyone can readily recognise that this USP promises the benefit of overnight delivery for customers.  But the real craft in this USP is the fact that it subliminally offers real credibility for the promise they make through the words, ‘positively, absolutely.’

Those two words convey that FedEx means what it says - it means business - you will get your package delivered tomorrow.

Now look at Dominos Pizza. Dominos became a hugely successful pizza franchise in a very competitive market. How? By having a simple business model along with a killer USP, this helped to make the company stand out from the crowd. 

“Hot, fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.”
Dominos

Dominos knew that if they followed this USP they would clean up. The majority of pizza delivery firms at the time delivered cold, soggy pizza LATE.

Dominos slowly went national by sticking to their word. If you didn’t get your hot pizza on time, you didn’t pay!  The company organised itself for fast delivery.

They didn’t say great tasting pizza, or fresh ingredients – that should be a prerequisite – they promised fast, reliable delivery of a hot pizza – guaranteed. Brilliant!

Your USP must articulate loud and clear to everyone who sees or hears it whatever it is that your product or service offers and how it stands apart from the competition.

Below is a list of characteristics that make up a winning USP:

1. It boldly conveys the promise of big benefits for the customer.
2. It claims you are unique and different from the competition.
3. It doesn’t try to appeal to everyone – keep it focused.
4. It addresses the important concerns that the customers have.
5. It is short and simple, concise, memorable and easy to articulate.
6. It grabs attention – it’s interesting or exciting.
7. It is believable and credible – it makes no outrageous claims.
8. It is persuasive and compelling – it makes the customer want to take action.
9. It must be economically feasible for your business to support and live up to.

Until next time,

Tim & Chris