24 replies to this topic

[nethy]

How many marketers forget the U (unique) in USP.
So many examples of this it's not funny. A major culprit seems to be selling the product class rather then your product.

What brought it to mind is a CMS/Ecommerce platform I'm using now. And it caught my attention because their marketing is actually good.

But they drill the same USP virtually all ecommerce platforms do (which should be a give away):
"Doing all this without {insert any eccommerce platform here}, would cost you {insert any 5-6 digit sum} and would take {any number) of months to complete"

This hasn't been unique since the precurser to Yahoo shops launched around 97'. It is pretty much the definition of the product class. The choice 90%+ of their customers are making is between a their product and another in that class. But their USP is trying to sell them on the class, on which they are already sold.

Its like BMW selling you on the advantages of owning your very own car.

*I'm not saying that the desicion to go custom or not is atrivial, it just isn't the one to answer here. And even if that was the debate going on inside prospects' heads, you wouldn't approach it in this way, you would be addressing the issues that make them want custom in the first place.

[Randy]

If it's any consolation, the missing/forgotten U is the most common marketing mistake I see. Time after time after time.

If you're selling lederhosen don't tell me why lederhosen are great. Tell me why your lederhosen are better than 100 sites trying to sell me some.

[ScottSalwolke]

Too many marketers think the word quality is unique. I'd almost wish they'd just drop the word entirely. If you can't find something I'm unique about your product you better drastically mark it down. That is the only way you'll be able to stand out otherwise.

One side note for Randy. I hope you decide to rank the top 100 lederhosen site's soon. It will save a lot of us a lot of time.

[1dmf]

. Tell me why your lederhosen are better than 100 sites trying to sell me some.

But the fact is they probably aren't, you probably get them from the same chinese sweat shop, and even possibly the same importer.

USP = Usual Salesman Patter!

[Scottie]

I have turned down several potential clients because they had nothing unique and couldn't come up with anything. Especially for affiliate sites, you are selling a commodity! The exact item as hundreds of other sites.

When I say, "What makes your business better than those?" they answer, "Oh, I'm going to get top search engine rankings and they'll find me first."

Good luck with that!

[1dmf]

Do you consider Price as a USP? or Quality ?

Because don't most people buy something online because it is of their acceptable quality at the lowest possible price?

That's not unique, that's supply demand / bulk buy power / out sourced manufacturing to places like china.

Give me a specific example of USP for online shopping, i'm struggling with this concept!

[torka]

Because don't most people buy something online because it is of their acceptable quality at the lowest possible price?

If that were the case, the store I work with would never make a sale. We are the most expensive alternative, bar none, for our products, online or offline. And we charge an arm and a leg for shipping & handling.

But we are also the manufacturer. And, in my experience, people will pay a premium, even online, if they're buying from someone they perceive to be "the authority" on the product -- enough of them do so regularly to solidify my reputation as a "miracle worker" here at my job.

In our case, that's our USP. Buy from us, and you're buying straight from the source. Who better knows the product, who better can support the product, than the people who built the darned thing in the first place? (Even though a portion of our products we do, in fact, import from China, we have exclusives with our Chinese suppliers for those products, so we're still considered "the source" by our customers and our resellers.)

Because we're "the source," we're also able (and willing) to offer the full range of accessory and supply items for each product. And accessories and supplies for discontinued products. Anyone who has purchased any of our products since the company's inception can come to our website and find the supplies they need to keep that item running. Although we have thousands of resellers all over the world, none of them stock and offer the full variety of accessory/supply items we do.

So, for us, the USP is that we're the ultimate authoritative source, we offer items our customers can't find elsewhere, and we will continue to offer the supplies/accessories they need even if their product gets discontinued in the future.

--Torka

[1dmf]

I understand your premise, but disagree with your assumption.

I hate companies that are the manufacturer and who's direct selling arm sell the same product direct for more than the affiliate company they allow to distribute for them.

That's like Tiscali selling me phone calls and broadband cheaper than BT including line rental , yet I have to have a BT line?

Therefore, it's really BT's phone line, copper wire, Exchange and infrastructure, yet you sell it to another company who sells it to me cheaper and still makes a profit than going direct to the manufacturer / service provider?

WTF?

Something doesn't add up , even with my kindergarden maths!!!

[Nan]

But we are also the manufacturer. And, in my experience, people will pay a premium, even online, if they're buying from someone they perceive to be "the authority" on the product -- enough of them do so regularly to solidify my reputation as a "miracle worker" here at my job.

The key factor in any sale - of any commodity - in any situation - is TRUST. You can sell potatoes to a potato farmer if he trusts you and believes that the potatoes he's buying will augment his crop.

Torka is absolutely right about the manufacturer's being the "authority" on its merchandise. The trust factor is a given - unlike the distributer who has to work its way to the top of the distribution heap, and rely upon secondary marketing to be seen ahead of the rest. Why would I buy from someone who has to prove themself when I can buy from the source? I wouldn't.

Establish trust - the first rule of sales in any venue..

[Randy]

1dmf, you're off your rocker!

If the manufacturer has a selling arm said manufacturer certainly can't sell for less than their affiliated dealers. They wouldn't have any if they did that! Thus the manufacturer either needs to be the same (eg MSRP) or more.

As to your question of whether Price alone can be a USP, I'd say no. Or at least no in the way most everybody seems to attempt to use price as a USP. Somebody will always be able to do it for less, even if it means that the others sell the stuff at a loss for a couple of years to drive everybody else out of the market so that they have a monopoly. So it's not really Unique.

Now, that said are there ways one can use Price to their advantage? Most certainly! One way it can be used is to build a Brand. Unfortunately I don't have terrific example that relates well across the pond. Were you a Murcan I could simply state Southwest Airlines and you'd know immeidately what I meant about using price to build a brand and how if you do the combination well enough long enough it can actually become a USP.

For those outside the States Southwest is basically known for two main (positive) things. 1. In the early years their Hostesses wore hotpants. 2. Their fares are almost always lower than anybody else when the first enter a market. They make every other airline in the markets they're in lower their fares. Other positive things they're known for are being a bit irreverant and just plain old fun. They're known for other things too of course. The more negative things being that you don't get pre-assigned seating, and that Southwest flights of any distance tend to stop more often. But still, if you said Southwest Airlines to most Murcans who have them in their market they first thing they'd say is that Southwest flights cost less.

Lately Southwest has some ads running on TV, radio and in the papers. The ads basically highlight the fact that many other US airline carriers are beginning to charge extra fees for pretty much everything. More than one checked bag --with some thinking about charging extra if you check any bags at all. Some are also now charging for a inflight soda, which used to be free. Yadda, yadda. The commercials are actually quite funny, since they take things to the extreme with a stewardess doing the pre-flight talk, outlining what things cost what. She ends up saying (paraphrased) If you have any questions or need anything else please press the call button ... <camera cuts to a guy reaching for the button> ... for a minimum fee of One Dollar. It's funny!

The premise being that even if the other airlines match Southwest's airfares, by the time you add it all up a flight on one of these other airlines will cost you more because they're going to nickel and dime you for everything. Their tag line for this new campaign being Fees don't fly with us.

Is this using price as a USP? Yes. And no.

Without years of them building their brand on price it just wouldn't work. However since they've been consistent in their message for 30+ years it works for them.

[ScottSalwolke]

As to your question of whether Price alone can be a USP, I'd say no. Or at least no in the way most everybody seems to attempt to use price as a USP. Somebody will always be able to do it for less, even if it means that the others sell the stuff at a loss for a couple of years to drive everybody else out of the market so that they have a monopoly. So it's not really Unique.

I agree. I don't think price can ever be a USP. The idea is that you show consumers how your product is unique, how it can be set apart from the competition. If your competitor can quickly match or beat your price then it's hardly unique. Look at how amazon.com seperated itself from its competition, the local book store. It wasn't that it was cheaper then the local dealer, even though it was. It was the number of titles available.

[torka]

If the manufacturer has a selling arm said manufacturer certainly can't sell for less than their affiliated dealers. They wouldn't have any if they did that! Thus the manufacturer either needs to be the same (eg MSRP) or more.

Exactly! That's the main reason we've been able to get away with selling online without engendering a widespread reseller rebellion.

My USP is being "the source." It makes a good USP because it's the one thing I alone can bring to the market, the one thing I alone can say that nobody else can. And it's a strong selling point. That alone is enough to get sales.

It would be totally unfair for me to also start competing against our own resellers by discounting the price, too. It would be the same if we decided to start offering on-site installation and service (which we don't at the moment, and is part of the USP many of our resellers offer their local customers). If I did that, I would be "stealing" every USP my resellers could offer... in which case, goodbye, resellers! We don't want that.

--Torka

[1dmf]

1dmf, you're off your rocker!

I thought that went without saying

Randy , the example I gave is a real life situation we have here in the UK, B.T. sell phonecalls to resellers cheaper than their own customers, as well as Broadband.

I was even told by an engineer that BT have been stopped from even increasing their standard upstream from 250kbps, I beleive the current bizzarre situatin we have is to do with the monopolies commission putting strict legislation on BT , to ensure consumer choice and fair competition.

I spose that's what happens when you privatise a natianal company, by it's nature it starts bussiness trading from day 1 as a monopoly, as there was only ever one B.T. (British Telecom).

Totally crazy situation to be in, a company holding all the technology is forced to provide more expensive and less quality services in a bid to create competition and customer choice!

But if I had my choice i'd be with BT paying their real prices (cheapest around) and have the best ISP, but instead BT have the slowest upstream out of all the ISP, not because it doesn't have the technology or infrastructure, but because it's forced to provide an inferior service.

Now who's off their rocker!

[edit]

1. In the early years their Hostesses wore hotpants

Ever thought about starting a revival, I'll sign the pettition

[Randy]

If it's any consolation, it's the same with the big Telecoms here in the US too 1dmf. It's not a choice that's left up to the company, but to both Federal and State regulators. There to, like with Torka's example, the Telecom's USP is being The Source. Even with the limitations that brings because of the numerous regulations.

I do agree with you that the pricing structure in that particular industry makes no sense at all. Having worked in Telecom (local phone, long distance, Internet/DSL and even Directory Assistance and Satellite TV) for half a decade, I could tell you some stories that would make your head spin. The rules for each little segment of the business are totally different, as well as being totally different in each state served.

[Orpheus Descending]

Thought I would ad my since I straddle the pond (though I'm on the green side). I don't think you can really compare deregulated utility companies with other businesses that don't have monopolies. There is no way to compete with a monopoly's infrastructure after deregulation. Be patient 1dmf, it gets a lot better with a little time - at least it did in the States. Over here we're dealing with something far worse than a deregulated behemouth that actually has something to offer, we have one that can't even find the door - thank god Clearwire is coming to a green island near you!

The Southwest example is a great one, and the opposite can be proved by using RyanAir. They based their model on Southwest, and for a short time it worked exactly the way Southwest did. But then they started doing some really crappy stuff with their bookings, the cost of luggage became unbelievable, and more often than not your flight was canceled or you had to run around the airports chasing gate changes. RyanAir thought Southwest was only about the low fairs and forgot the hotpants - and that's what happens when low-cost is considered unique. Low cost is only valuable if everything else is comparable. Just because I paid less doesn't mean I want to get crapped on, and it doesn't mean I will put up with any amount of bad service.

I think Torka's example is excellent. It's not just about selling the source, it's about selling the value of being the source. Value has a cost, and some of us will pay for value, but the copy has to show me where the value lies, and the company has to deliver on it.