When I discovered how many videos there were on YouTube and the other video sharing sites on unique selling propositions or the idea of having a USP, I decided that I could add value by reviewing them.
If you missed the first set of videos you can see them and my comments at:
>>> Unique Selling Proposition Videos Review 1
Karl Bryan USP Marketing Tips
Karl Bryan is the man behind Profitable Growth Strategies (the excellent monthly small business training membership website that I promote) – which you can review at ProfitableGrowthStrategies.org so you will know that I like his ideas and I like him as a person.
The first six minute video starts with a review of the Domino’s, Fedex and Robert Allan. Karl discusses how these have powered the companies involved to massive success.
We are all exposed to many marketing messages so you need to broadcast something that explains:
- how you are positioned against your competition
- it answers the question why you should choose this company
- the unique benefit that you will deliver that competitors can’t quickly match
- make it quantifiable e.g. quantify the principle of selling money at a discount within a particular period that lies behind much of the B2B marketing
The conversation is then moved to another video in part 2 (there used to be a time restriction on videos loaded to YouTube.)
- Identify the frustration that customers have dealing with people in your industry and how you can solve it.
- The elevator pitch can also be used to help create a USP – do you know how (problem), what I do is (solution)
If you’re unsure what customers want, put on a focus group and start a conversation with a small group of customers.
He then takes you through some generic examples. I loved this suggestion for an ice cream shop “We eat all we can… and then sell the rest.” Some of these move more into advertising slogan than USP territory.
Review rating **** (4 stars)
Unique Selling Proposition Success with Gary Hennerberg
This video is nearly 12 minutes long. If you’re not familiar with the name (and I wasn’t), he is an Internet marketing consultant in America.
Gary shares his experience of developing USP for clients.
The world of customers has changed and you must create a connection quickly. He emphasises communicating one particular thought.
You will need to test:
- Listen and interpret results
- Comb through the data
- Reflect and keep it simple
Common mistakes:
- Overlooking the importance of research
- Not giving the creative team space and time to come up with the right message
- Not talking in person
- The failure to test in a statistically controlled environment. There is a danger to “go with with gut.”
This is a talking heads video which some of you may like but others may find the approach off-putting. Ultimately it is focused on selling his consulting service.
Review rating *** (3 stars)
The Accidental Entrepreneur Guide to Unique Selling Point or USP
Ian Scott explains the unique selling point in his Glasgow guide.
In this quirky video, a slice of chocolate brownie cake is used as an example.
A USP is something that makes your product different so that you can charge more or people can buy more or so you can stand out from the competition.
Let people experience your product. Listen to what your customers are saying about your product or service. You will find common themes and words that represent what customers think makes it special.
I liked the question “what would a journalist be interested in about your product?”
I think you need to go deeper than this for many products that are harder to experience in a short time than food but there is a charm to this video and the speaker doesn’t have one of those strong Glasgow accents that is very difficult to understand.
Review rating **** (4 stars)
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 33 | How to Create a Sales Unique Selling Point (USP)
This video (and the follow-ups) is from SkillsConnection.tv who help technology companies sell more.
Standing out from the crowd is one of the hardest things for sales people to do.
This video is interesting to the extent that it presents the concept of USP, not from the mass marketing approach but one-to-one selling.
Very few products have truly unique features or if they do, competitors quickly imitate.
You can differentiate:
- Through your personal relationship with the customer
- How you deal with your competitors.
I’m not posting the follow up videos here because my interest is more in USP as a strategic marketing concept than selling but here are details of the extra videos.
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 34 | Creating a Personal Brand in Selling
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 35 | Personal Branding for Sales People – Step 1
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 36 | Personal Branding for Sales People – Step 2
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 37 | Personal Branding for Sales People – Step 3
SERIOUS™ Selling Video 38 | How to Win in a Competitive Sales Situation
I like the different direction that these sales based videos come from so if you’re struggling to differentiate your business, product or service, then I think these will help.
Review rating **** (4 stars)
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