Developing My USP

11 years ago

Eric,

People tend to always want "it all done for them"

A USP could be the speed in which you can do it.

No harm in offering a DIY version - it's got to be in simple, easily understandable steps (maybe with a "help line" to make sure people don't get "stuck" - odds on a high percentage will ask that you take it over)

And for goodness sake make sure you also provide a "we'll do it ALL for you"

Because this is what they'll ultimately buy.

Steve

P.S. In your niche, "credit repair" it's even more vital to "repair it all for them"

Why?

You know the answer, people with credit problems have had a whole range of dilemmas, problems and struggles - money, finance and credit has become a major "issue" for them.

They usually have great difficulties in facing it all.

Which is why they want to pass it all over to you.

One thing you could do - is train others to do what you do - for their clients.

This could be very, very lucrative for you.

And far easier than teaching people with the "problems" how to solve them.

Thanks

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Andrew Gould

11 years ago

Eric,

I don't know your niche but it sounds far too broad to me.

Does it still work if you add "only" to the front of it?

This is the only credit repair course that...

If you can't say that because it's not the only course that provides those benefits, it's not a USP.

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Andrew Gould

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shawnlebrun

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Andrew Gould

Eric,

I don't know your niche but it sounds far too broad to me.

Does it still work if you add "only" to the front of it?

This is the only credit repair course that...

If you can't say that because it's not the only course that provides those benefits, it's not a USP.

GREAT tip from Andrew.

The entire premise of your USP is... what makes YOU unique?

So many marketers "think" they have their USP down... only to find out that 1,000 others in their market COULD claim the same thing.

Heck, worse case scenario, even if there are others in your market who do what you do... some times just ANNOUNCING that to the world can set you apart, ala Claude Hopkins taking Schlitz beer from number five in the U.S. market to neck and neck with number one by TELLING others about something all beer manufacturers did.

But I believe in really finding out what makes you unique... and having it be truly unique to you.

And if you can't think of something you're doing now... what COULD you do differently... what COULD be unique to you and only you?

Bottom line, if anyone else is offering what you're offering... you're not unique.

You have to really find out what makes you different... and it has to be a legitimate difference.

ONLY is a great word, thanks Andrew!

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Alex Cohen

11 years ago

Originally Posted by shawnlebrun

The entire premise of your USP is... what makes YOU unique?

Not really.

The entire premise of a USP is... what makes you or your product unique that benefits the buyer.

Alex

Thanks
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rollingse

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Alex Cohen

Not really.

The entire premise of a USP is... what makes you or your product unique that benefits the buyer.

Alex

I think that's the scenario with Sclitz....whoever put that campaign together was wise enough to know that a certain aspect of the process( even though everyone followed it) would be pivotal to the consumer.

I know I operate in the top 3% of my industry as a "done for you service", as far as results are concerned. To convey this in 1-2 sentences is challenging.

I think the buyer needs to know they are getting:
1)Insider information
2)A proven process that gets the desired result

I have several videos with clients sharing their experiences as well as the differences written throughout the copy.

Rolling all that into a sentence....I'll keep submitting and getting feedback until it's what it should be.

Of all the money invested in my business, this I believe will be one of the greatest tools. Good or bad, feed back from seasoned pros is invaluable.

Thanks
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Alex Cohen

11 years ago

Originally Posted by rollingse

I know I operate in the top 3% of my industry as a "done for you service", as far as results are concerned. To convey this in 1-2 sentences is challenging.

What does that mean... you get results for your clients more often than 97% of your competitors?

If so, can that number be validated in some way?

I think the buyer needs to know they are getting:
1)Insider information
2)A proven process that gets the desired result

The combination of "insider information", "a proven process", and your success rate (if you can prove it) might make a good USP...

With access to insider information, we use our proven, proprietary process to get [whatever the result is] for 92 out of 100 clients.

Alex

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rollingse

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Alex Cohen

What does that mean... you get results for your clients more often than 97% of your competitors?

If so, can that number be validated in some way?

The combination of "insider information", "a proven process", and your success rate (if you can prove it) might make a good USP...

With access to insider information, we use our proven, proprietary process to get [whatever the result is] for 92 out of 100 clients.

Alex

Alex,

That's based on knowing our process vs learning how others operate over the years. For example, most limit the number of letters, disputes, or any type of correspondence sent monthly. They tell the client it's more effective. The only reason to limit what is sent out monthly is to slow down the process and bill longer. With our process, we do more for our clients on day 1 than most do in 3 months. It's a win, win, win. The client achieves their credit goal faster, the loan officer closes faster and we get more referrals.

There is no governing body that tracks results from credit repair companies. The only way to really "prove" that one company is more effective than another would be to see what their clients say about them vs complaints filed against them and know enough about credit repair (and most do not) to ask the right questions.

I can only back it with videos of clients sharing their experiences, responses showing various types accounts that have been deleted and the fact that we have no complaints with any agency.

With my industry being heavily regulated, I wouldn't boast a number in my USP or copy. I'll just have to back it with results. The FTC states that a "credit services organization" cannot guarantee an outcome. I don't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole.... Many companies do it, but I'll keep my distance.

That's another reason, I would rather sell courses and continuity programs that teach the client how to do it themselves and make the process as simplistic as possible. The only way to do that is to "give away all the goods" so to speak. I'll be offering access to a process that cost me several thousand dollars in consulting with industry leaders and years of tracking various strategies to put together.

I almost think it would have been easier to post my copy sharing my story. That would have painted a better picture of what makes my process different than me posting bits and pieces.

I do like the spin you put on the USP. I'll put together several variations along with the word only.

Thank you for your help,
Eric

Thanks
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Alex Cohen 11 years ago

Originally Posted by rollingse

I do like the spin you put on the USP. I'll put together several variations along with the word only.

Thank you for your help,
Eric

People are predisposed to accept things in threes, and they also like alliteration, so a USP with something like "proven, proprietary process" in it might work well.

But more importantly...

You got my attention with the statement, "we do more for our clients on day 1 than most do in 3 months".

Getting that idea in the headline of your ads could be huge. In my opinion, it has the making of a good hook.

Alex
- Thanks
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rollingse

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Andrew Gould

Eric,

I don't know your niche but it sounds far too broad to me.

Does it still work if you add "only" to the front of it?

This is the only credit repair course that...

If you can't say that because it's not the only course that provides those benefits, it's not a USP.

Andrew,

Thank you for the great tip and to my knowledge this is the "only" course that will offer this level of "insider" information.

A lot of the differences between the strategies and tactics used to develop our "proven process" are outlined on my email series and or sales page. To squeeze as much "attention grabbing" verbiage into one sentence is a task.

Man, the power of one word...

Thanks again to all,

Eric

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Steve The Copywriter

11 years ago

Credit to Andrew.

A very powerful word to make a USP.

Only.

Maybe 2 words.

The Only.

But as he said it's got to be true.

Steve

P.S. Sometimes you may not be sure if your product is "The Only..."

Or maybe it won't be long before somebody, somewhere swipes your onlyness (and you may not be aware its happened).

The way round this, although not as potent is to say "Is this the only...", "We think this is the only..." "This could be the only..."People tell us this is the only..."

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RickDuris

11 years ago

Everybody who's looking for someone like you knows what credit repair is.

So what's the biggest hurdle they have in hiring you?

I have an opinion, but you probably know for sure.

I think it's because they think the people in the credit repair industry are frauds.

There's EXTREME distrust about you doing what you say you can do.

They don't believe you.

Can you use that realization in crafting your USP (without bashing the competition)?

Good luck,

- Rick Duris

PS: My guess is most of your your prospects could care less about their credit score. What they care about is getting that car, apartment, home or loan.

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Alex Cohen

11 years ago

Originally Posted by RickDuris

Can you use that realization in crafting your USP (without bashing the competition)?

There's nothing wrong with comparing yourself favorably to the competition... just as you long as you do it generally, not specifically.

Southwest Airlines is a good example. We they first started, their message was "we're smaller than everyone else." And they explained why smaller was better.

Worked well for them.

Alex

Thanks
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RickDuris

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Alex Cohen

There's nothing wrong with comparing yourself favorably to the competition... just as you long as you do it generally, not specifically.

Southwest Airlines is a good example. We they first started, their message was "we're smaller than everyone else." And they explained why smaller was better

Alex, there's a significant difference between comparing yourself to the competition and bashing the competition.

It's similar to the difference between "referencing the competition" and "comparing yourself to the competition".

What I wanted him to avoid was saying something like "You know how all those other credit repair companies prey on the poor, naive and gullible? Well, what we do is..."

Having said that, I agree with you. Assuming the OP accepts my underlying premise, they want to compare themselves to their competition. The Southwest Airlines case study shows one way to do that.

- Rick Duris

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Alex Cohen

11 years ago

Originally Posted by RickDuris

Alex, there's a significant difference between comparing yourself to the competition and bashing the competition.

It's similar to the difference between "referencing the competition" and "comparing yourself to the competition".

What I wanted him to avoid was saying something like "You know how all those other credit repair companies prey on the poor, naive and gullible? Well, what we do is..."

Having said that, I agree with you. Assuming the OP accepts my underlying premise, they want to compare themselves to their competition. The Southwest Airlines case study shows one way to do that.

- Rick Duris

Bashing could mean different things to different people.

For example, the OP's statement, "we do more for our clients on day 1 than most do in 3 months" could be considered bashing by him.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant.

Alex

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Raymond Duke

11 years ago

What is the benefit of doing it yourself vs. having someone else do it?

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Raymond Duke

11 years ago

"The only" is a power statement. You could also use, "The First" or "The Top Performing" or any other way to powerfully introduce the rest of the USP.

My advice is to find your number one unique benefit and describe how that enables someone to do something.

"The Easy Way to Learn _________ That Lets You ___________"

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Loren Woirhaye

11 years ago

Read "Rapid Response Advertising" by Geoff Ayling. Twice.

Or hire somebody to work on it for you.

There's a way of drilling down into the underlying
patterns of desire and need copywriters learn over
time. It is insight that comes from experience
and study, but also a working method for
the advertising writer, meaning it takes a writer
time to work it out too.

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RickDuris

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye

Read "Rapid Response Advertising" by Geoff Ayling. Twice.

Or hire somebody to work on it for you.

There's a way of drilling down into the underlying
patterns of desire and need copywriters learn over
time. It is insight that comes from experience
and study, but also a working method for
the advertising writer, meaning it takes a writer
time to work it out too.

Loren's right. There definitely are secrets. And that's a great book.

- Rick Duris

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Raymond Duke

11 years ago

This popped up in my Digg feed this morning: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POSITIONING AND ATTACKING IN ADVERTISING. It talks about "attacking" vs "positioning". I think it's relevant to this discussion.

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Brandgineering

11 years ago

I wrote a best selling book on marketing and about half of it is how to write a winning value proposition.

Hooks: Your message has to have that element that just adheres to the mind. Like a song hook you can't get out of your head.

Value: So what? Why should I care? - The simplest question. - You need to have a personality and hook that creates a critical and compelling reason to buy.

Yours falls flat on all accounts. I have had companies pay me for a month to help them create a VP that is so powerful people just want to buy. I've been paid $750 hour to sit with a CEO and write one. Its not easy.

I actually give away my workbook on the subject. Message me and I'll send you a link. I don't want to be spammy.

Thanks

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