Should Your Direct Marketing Firm Establish Your Usp?

If you've finally decided to bite the bullet and hire a direct marketing firm, you're probably wondering if they should incorporate your USP into your direct marketing campaigns.

Your USP, or your unique selling proposition, is what separates you from your competition. Your USP is what makes you stand out from the crowd. It is the one factor that can quickly show your prospects and your existing clients why they should want to do business with you.

A lot of direct marketers do not think that it would not be to their advantage to incorporate a USP into their marketing campaigns because they believe that they have already targeted their audience.

The reality is that if you want your direct marketing firm to sell as hard for you as they can, one of the first things they must do is establish your unique selling proposition.

Because you have already chosen a list from your direct marketing firm that meets your specific criteria, you can now show that list why your product is their best choice. You do that by showing them the unique benefits it will provide them.

The Three Characteristics of a Unique Selling Proposition

The term USP was coined by Rosser Reeves, the former chair of Ted Bates. Most people became familiar with it after reading his book, "Reality in Advertising".

According to the book, the USP has three main characteristics.

1. Your proposition has to be unique. It cannot be one your competition can claim to be able to do and no one else can offer it.

2. Your USP will say to your client, "Buy our products because you will get this benefit."

3. The benefit that your USP offers must be compelling and long lasting. It must be powerful enough to give you a sustainable competitive advantage.

When determining your USP you must make sure that you do not mistake your products features for its benefits. Features are usually tangible items. Benefits are either the feelings or the results your customers will get when they buy and use your product.

An often used example says that nobody wants to buy a tungsten carbide drill bit because of what it is made from. That's its feature. However they want the hole that drill will provide. The hole is the benefit they will get when they buy the bit.

As far as a USP goes, though, the fact that your tungsten carbide drill bit can drill a hole will not set it apart from your competition, so your direct marketing firm will have to do a bit more work in order to figure out what makes your "bit" so unique.