Marketing Trap #47

Believing that Unique Sells
From "99 Marketing Traps and How to Avoid Them ..."

Unique is almost always an attention getter. But rarely is it something buyers want.

Unique is inherently risky. It’s a tightrope without a net for the buyer. And yet marketers, and advertising creatives in particular, love to latch on to an offering’s uniqueness and tout it as if unique conveyed a magic appeal.

Blame Rosser Reeves, or at least those who haven’t taken the time to read what he actually wrote when this advertising pioneer came up with the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

The unique part of USP refers to the selling proposition exclusively. It’s what makes your offering unique among all other offerings in your category ... all within the context of what buyers really want and value (that is, know your buyers).

What makes your offering unique among all other offerings in your category is a key distinction that most marketers don’t work hard enough to find and leverage fully. Instead, they settle for what’s unique about the product … even if that uniqueness makes the product less desirable.

They treat the USP as three blanks to be filled in to complete a formula for marketing success. It doesn’t work that way. “Fill in the blanks” marketing is never the way to win the allegiance of those buyers whose passion will make you most profitable.

If You Know Anyone Who's Caught in this Marketing Trap, Here's How to Help Them Out.
The comfortable offering always outsells the incredible one. Don’t strive to be unique with an offering.

Strive to be relevant (which means you have to know what the buyer really wants … and why). Strive to be believable (which means … start with the truth as the buyer understands it).

Strive to make an offer that is easy to buy. Easy to buy will always out pull unique.