1. Do You Really Need a
USP?
Increase Your Leads & Sales With Ease
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
2. Agenda
● What’s a USP?
● Why Having a USP is Important
● Do You Really Need a USP?
● Is Marketing with a USP Effective Today?
● The Bottom Line
● Next Steps
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
3. What is a USP?
❑ Around since the early 1960’s.
❑ Famous advertising guru, Rosser Reeves popularized USP’s in his book, Reality of Advertising.
❑ Let’s start with a definition:
Unique Selling Proposition: "A USP identifies the “prime quality” of your
product or service to “distinguish” itself from the competition.”
❑ A USP must consist of 3 deceptively simple elements:
1. It must make a proposition
2. It must be unique
3. It must sell
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
4. 3 Effective USP’s
● Successful taglines capture the essence of their
products’/services’ USP:
● FEDEX – “When it absolutely, positively has to be there
overnight!”
● BMW – “The Ultimate Driving Machine!”
● Nike – “Just do it!”
● What are some others???
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
5. Why Having a USP is Important
● The USP is more than a half century old… do you really need a
USP in the 21st century?
● In the early 60’s ➔ regional and national competition
● Today global markets ➔ increased trade
● The new normal ➔ Product Explosion ➔ Hyper-competition
● In Differentiate or Die! Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition.
Jack Trout makes the case that USP’s can deal with hyper-competition.
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
6. Do You Really Need a USP?
In competitive markets, successful businesses combat competition by
“standing out from the crowd”.
● Situation: During the Great Recession, transportation and logistics industry saw brutal competition
● Problems: Driver Shortage, rising fuel costs, and downward price pressures
● Survival Strategy: Expand service offerings
Historical Examples of Growth in Product and Service Offerings:
• MacDonald’s had 13 items on its menu in the 70’s and 43 in the 90’s
• Levi’s jeans went from 41 styles to 70 styles
• Vehicle styles went from 654 to 1,212
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12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
7. Is Marketing with a USP Effective?
• Your competitors overwhelmingly say a USP has value in today’s
marketplace…
• Stevens Consulting Group Study 81% of executives said a USP is more
effective than a sales campaign
What this means to you: USP’s Make it easier to increase leads & sales!
12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
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8. The Bottom Line 8
You don’t need a crystal
ball to tell you that…
competition will continue
to increase…
so … differentiate or die!
12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
9. Next Steps
If you want to boost your lead leads… then you must develop (or refine) your USP.
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Let’s get together to position your company effectively with your customers and prospects.
Alex Milo
B2B Copywriter & Consultant for
Transportation and Logistics Companies
● Ph: 256-886-4684
● Email: amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com
● Website: www.b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com
● Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandermilo
12060 County Line Rd., Madison, AL 35756/amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com 10/18/2014
