For decades, marketers and businesspeople have focused on developing their USP, or Unique Selling Proposition.
The idea was that each and every product has something unique about it that differentiates it from other, similar products.
The problem is that very few products are unique. Just ask people who sell aspirin or gasoline or any other commodity product.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us with something Jeanette McMurtry of e4 Marketing mentioned in a recent seminar — the Emotional Selling Proposition. An Emotional Selling Proposition focuses attention on the emotional connection consumers have with your product or service.
So, for example, if you’re Coca-Cola, your Emotional Selling Proposition revolves around History/Classic/America. But if your Pepsi, your Emotional Selling Proposition revolves around New/Trend-Setting/Active.
This works for just about any product. Take Starbucks, for example. Their Emotional Selling Proposition revolves around the feeling of comfort, peace and soothing satisfaction that washes over you when you walk through their doors. If you were stopping by McDonald’s to get a cup of coffee from them, the emotional experience would be completely different.
The Bottom Line:
As a marketer, you should be aware that people buy many products for emotional reasons and then justify that purchase for logical reasons. Get inside the mind of your consumer and try to figure out the hidden motivators for buying your product. Once you’ve got a handle on those, be sure everything you do — everything — taps into that emotion in one way or another.
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009, 5:55 am
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June 18, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Well said, Jamie. I would even go as far as to say that what is being sold to the consumer is a “dream” or “possibility”. It’s the possibility of being slim, or chic, or a rock star, or whatever. People buy based on the emotional response they experience from a particular possibility they see.
June 18, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Hi, Shannon –
Great comment on “what’s really being sold is a ‘dream’ or a ‘possibility.’”
Jeanette McMurtry — the woman I mentioned in the post — has a list that highlights what it is that people are really buying when they buy something. I can’t remember the full list, but I’ll track her down to see see if she can add it to this comment stream.
Best,
Jamie
November 10, 2009 at 3:07 am
Not sure I’d call out the end of USP just yet for small businesses. They can have unique offerings or deliveries. But I can see your point on a macro level.
November 10, 2009 at 9:40 am
You might be right, Ed. That said, one thing is for sure — marketing theory continues to evolve and change. Whether it’s the USP, the concept of positioning or new ideas about what constitutes a “brand,” there’s only one thing for sure — in marketing, nothing stays the same.
Best,
Jamie
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November 10, 2009 at 3:19 pm