Entries Tagged 'USP' ↓

Your USP will not help you one bit if people don’t know what it is. Create a separate USP for each Niche-Problem-Solution combination and include it in your advertising and website. Create a compelling offer that makes you stand out from the crowd. If you have a powerful USP and a great product, you are sure to sell more and more art.

If this series on Your USP has been helpful, think about purchasing the entire 35-page ebook, How to Sell Your Art BEFORE You Create It.

Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog

Here are 10 more great idea generators to help you develop a powerful USP:

11. Added Value
“My photographic prints come with a life-time guarantee. If anything happens to your print, from fire to flood, I will send you another print for only the cost of shipping and handling.”

12. Premiums/Gift-with-Purchase
This is like a one-time shot of #11. “Every painting you purchase comes with a full-size print of one of my other paintings.” Or even better, “Purchase one of my paintings, and I will send you 24 pre-stamped postcards of that same painting along with an 8-pack of greeting cards.”

13. Packaging Difference
Think of all the ways you can now buy laundry detergent boxes! Add a packaging difference to your product. “For every photo print you purchase, I will send you a copy by email and another one on CD.”

14. Size
This one is more of a challenge for artists. Sam’s Club and Costco are well known for selling food in giant-sized containers that are so much less expensive per ounce. Do you have a product that you can sell in a larger size or quantity?

15. Expertise
Incorporate into your USP how long you’ve been an artists, what your credentials are, where you’ve worked, or how much work has gone into each piece. “A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have worked as an independent film producer for over 43 years.”

16. Price
17. Payment Terms
Since these two are so similar, I have grouped them together. I have always recommended against using low price as a USP, but I certainly encourage using a high price as a USP! Better yet, use payment terms. Do you sell a painting for $4800? Offer it at $400/month for 12 months. Try to keep the payment term at 12 months or under unless the price is very high. This is also a way to offer what feels like a lower price, yet is higher than you would normally sell for. If you have a painting that normally sells for $120, you could sell it for $14.99/month and make 50% more!

18. Guarantee
This one should be first on the list because it is so important. I can also be included with ANY other USP. I have heard of countless places that went from a 30-day guarantee to a life-time guarantee and not only sold more because of it, but did not have any more returns. If you can’t offer a full money-back guarantee, at least offer an exchange.

19. Celebrity
Think this is only for the big name brands on television? Think again! Many celebrities will do a photo-op and endorsement for much less money that you think. Imagine a picture of a celebrity with your painting on the wall behind them and the caption, “So and So LOVES their new Sara Mathewson painting.” Celebrities sell, whether we like the idea or not. Do you want to be a purist living in a cave or do you want to sell more art.

20. Combination
Think of ways to combine two or more of these ideas and you will create an unstoppable USP.

Next, Lesson 5: Incorporating Your USP.

Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog

Here are 10 idea generators to help you develop a powerful USP:

1. Name
Try to incorporate your USP into your name. “Sara Mathewson Custom Watercolors” is far better than just “Sara Mathewson Art”.

2. Competitive Positioning
Your USP could make a position against your competitors. If your competitor makes the customer come to them, you could use “I come to your home, camera in hand, and take photos of your pet when it is convenient for YOU.”

3. Exclusive Niche
In marketing, it is better to be a big fish in a small pond. Create a smaller niche that you can dominate. Do you do digital photography? Narrow your niche to digital enhanced pet photographs. I know someone who did!

4. Affinity
Identify yourself with your potential customer. For example, “As one self-employed business woman to another…”

5. Hidden Benefit
If you can’t build a USP around an obvious benefit, identify a hidden benefit. “With one of my paintings displayed prominently in your home, your guests will KNOW that you are a person of discriminating taste.”

6. Problem Ownership/Exclusivity
Take exclusive ownership of a problem and create a USP around that. “Boring walls lead to boring lives. A colorful life starts with a Sara Mathewson watercolor on your living room wall.”

7. Method of Marketing or Distribution
Create a unique way to distribute your art. “Too personal to leave hanging on a wall in some remote gallery, my paintings are delivered to your house OVERNIGHT and come complete with all hardware necessary to hang immediately… I even send the hammer!”

8. Continuity and 9. Membership
These two easily go hand in hand and create an ongoing source of income. “Join my Print-of-the-Month Club for only $39.97/mo. Every month you will receive a matted print along with a story about the painting itself and special discounts on other products.”

10. Service Difference
Go above and beyond. Have better service than anyone else. “We do so much more than just take wedding pictures that you will never forget. We provide disposable cameras for your guest and then develop those as well. Best of all, your precious wedding photos are delivered to your front door in one week or less or you PAY NOTHING!”

Lesson #4 has 10 MORE ideas for generating your USP!

Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog

Step Two: Write Your USP

By now you should have a very good idea of how your work is different from anyone else’s and why people should buy from YOU. Now it’s time to put this into words. Keep in mind that as much as possible, you want to give people a tangible benefit. Here are some examples of why someone should buy from you:

They will be perceived as being more intelligent.
They will be perceived as having good taste.
They will be perceived as being well traveled.
It will remind them of where they have traveled.
They will receive a print or copy of your very latest work.
They will receive free framing and delivery.
They will receive a coupon good for 50% off of their next purchase.
They will receive a subscription to a free newsletter along with a CD portfolio.

Based on this kind of information (you will determine your own unique benefits), your USP might read something like this:

“With its creative use of color and incredible attention to detail, an original Sara Mathewson watercolor in your home will cause all of your friends to envy your good taste.”

or

“Purchase an original Sara Mathewson watercolor and receive a free subscription to her monthly newsletter and a CD of her greatest works along with the story behind each painting.”

Do you see how just these few simple words can make your customer much more eager to purchase your work compared to just seeing your painting hanging on a wall in a gallery?

When crafting your USP, be specific and make sure you fit it into one clear, concise sentence that packs a significant wallop. You want your potential customer to hear your USP and know exactly why they should do business with you.

In Lesson 3, I will go into even more depth on this process and I will share with you 10 ideas for generating a USP.

Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is your way of telling people why they should do business with you rather than any of your competitors. Your USP answers the following question that your prospective customer always asks, even if subconsciously: “Why should I buy your product or service versus anyone else’s products or services?” If you do not have an answer for this question, then you have ignored one of the strongest and most basic pillars of your business.

Why is a USP so important? Let’s look at an example. Once upon a time, two guys in college needed to make some money and bought a little pizza place that was going out of business. Neither one of them knew anything about making pizza, let alone running a business, but they slowly figured it out. What they also figured out was that they were going to quickly go out of business if they didn’t start selling more pizza. They decided to deliver the pizza and that helped a little, but not enought to hold off the inevitable end. One of the partners lost his nerve and sold out to the other guy. Now the pressure was REALLY on and Tom had to figure something out fast. Although he did not know that it was called a USP, he came up with a compelling reason (did you catch that word? compelling) for people to do business with him. Here’s what he came up with: “Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. Guaranteed.” That right, this was Tom Monaghan, the founder of Dominos Pizza. And because of this USP, he went on to open thousands of stores and make millions of dollars. All because of a compelling USP.

So how do you come up with a compelling USP? Let’s get started…

Step One: Gather Information

First, make a list of every word or phrase that you can think of that describes your art. Notice that I have given you a lot of room to write. Take your time and come back often:

Second, survey anyone that has bought from you and grill them on all the reasons why:

Third, look at your competitors and write down all the reasons that people would buy from them. Put yourself in the shoes of your competitor’s customers:

Fourth, write down every reason why people should buy from YOU that is NOT on your competitor’s list.

In Lesson 2, I will show you how to take this information and craft a compelling USP.

Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com

Wikipedia does such a good job of explaining the Unique Selling Proposition, that I am simply going to pull material from their site.

“In his book Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves (Chairman of the Board at Ted Bates & Company) gives the precise definition as it was understood at his company:

1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the customer: “buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”
2. The proposition itself must be unique - something that competitors do not, or will not, offer.
3. The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.

However, Reeves warns against forming a USP based on what he calls “The Deceptive Differential” - a uniqueness that is too small or too technical for customers to observe the differences in actual practice.

Examples

Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:

• Head & Shoulders: “You get rid of dandruff”
• Olay: “You get younger-looking skin”
• Red Bull: “You get stimulation of body and mind”
• Ronseal: “You get exactly what it says on the tin“

Some unique propositions that were pioneers when they were introduced:

• Domino’s Pizza: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less — or it’s free.”
• FedEx: “Your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”
• M&M’s: “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand”
• Wonder Bread: “It helps build strong bones 12 ways”

In my next post I will start the series that I previously offered as my USP mini-course. I decided against the mini-course for a couple of reasons. The main reason I started it was so I could “capture” email addresses and then send follow-up “selling” messages. That just didn’t feel right. It felt too devious and gimicky (is that a word?). I feel that people should have the right to choose what kind of content they want to receive in their emails. Instead, I am going to add the option to have my posts sent directly to your email. You can also receive these posts through a news aggregator (such as Bloglines, Google Reader, and many more). As time goes by and this series of posts about your USP becomes covered up by newer posts, I will have an option in the sidebar to view all of them at once. I want to help artists understand all the facets of online marketing and how they can use it to help them sell more art.

Chris O’Byrne
OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog

Your USP will not help you one bit if people don’t know what it is!

You spent a lot of time crafting an effective USP meant to grab your customers and show them how special you are. Now, it’s time to use it. Incorporate your USP into every aspect of your business. Business cards, letterhead, web site, phone messages, postcards, email signatures… anywhere or any way that you have contact with customers.

Think of all the ways that you interact with customers or potential customers. Make a list. Every piece of art should include your USP, if only in a card attached to it. Every piece of literature. Every audio or video contact. Every online contact. You want everyone to associate your USP with you and your art. When you think of Dominos Pizza, do you think of how delicious the pizza is and how fresh the ingredients are? Nope! You think of how fast they deliver and that is often more important than knowing that the taste is only mediocre at best. People automatically associate their USP with who and what they are. Have them do the same for you. If you have a powerful USP and a great product, you are sure to sell more and more art.

I hope you enjoyed this mini-course on How to Determine Your USP. use the comments below to tell me how helpful this was.

Peace,
Chris O’Byrne
http://OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog