12 June 2002 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Your June 12th, 2002 YouCanDraw.com Insider's Communiqué |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Howdy all, Today's email is a continuation of an email we began about a month ago. The topic of concern - and I know to you new members, this might seem off topic - the topic of concern was/is developing your own "Unique selling Proposition" (USP). What's this have to do with caricaturing? Everything and nothing. Everything if you're trying to turn your caricature hobby into a money making skill/business. Nothing if you want to draw just for the pure fun of it. Of course, if you make your money through some other means, then today's communique won't be completely for naught. Give it a read through - you may find something of use here. Elgin Bolling of NYC was the person who enthusiastically "politicked" for more on devleoping a USP. We must thank him. (Also - new members, please watch next week's e-zine for your "Flash Interactive Exercise Download Links". They're included in the purchase price!) Developing a USP What follows is a copy of a questionnaire I filled out some years ago when I was working on a USP for YouCanDraw.com. This wasn't the only thing I filled out, or researched, or studied. Hardly. It was the tip of the iceberg. You'll read about things like "Developing your elevator speech" - which though referenced, I think is not very well explained in this email, BUT will elaborated on in the future. The original "USP Generator" text you're reading here was reprinted in part from Netrageous.com. This particular section is "off the air" now, but still check them out for great marketing info. (Online or off-line.) Onward... What's a USP? A "USP" is "that distinct, appealing idea that sets your business apart from every other 'me too' competitor. How do you use a USP? Your entire marketing and operational success should be built upon your USP. What angle's can you take constructing a USP? Your USP may touch any part of the marketing gamut -- price, service, quality or exclusivity". (From "Money Making Secrets of Marketing Genius Jay Abraham") So how the heck do you make one? (-- from Netrageous.com: http://www.netrageous.com/ I highly recommend entering "Netrageous.com" into Yahoo and see all the on-line help available - for free. A lot of it's dated, but a lot is still great advice -- Added are my own responses...at the end is a clean slate of questions if you want to go through this process yourself...) USP Generator: questions you must ask if you want to be successful in business (Remember, the responses were mine and done with YouCanDraw.com in mind.) A. What is your target market—exactly who are you trying to reach? my response: People who want to learn how to draw caricatures. People who want to teach people who want to learn how to draw caricatures People who want to just plain learn to draw - and have no experience. People looking for a small business idea. B. Describe the key frustrations your ideal customer has that relate to your product or service: 1) They don't think they have any talent. ("I can't draw a stick figure") I show them they already have all the skills they need to draw not just caricatures, but anything else they want, that they already have a history as an artist; 2) People always say "caricaturists are born", I show them it can be learned 3) There are no books (much less web sites) teaching caricature for people who don't know how to draw. 4) that learning to draw has benefits beyond drawing - it opens up a whole new aspect of their brain. 5) "Don't have the time or access to a classroom" C. Describe how your product or service solves these frustrations: (I partially answered this in b.) What I'd add is "if you have a computer, you can learn to draw - any time, any where in the world (if you speak English) There is no online competition. Lots of caricaturists - but no body offering lessons. There are books but they all assume you can draw already. None incorporate "right brain techniques" to learning anatomy or caricature. I try to do both. D. List three specific reasons why your target market should choose you over your competition: (Have to rethink this one...for the 2000's) E. What is your “Only One" Advantage?”: 1) the only book on-line - or off-line - and program that offers caricature drawing lessons that offer right brain learning techniques (the biggee) 2) the only program that sends you a caricature every other week on-line 3) the only program that has an every-other-week e-zine dedicated to teaching and motivating you to keep drawing caricatures. F. Describe main problem(s) your target market has by competing this sentence: “Do you know how (or when)...”(State the Pain) You know how...some people get all excited just watching those caricature artists draw hilarious pictures of people - and not just draw them but get paid for it? and they wish they could learn to do the same but don't think they have the talent? G. Describe specifically how you solve this problem by competing this sentence: “What I do is...”(Show the Gain) What I do is... show them that not only do they already have the necessary skills, but that by learning a handful of simple techniques they too can learn to draw caricatures - and some day get paid to do it! H. Now distill the information from A through G into a concise expression that represents your Unique Selling Proposition: (see the sig file below) “How to Develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) That Will Dramatically Increase Your Sales” Once you've developed an excellent USP, you can integrate it into your Web site and other marketing material. Doing this can double or triple your sales over time. How you can develop a potent USP: USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. This is the expression that precisely defines the main benefit(s) you provide, how you are different from and better than your competition, and why these things are important to your customers, clients or patients. It is the theme all your advertising, promotions, sales presentations, customer service policies and all your employees must convey to your current or prospective customers. Your USP can be distilled into the headline, slogan or tag line for your business or practice. Unfortunately, many firms don't have the right kind of USP, if they have one at all. How many businesses say they have the lowest prices or the best service? How many say they have the highest quality? Unfortunately, most people just tune out these statements because they are too vague and over used. The key in developing a powerful USP is to be as specific as you can in describing the benefits of what you do. Some slogans are catchy, like Delta's “We love to fly and it shows,” Chrysler's “What's new in your world?” or BellSouth's “Watch how we're listening.” But what do they mean for a potential customer? Do they tell customers what's in it for them? Slogans like these may work over time for large corporations with sizable ad budgets, but they aren't very effective for small-to-medium-size companies, especially in the short run. Three examples of excellent slogans are Ban Deodorant's “Ban takes the worry out of being close,” Federal Express' “When it absolutely, positively has to be there,” and Sears' “Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.” Why are these three so good? They cleverly address a hidden and powerful concern — fear — by stating the benefit — piece of mind — to the user. Start From Scratch! First, you should abandon any general purpose mission statement or similar dinosaur if you have one. Corporate identity statements that contain words like “highest quality...total customer satisfaction...highest integrity...best service...zero defects...lowest prices, etc.” should be thrown in the trash! They are meaningless because every company claims to have these things. If you want to be successful, you must be different! To create your own USP, take a look at what you do and how you do it. Think of all the ways your products or services benefit your customers. Step 1: Identify Your Specific Target Market The first step in developing a strong USP is to identify your primary target audience. Many marketers make the mistake of thinking the whole world is a good prospect for their product or service. They try to appeal to everyone and end up selling to no one! Determine specifically who buys your product or service now, or who has a need for what you provide. Write down the specific characteristics of your most likely customer. Try to identify a specific individual who has a personal or business need for what you have. This is essential because your marketing communications will usually be read by a specific individual, not a group. Directing your marketing towards a specific person — or personalization — is how you will target your marketing to exactly the right people. It is the key to marketing success. The best way to get a preliminary idea about your primary target market is to analyze your present customers. How old are they? Are they male, female or both? Married or single? What are their income levels? These are the basic demographics you should know about your customers. In fact, knowing your customers is the most important part of developing your USPs. The more information you can gather about your customers and prospects, the better you can serve their needs. Step 2: Identify Your Customers' Key Frustrations Step 3: Describe Your Key Competitive Advantages Step 4: Describe the Main Benefits of What You Do Many people confuse features — like sharpness, type of metal, length, price, or packaging — with benefits or results — like a clean, crisp 1/4” hole. An easy way to discover benefits is to use the “Which means...” strategy. Start by stating a feature of your product or service, then say, “Which means...” In our drill bit example you could say, “Our drill bit is made of ultra-hard titanium steel (main feature) — which means you can drill through just about anything (1st benefit) — which means you only need one bit for all your applications (2nd benefit) — which means you'll save money (3rd benefit) and which means you'll save time because you won't have to hunt for the right bit for every job (4th benefit).” When you're listing the benefits of your product or service, remember this 1/4” drill bit example. Step 5: Define Your “Only One” Advantage Step 6: Match Benefits with Needs It's important to make sure the benefits you offer correspond to the needs of your target market. Many people make the sometimes fatal mistake of assuming they know what their customers want. Don't make this mistake. The best way to find out what your customers need is to ask them. Only then can you be sure you're giving them what they want. Step 7: Develop an “Elevator Speech” (to be elaborated on in an upcoming e-zine) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OK, clean slate.....your turn to answer: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A. What is your target market—exactly who are you trying to reach? B. Describe the key frustrations your ideal customer has that relate to your product or service: C. Describe how your product or service solves these frustrations: D. List three specific reasons why your target market should choose you over your competition: E. What is your “Only One Advantage?”: F. Describe main problem(s) your target market has by competing this sentence: “Do you know how (or when)...”(State the Pain) G. Describe specifically how you solve this problem by competing this sentence: “What I do is...”(Show the Gain) H. Now distill the information from A through G into a concise expression that represents your Unique Selling Proposition: I. If possible, further condense your Unique Selling Proposition into a brief slogan for business cards or stationery: Step 3: Describe Your Key Competitive Advantages Step 4: Describe the Main Benefits of What You Do Step 5: Define Your “Only One” Advantage Step 6: Match Benefits with Needs Step 7: Develop an “Elevator Speech” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, start 'cross-pollinating' Now adapt these to running your own caricature business. Answer them thinking way beyond just doing caricatures. Answer these with comments your own customers have told you why they think your business is different. Here's a link to a quick 7 question quiz on approaching a USP. (Each set of questions helps you glean - from yet another angle - how to approach writing your own USP. http://top7business.com/archives/vision/040298.html and another link to marketing guru Jay Abraham: http://www.abraham.com/articles/How_To_Create_A_Unique_Selling_Proposition.html Here's another at Business Town: http://www.businesstown.com/advertising/basic-usp.asp and another: http://www.iboost.com/promote/marketing/branding/00039.htm from iBiz: http://www.ibizcenter.com/marketing_usp.htm and another: http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P03_1012.asp and another: http://www.profitadvisors.com/usp.shtml and still another - these guys actually site Trout and Reeves landmark advertising book "Positioning" - the guys who really came out with the concept in the early '70's...I think :-) : http://www.bcentral.com/articles/demographics/116.asp and another: http://www.thewritemarket.com/marketing/unique.htm (make sure you click on the "next page for some great examples) and go to the home page for general all-around web marketing stuff at this info-filled site http://www.thewritemarket.com/ Folks, go to any search engine and do a search for "Unique Selling Proposition" - you'll get all sorts of info! (Amazing how info in this area has exploded since the birth of the net. Amazing.) The work - and fun - is still in discovering your own. What's YouCanDraw.com's USP? Look in the Sig file at the very very end of this email :-) We're still working hard to live up to it. We'll look at developing an "elevator speech" in an upcoming issue. Keep on Drawing! Warmly, Executive Director (952) 920-9827 6920 Southdale Road Minneapolis, MN 55435 http://www.YouCanDraw.com "Once and for all getting you drawing faces and caricatures" mailto:comments@youcandraw.com
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