Great Unique Selling Propositions have the following characteristics:
Joe’s Message to Modem
Company: “You’ve Got Mail—
The 90s Are Over”
The CEO of a company that was a
huge success in the mid-1990s
was talking about his USP, which
needed some focus. This small
business designed and produced
modems at a time when everyone
needed one to go on-line for the first
time. But the firm never developed
a USP. It seemed like a waste of time.
Orders and money were pouring in.
The industry was constantly mov-
ing the product lines upwards, from
2,400 baud modems, to 9,600,
14,400, 28,800, and 56k, and cus-
tomers traded up accordingly. This
firm rode on the crest of the wave,
and it seemed like it would never
end.
Then the world changed. Cus-
tomers no longer needed modems,
because high-speed DSL and cable
connections became available. In
addition, PC manufacturers stopped
including modems as a standard
component, and modem chip manu-
facturers began sharing designs
with anyone that could print a cir-
cuit board, including low-cost pro-
ducers in China.
Revenues dropped like a rock,
the production floor closed, layoffs
emptied half the building, and it was
clear that modems were not com-
ing back. But the firm could not re-
spond. They had no Unique Selling
Proposition, no means of looking at
their own strengths and resources,
and no ability to see their way into
the future.
They contain one crisp,
clear, sentence.
They are credible.
They describe the unique
benefit associated with your
products or services, focusing
on your market niche.
They state in measurable
terms how your small
business satisfies a customer’s
needs.
Developing a Winning USP
Are you ready to get started? Here is
a great way to develop a winning USP.
Gather the right people
together in a comfortable
meeting room.
Make sure that everyone has
a paper and pencil (not
computers).
Explain the purpose of your
meeting.
Brainstorm.
List the unique benefits your
small business offers to
customers.
Eliminate the entire list
except for the three most
important items.
Write one creative, concise
statement that best
communicates each USP.
Meet again the next day to
choose a single winner from
among the three, and fine-
tune the wording.
Begin communicating the USP to employees, customers, and the
entire world right away.
Completely integrate the USP into all marketing and sales efforts,
and include it in every communication emanating from your small
business.
A Business Plan for You Only
Let’s get this resolved right away: Business plans are tedious and take a lot of
time. Nevertheless, regardless of whether your small business is new or estab-
lished, a business plan is needed. assumes that you are the captain of
your own ship, and the objectives are growth and prosperity (as opposed, for
example, to selling your small business or grooming it to attract venture capital).
Given these objectives, what’s next? The successful entrepreneur must have a
plan to get from here to there.
A small business, like a ship, needs a detailed map of its destination and
route. Ships don’t just head out to sea and churn around. They plan their travels
and navigate efficiently to their destination, taking aboard sufficient fuel and
provisions, mindful of the known perils along the route. A small business with-
out a plan is like the captain of a ship without a destination. Things may be okay
for awhile, but it’s only a matter of time before something bad and unexpected
happens.
Many books devoted entirely to this subject describe in great detail how to
construct an M.B.A.-style business plan with the intent of attracting venture
capital or similar major-league financing—and many entrepreneurs have invested
huge amounts of time and money in researching and preparing business plans.
This may be the best move for your company. In that case, professional assis-
tance from marketing and financial experts may be needed. You may want to
consult a book specifically devoted to this subject or obtain software designed
to assist in building a business plan. In contrast to a formal business plan de-
signed for investors, however, this book describes how to build a business plan
just for you, the small business owner. It will serve as your navigation chart for
the next year or so, when it should be revised. If a more formidable plan is
needed at a later time, it can be built on top of the business plan described in this
chapter.
In building the plan, be sure to talk to as many people as possible to get their
ideas, viewpoints, and buy-in. In that way, you are both developing the plan and
selling it to important others at the same time.
This business plan is for you and, perhaps, partners or family, so it’s okay to
be informal and use lots of bullet points instead of writing out everything. If a
more formal plan is needed later, it will be easy to do, because all of the research
and big thinking is already finished. You will just need to shine and polish.
lements of a Business Plan
Business plans vary in structure, but most are organized as follows:
Executive Summary
Description of Your Company and the Market
Competitive Analysis
Marketing and Pricing Plan
Management
Operations and Development Plans
Milestones and Financial Estimates
Appendices
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary brings together the entire plan, so it is necessary to
write it last. This section briefly describes your business, its history, manage-
ment, and method of ownership; but most important, it talks about the company’s
products and services and their place in the market. Also, it should state busi-
ness objectives over the short and long term.
This may seem obvious at first, and you may be tempted to write something
such as:
Our company desires to dominate the local market and then expand
around the world, eventually eliminating competitors and then ruling
the market as our unassailable wealth allows us to continually release
better products.
But a more realistic objective is better:
Generate net income before taxes of $1 million per year, increasing at
10 percent per year thereafter for five years. This will allow officers
and owners of the company to earn income 50 percent greater than
could be obtained through employment with competitors, provide the
company with adequate working capital, and allow sufficient funds to
expand into the new markets described in this plan.
Description of Your Company and the Market
This section defines exactly what markets your small business intends to
serve, including market size, growth rates, and trends. Because this plan is for the
management of your small business, focus on the specific geographic or niche
market targeted, and concentrate only on statistics that will be meaningful to com-
pany insiders. You should also provide a little background information on the
company. After describing the general market, get specific: Exactly which market
segment is the focus of your small business, and what is the strategy for attaining
this? Moreover, what are the marketing, sales, fulfillment, and distribution plans?
.png)
0 Comments