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A seminar I once attended on “listening” gave some interesting insights into “perceptions” and their importance.
There is 1) the way you see you, 2) the ways others see you, 3) the ways others think you see them, and 4) the ways you see others. The whole point of this exercise is to realize what impact each of these has on your business and what you can do about them.
How you see yourself and others does have a very real impact on whether others will want to do business with you. People like doing business with people who genuinely like themselves and others. The good news is, you are in control of your perceptions; how you see yourself and others. It is not always easy to change from within, but it is always within your control!
Changing your perceptions of self-image, self-worth, and your attitude toward others is a two-step process: 1) decision, and 2) conditioning.
You get to decide who you are and how you will see yourself and others. The second part is a little more difficult. You get to make that decision moment by moment. And in order for that decision to “take” it must be consistent from moment to moment. That consistency over time is where the conditioning comes in.
Then there are the ways others see you and the ways others think you see them. While these are not entirely under your control (part of it is their decision), you do have some influence.
If you choose to influence others’ perceptions, you must first know with certainty what you wish those perceptions to be, and then you need to institute a planned and concerted effort to shape those perceptions.
Here’s another key: It will be very helpful if how you choose to see yourself is consistent with how you wish others to see you. And you get to tell them what you think of them! You determine the effectiveness of your campaign by listening more than by talking.
It will also be helpful if what you tell others about how you see them is consistent with how you actually treat them. In business it’s’ called customer relations or public relations. I’ll give you another hint: It will also be helpful if how you want your customers treated is the way associates in the business treat one-another, both laterally and vertically!
Habits are formed. They are hard to break. To see an example of what we are talking about, see the marketing film, “Fish.” That popular movie makes the point very well.
The single easiest way to keep public relations and customer relations positive is to systematically keep peer relations positive and to allow PR and customer relations to be the natural positive overflow from the positive peer relations.
Whatever you call it, “unique selling proposition” (USP, “extra value proposition” (EVP, “competitive advantage,” “strategic marketing position,” or “strategic marketing advantage,” “reason-why marketing” is enjoying unprecedented acceptance in businesses. Just maybe, tough economic times were needed to open minds to the concept. Still, speakers, trainers and gurus continue to offer a limited view of this important topic.
The right USP is the beginning of all optimally effective marketing. Without it, no marketing can be as effective as it otherwise might be.
The right USP is one that covers all the bases a USP needs to cover, yet it states all that it must in a most efficient and memorable way.
A USP differentiates the business. It sets the business apart from the competition. It sets the business as the standard in the industry, as though there really is no competition.
A USP positions the business as the competitive leader. It states a company’s strategic advantage over all others. It stakes out a strategy as the company’s strategic marketing territory, unencroachable by the competition, the right USP must be credible. It must not only be believable, but inspire the reaction, “You know, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that’s exactly right!” It must inspire enthusiastic agreement. It must convey the obvious truth about the company. It must be that credible!
The right USP communicates to the market. It gets on their wave length. It lets people know you understand them. It conveys the underlying message, “We feel your pain.” As some wise sage once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” It speaks to the heart!
The right USP is compelling. It leads people by the emotions to an action that satisfies their wants and desires. It does not push people; they will resist being pushed. It leads them, gently but powerfully, by the heart strings.
The right USP is implemented. It is on every business card. It is on every letter head. It is the sub heading of every ad. It is on the lips of every associate. Only then will it be on the mind of the buying public.
Once effectively implemented, the right USP is the foundation that makes all other marketing as effective as it can be. The right USP optimizes results whether you’re generating traffic or converting that traffic to paying customers.
Gene Shambaugh
Hi. My name is Gene Shambaugh. My mission is economic stimulus for small businesses using “reason-why” marketing principles. I’ll be sharing a lot of things with you (hopefully, as I’m still new at blogging) that I hope you’ll find useful.
