Hardwood Floors April/May 2019

Communicating Your Message (Continued)

IDENTIFY YOUR UNIQUENESS Answer this question: “What is di erent about our customer experience than the rest of themarket?” is is called the unique selling proposition (USP). Sometimes theUSP is referred to as the “big idea.” It is the outstanding di erence thatmakes you stand out in yourmarket. It is the one thing you can lay claimto that no one else in themarket or industry can say. is di erencemust be unique, compelling, and defendable by you. Keep this di erence short and speci c. e following feeder statements can help you identify your USP: • We are the only ones that… • We were the first to… • Customers tell us we’re unique because… Whatever follows these feeder statements is your USP. Once you identify your USP, over communicate the message. Tell everyone and tell themo en. Your goal is to occupy the buyer’s mind with your uniqueness.

messaging. Do you know the full impact of your value-added solution on the customer? e rst step in constructing your value proposition is to determine the di erent segments you serve and identify the unique needs of each segment. en you analyze how your solution helps satisfy those unique needs. e second step is determining the outcome of satisfying those needs. Here are some sample value proposition statements:

• We help customers “play bigger” than they are. • We help customers better serve and satisfy their customers. • We help customers save more time and money on their projects.

Each statement focuses on the outcome. In short, the value proposition is what the customer gains. Your value-added solution is how the customer gains it. Before customers buy, they need to know what they will gain, how you make that happen, and what makes you unique. In any messaging campaign, you must e ectively communicate the value-added solution you o er customers; then, you must communicate the impact that value-added solution has on the customer. Customers also need to know what makes you stand out in the market. Every touch point with the customer is an opportunity to communicate your value and di erentiate your solution. Are you taking full advantage of this opportunity? Paul Reilly is president of Tom Reilly Training and coauthor of Value-Added Selling, fourth edition (McGraw-Hill 2018). For additional information on training programs, call or email Paul at 636.778.0175 or paul@reillysalestraining.com. You can also visit reillysalestraining.com and sign up for his free newsletter.

IDENTIFY YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION

Answer this question: “What does the customer gain from experiencing our value-added solution?” e value proposition is the down-line outcome of your customer experience. It’s the long-range impact of your value-added solution on the customer. It is a clear statement of the tangible results customers experience as a consequence of partnering with you. Seventy- ve percent of sales andmarketing executives believe that ge ing this value proposition right and communicating it clearly to customers is the number one goal for customer

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