The Six Most Powerful
Marketing Concepts
How the three “F’s” and the three “D’s” make for killer USPs: Fears, frustrations, and failures — and the three D’s — dreams, desires, and destiny.
If the USP is the most powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal, then…
These Six Concepts Are The Most Powerful
Marketing Concepts Imaginable
Integrate your prospects’ three F’s and three D’s into your USP, and you may discover that you’ve come up with a legal way to print money. Let me explain…
All the ways listed above for differentiating your business are important. They help customers choose to do business with you, instead of doing business with your competitors. But if you approach those methods thinking about how they’ll benefit you and your business, you’ll wonder why they don’t work — even when I told you they would. Here’s what’s going on…
I’m selfish. You’re selfish. Your customer is selfish. Even if we don’t want to admit it, we are. All of us. Most of the time we only really care about ourselves — and at best our loved ones, friends, etc. Even if we do good for someone else, our deepest satisfaction comes from how that makes us happy.
Selfishness is a function of human nature — of having our own consciousness, our own needs, and our own desires — so don’t get too upset at your customers or yourself for being this way.
Why is this important to your business? Well, whether we like it or not, most of our customers don’t actually care that deeply about us — they may like us a lot but when it comes to their needs versus our own, guess who wins? Yep — you got it. Your customer only cares about your business, your product, and your service in so much as it is benefiting them.
And the only way to make it incredibly clear to them that your product or service is providing an irreplaceable benefit to them is to explain:
How it eliminates their current fears, frustrations, or failures, or
How it brings them closer to their dreams, desires, or destiny.
For this step you need to step out of your own mind. Do this through talking to your customers. Or ask your best sales people. What drives your customers to buy? What is keeping them awake at night, that drives them toward your solution?
What Are Their Fears, Frustrations, and Failures?
Are your customers afraid of retiring without any money? Are they worked up by hitting a perceived top in their career ladder? Or their sales? Are they struggling in their personal relationships?
Does your product or service solve these? Then find a way to speak to that in your USP — as clearly and succinctly as possible.
What are their dreams, desires, and destiny?
Do your customers dream of a new car or a vacation house? Do they desire more time to spend with their family and to pursue hobbies? Do they think they’re well on their way to fulfilling their wildest dreams, if only they have…?
And does your product or service bring them closer to these? Then integrate that in your USP — again, as clearly and succinctly as possible.
One key here is to make sure you’re conducting business in an ethical way. You need to make sure you deliver the goods. If your product or service truly helps your customers break free of their fears, frustrations, or failures… or brings them significantly closer to their dreams, desires, or destiny… then you’re on the right track. If you’re confident that you can deliver 200% to 20,000% of the value you promise, then you’re can honestly and fairly use these tactics.
This is powerful stuff — I do not, can not, and will not condone using these strategies in an unethical way. But if you are able to truly provide these benefits to your customers, you should see it as your ethical responsibility to compel them through whatever means necessary to try your product for their own good.
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