…and focus instead on “The Irresistible Offer”?
That’s the advice of marketing maverick and genius Mark Joyner in his book “The Irresistible offer”.
According to Mark, the Irresistible Offer is…
…not a USP.
Mark has a couple of criticisms of the USP as a useful marketing device.
Firstly, it can be a little vague as to exactly what it is. And, to be fair, if you’ve ever worked on coming up with a clear USP you know it can be something of a slippery beast.
Secondly, Mark’s view is that too much emphasis is placed on “uniqueness” which may not be sufficient on its own to make a sale.
So what does an Irresistible Offer look like?
The archetypal example used by Mark is Domino’s Pizza…
“Pizza hot and fresh to your door in 30 minutes…or less…or it’s free.”
The key difference between the USP and the Irresistible Offer lies in the offer, which should be so attractive that it provides incredible value to the customer. They’d almost have to be crazy to turn it down.
Note that the Irresistible Offer contains a USP as a component. But it then builds on that to include the offer.
Now you could quibble and say that Mark has simply taken an existing concept, changed it slightly and put his own label on it.
But I think he has done more than that.
For direct response marketers and copywriters, he has provided a very useful unifying concept. After all, every sales message will include an offer or “Call to Action”.
But all too often, it seems as if it’s been tacked on almost as an afterthought. Rather than flowing seamlessly from the rest of the letter.
And many times the offer is all about the product and the “stuff” people get, rather than the result and what it really does for them.
So here’s what I suggest…
Firstly, develop the USP and the overall positioning for the business.
Then develop an Irresistible Offer that builds on and reflects the USP.
If you haven’t read “The Irresistible Offer” it’s well worth your attention. And you can currently get a copy for free at Mark Joyner’s “Simpleology” site. You need to open an account but that’s free (although you’ll have to run the gauntlet of several One Time Offers).