…and that applies to marketers as well.
Jack Trout is a marketing expert whom I hold in great esteem. Together with Al Ries he wrote the classic marketing text “Positioning”.
Jack has recently published the second edition of his book “Differentiate Or Die”, with the arresting subtitle…
…”Survival In Our Era Of Killer Competition”.
He’s serious. The topic is that important.
What’s this got to do with copywriting and direct response marketing? I have a three word answer…
Unique Selling Proposition.
The link is made very explicit in the dedication at the start of the book…
“To Rosser Reeves, the man who made the ‘unique selling proposition’ famous. He was truly a man ahead of his time. Little did any of us realize just how competitive the world would become.”
…and in chapters 3 (Whatever Happened To The Unique Selling Proposition?) and 4 (Reinventing The Unique Selling Proposition).
The early chapters discuss the necessity (and problem) of standing out in a crowded market and go over once again the core principles of positioning and differentiation. There is some fascinating research on, for example, the varying degrees of differentiation in different product categories. (It probably will not surprise you to discover that there is 0% differentiation among banks.)
The rest of the book is a guide to devising a differentiated position. It starts by pointing out ways that are generally NOT Differentiating Ideas. I recall Jay Abraham, for example, hammering home the point that “Quality, Value, Service” is not a USP. Madison Avenue types will be stunned to discover that “Creativity” is not a Differentiating Idea either.
Trout then moves on to discuss the steps to differentiation and gives 9 possible ways to differentiate.
The book concludes with further comments on how to implement and sustain a strategy based on differentiation.
Now, there are 2 good reasons for copywriters to take a look at this book.
Firstly, it will be very useful in helping your clients come up with their USP or the “Big Idea” that’s going to be needed for a successful promotion or marketing campaign.
Secondly, it will be even more useful in determining your own USP as a copywriter. Remember, if you’re a copywriter, you’re in the business of selling copywriting services. Why should clients pick you rather than another copywriter?
Of course, at this point I should dazzle you with my own USP…but that’s still something of a work in progress! Needless to say, I am currently spending a lot of time poring over “Differentiate Or Die”.
Highly recommend this book. Like all of the books from Jack Trout and Al Ries it’s full of case studies and examples illustrating the points being made. Even better, rather than just talking about the ideas, the book contains a practical way to go about coming up with the Differentiating Idea. It’s not perfect, but it’s vastly better than most other books on the topic.
(NOTE: Jack Trout isn’t the sole author of “Differentiate Or Die”. Steve Rivkin is the co-author but for simplicity I’ve referred to Trout alone.)
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