An important step in creating your marketing plan is to determine HOW you will position your business, product or service in a way that will attract the clients you want to attract and that will make you stand out from your competitors.
What promise will you make to your clients? You need to be prepared to let your prospective clients know what they can get from you, or your product or service.
Ideally it should be something they can't get anywhere else.
You need to give them a reason to buy from you.
And, it must be a compelling reason - which means it must be something that is important to them.
Your USP In the marketing world, this concept is known as your Unique Selling Proposition or your Unique Selling Point, often abbreviated as USP.
I often call it a marketing hook.
A marketing hook is the ONE thing that will reach out and grab your ideal clients.
It makes them pay attention to what you have to say and makes them want to buy.
Done right, it also does a great job of attracting exactly the right clients to you, so you don't waste valuable time qualifying clients who are not a good fit for what you have to offer.
Here are a few examples of classic hooks you may be familiar with: Domino's Pizza: Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less -- or it's free.
FedEx: When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.
M&M's: The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
All of them give you a good reason to purchase the product.
There is a clear benefit, and no one else in their category (at least at the time these were introduced) is offering the same promise.
And, if what they are promising is important to you, you're going to seriously consider buying.
USP and the Work At Home Mom The idea of USP works just as well for work at home moms as it does for big business.
If you are a coach, consultant, accountant, designer, copywriter, photographer, retailer or any other type of work at home mom, you need to give prospective clients a reason to hire you or buy from you.
If I were to ask you, why should I hire you over all the other coaches, consultants etc.
, you better be able to give me a compelling reason why.
Without a marketing hook (your reason why), your business, product or service is generic.
And, if you are generic, you're going to have a tough time attracting clients, convincing them to buy from you, and pay you for the value you offer.
A solid marketing hook, makes your job as a marketer and WAHM business owner much, much easier.
If you don't have a compelling marketing hook, I encourage you to take some time this week to identify one.
I realize this can be a challenging task, especially when you are so close to your business.
But it is an important step; one that can make or break your success as a work at home mom.