Some firms are telling me that their sales through the post and email are poor.  Others are reporting that things are working well.

So what makes the difference?

One particular point (and one I have mentioned a few times of late) is that direct mail is increasingly playing a part here.  Some products will sell through email, but for some this is the time to go back to postal mail.  The cost is higher of course but the results can clearly overcome the costs and make a profit.  (And as I always point out, one can always test small numbers to prove the point).

Many other points have come out of our discussions on why some things are selling at the moment and others not.  Of course as a writer I would always say “it is the copy” – but even I would admit it is also the essence of the product and the offer.

Here’s one example: take the question of the “unique selling point”.  Everyone knows that one is needed, and most firms claim to have one.  But as we have looked into the results of some companies that are not doing so well at present, one big reason seems to be that the USP is not unique at all.

Consider a USP that relates to the quality of the service that the company gives, getting the job done quickly, efficiently and politely on time every time.  That’s good, there is no denying that, and past customers will recognise this and remember it.

But it is not unique and as such it is not a USP.  It is a reputation – and we have found that it is very hard at the moment to sell on reputation.

The fact is that in each product area there are always companies that share a reputation for quality, reliability and so forth.  Having such a reputation is good – but it cannot be used with success as a USP.

Which leads on to this point: to sell well you need to be supplying what the customer wants.  Your reputation can help, and a USP is certainly good, but giving the customer what he/she wants at this moment is essential too.

Now that may sound so utterly obvious that you are tempted to delete this file at once on the grounds that I have finally slipped over the edge, but please give me another second.

I appreciate the argument that “my product is what it is.  I can’t change it.”  Yet in a way I think this can be done – through changing what the product is seen as.

In short, the product can be just the product (it is a chair, it is an accounting system, it is a computer…) or it can be seen as something more than this.

Imagine you are selling a product that does a good job and is well liked, but is in a very crowded market.  You can claim your product does the business – that’s its benefit.  But everyone else claims that too.   What to do?

Our suggestion is that instead of focussing just on the benefits of the product, you also focus on the feature that makes your product different.

Now that seems like a reversal of everything that is ever written in any marketing book, where it always says, “sell benefits not features”.  But there are times (especially in highly competitive markets) where pointing out your product’s unique features, and linking this with the benefits, can work a treat.

So the benefit is still that this is a sturdy piece of furniture, or a great accountancy program, but now you are also telling the customer that the key is your use of one particular factor, or approach, or glue, or insight or anything else.  In fact you cite the PRODUCT X that makes your product or service different.

(Now at this point some people tell me that they don’t have product X, but I have invariably found that we can find one – if we look hard enough).

It is a difficult issue to talk through without examples, and I cannot (for confidentiality reasons) give you details of how we have used this approach with other products.  But if you would like to call me to talk about your product I will try and give you an example of how it might work for you.

The fact is that some firms are getting really good results with our marketing services, and these are often ones that have changed their approach recently – especially where they have difficulty in not having a unique selling point that is truly unique.

If you would like to explore this further, please do give my colleagues or I a call on 01536 399 000.

Tony Attwood