Mulkey Communications

According to Rosser Reeves, author of Reality in Advertising, your unique selling propostion (USP) should be one that your competition cannot or does not offer. And the benefit offered should be so powerful that it attracts numerous new customers. And not just new customers, perfect customers! Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez, authors of Attracting Perfect Customers, believe you can attract exactly the customers or clients you’re looking for.

Answer the ten questions below to discover how well you’re using your unique selling proposition to attract your ideal customers.

1. What is your unique selling proposition, the one thing that differentiates your product or service from all of your competitors?
2. Can you define your ideal customer or client—how they behave, where they live, their purchasing habits, the amount of money they have to spend on your product or service, how they pay, how they interact with your staff, how they regard your organization, how they tell others about your product or service, etc.
3. Are your ideal customers aware that your product or service exists? If so, are they aware of your unique selling proposition?
4. Specifically, what do your ideal customers expect you to deliver? Do your ideal customers’ expectations match up with your unique selling proposition as well as what you’re currently delivering?
5. How effectively do your marketing, sales and public relations efforts and corporate communications convey your unique selling proposition to your ideal clients?
6. Do all of your promotional materials, letterhead, signage, website, etc. complement one another in design and message, accurately convey your unique selling proposition and appeal to your ideal client?
7. Do you have a marketing and sales plan designed to attract your ideal customers, including annual goals, intermediate goals, budget, action steps and accountability?
8. Do you have a public relations plan to attract your ideal customers, including annual goals, intermediate goals, budget, action steps and accountability?
9. Do you know what percentage of potential customers in your market area would identify your organization first when asked to list the providers of the product or service you offer? What percentage of your ideal customers would identify your organization first?
10. How do you track the effectiveness of the money spent on your marketing and sales efforts? For example, suppose you ran a radio ad for eight weeks. At the end of this period, would you be able to determine how many customers purchased your product or service as a result of that ad?

An effective plan provides a road map for your organization to get from where you are to where you want to be. Yet, just having a plan is not enough: it must be implemented successfully. Answer each of the questions below, and award your organization ten points for each positive response.

1. Does your organization have a current business or strategic plan?
2. Does your plan set forth a compelling vision for your organization, one that is attainable yet will require everyone involved to give their best effort to achieve?
3. Do you have buy-in on the plan from everyone in the organization—from entry level employees to the Board of Directors?
4. Is the plan really being used or is it merely collecting dust somewhere?
5. How you do you establish whether your plan is being effectively implemented?
6. Is your entire organization headed in the direction established by the plan, with every major decision supporting that direction?
7. Does your leadership team meet regularly (at least quarterly) to review progress on the plan and make adjustments as needed?
8. Is there a high level of accountability built into your plan? Does everyone in the organization fully understand their responsibilities as set forth in the plan?
9. Are there incentives for reaching the plan’s goals? If so, what are they?
10. Do you review and revise your plan regularly (at least annually)?

Now rate the effectiveness of your organization’s planning process.

90-100 points: Congratulations! Your organization is well on its way to achieving its vision.

70-80 points: Your organization is making good progress. To assure your success, really make your planning process a top priority.

50-60 points: Your organization has created a foundation on which on which to build. Now put additional time, energy and resources into upgrading your planning process.

Below 50: Back to the drawing board.

The ten actions below will support you through the sometimes bewildering process of self-publishing your book. I’ll be expanding on each of these in the weeks and months to come.

1. Establish your purpose for writing your book.
2. Develop a budget for your self-publishing project.
3. Determine the audience you wish to attract, and find out what this audience wants.
4. Create the content of your book to provide what your desired audience wants.
5. Ask professionals in the field you are writing about to review your book and, if so moved, provide praise.
6. Get a qualified editor/proofreader to review and revise your book so that it flows well and contains no errors.
7. Hire a professional to create the interior layout of your book so that it’s easy to read and attractive to look at.
8. Hire a graphic designer to create a compelling book cover that invites readers to pick it up and look inside.
9. Work with a self-publishing outfit that charges minimal upfront fees and handles fulfillment.
10. Develop a plan to promote and market your book.