Humans love comfort. We love comfort so much we climb into ruts and make ourselves at home. We tend to stick with our circle of acquaintances, both online and in the real world. We’re also inclined to spend time with people who do similar things, which is helpful for collaborating on projects, but may not be the best way to find new customers. Professional organizations are great, but they tend to make us insular. Maybe even a little boring.
So what do your customers do for fun? Where do they hang out? Do you have common interests? How do you figure that out?
It’s Thanksgiving day here in Canada. What am I grateful for? That I put myself heavily into student loans to go to art school. It was the best decision I ever made.
I had some remarkable instructors when I attended NSCAD University (once upon a time simply referred to as “the Art College”). I vividly remember three things that were said to me during my time at NSCAD; the first two were offhand comments, the third was carefully worded and meant to stick. None of them were said in a business context, but as so often happens, simple, sincere words are more valuable than you realize. These words have served me well as an artist and designer. They’re important marketing lessons, too.
I read two blog posts today that got me thinking about dresses and shoes. That got me thinking about how easy it can be to find your unique selling proposition: do it by accident.
If you’re not familiar with the jargon, a unique selling proposition (USP) is what makes you different from other people in your field, and preferably what makes you more valuable than the other guy in the eyes of your ideal buyer.
I once attended a marketing workshop where the mere mention of finding your USP made everyone look like they were about to undergo root canal. It can be a tough thing to come up with, especially if you overthink it.
