Marketing can sometimes almost be like playing a game of chance – it’s a gamble, but you can put the odds in your favour with a solid edge! (Thank you Vault Boy from Fallout for the Image Use)
Today I was lucky to meet with two amazing clients who are very savvy female entrepreneurs.
They know who they are, I can’t mention their names – but boy I can say I have massive respect for them! One owns a Health Clinic and the other is a Corporate / Enterprise Level Business Consultant and even though they are obviously in totally different roles – we had a very similar discussion about ones “Edge”.
“The Edge” is basically the simple reason you express to the market of why people should buy your product / hire your service. It’s alright to have all these benefits and the like – but you really need a GREAT REASON that makes you a compelling thing to purchase.
Coming up with these statements are certainly an artform and some ones I quite like are:
Microsoft Surface Pro 3: The Tablet that can replace your Laptop.
Avis: We try harder!
Nike: Just do it.
Audi: Vorsprung durch Technik (“Advancement through Technology”)
You get the drift. You have massive companies that have short and sexy statements that gives you another reason to purchase from them. Also, this tends to form a core idea that a lot of their Wording & Sales Pitch comes from.
Mine for example is “Awesome Sales & Marketing” – simple, powerful and it’s been great for me. As Small Business Owners it’s great to come up with your powerhouse wording to make you stand out, so you sound super sexy and in the zone.
Here are some tips to help you come up with your own Positioning Statement / Tag Line:
1) Come up with a good reason: Don’t position your business on something minor and pointless. E.g. “Great Coaching”. Boring and it sucks. You may go for more “Performance through Ideas” – you get the drift.
2) Compelling & Sexy: Come up something that inspires you and the other person. Compelling and interesting!
3) Short: Just Write it! Simple and easy!
4) Linked to your Product: It’s okay for Nike to say “Just Do It” – but then they are a massive company with probably one of the biggest Marketing Budgets around. I always suggest business owners link it more to what they do.
5) Create something you can build on: You want to use your tag line throughout your whole business and build on it’s ideas. Think of it as a “Foundation” and something you put lots of ideas on.
6) Put it throughout your whole marketing: Far beyond a business card, use it as a central theme!
7) Test your Creation: Come up with something and give it a massive test and see how you go! Touch wood it resonates and it may require a bit of tweaking based on your feedback.
My advice and thinking? If you don’t have a sexy Tag Line get to work. You don’t have to put it everywhere – but being really clear on the “Edge” of why people should hire you just makes life and business that much easier.
Love your work and thank you for the read!
About the edge loving author:
Edward Zia is a Marketing Mentor, Blogger and lover of Australian Small Businesses. As a leading authority in his field, he loves blogging and writing cool articles such as these to help cool people such as you x x If you like what you see, he invites you to check out his online home study course “The Awesome Marketing Vault” >> Right Here!
2 Responses
Thanks Ed for the interesting article. Is the concept of the ‘Edge’ similar to USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
I love the word ‘Edge’ and have pondered over its use in phrases like ‘The cutting edge’, ‘The leading edge’ or even ‘The bleeding edge’. There is also a best selling book ‘The Slight Edge’ by Jeff Olson which I am now inspired to read in detail, after reading your article. You have the knack of bringing out profound concepts in simple terms. That’s the Edward Edge 🙂 (Are you going to copyright that?)
P.S. It is not a coincidence that I named my business MobiEdgeStudio with the tag line – Give your business the mobile edge. 🙂
Pleasure and love your work Fern! This may sound odd coming from me (as a Marketer) but I actually have never quite agreed with the USP concept at all. I have always found “Unique Selling Proposition” to be quite limiting as you basically have to sum up the whole companies benefit / outcome into usually one point (it’s also very 80s too).
I have found that “Edge” tends to perform much better in that it’s more encompassing concept and it’s also “Relevant” to others as well. With an “Edge” you can include more aspects of the Company’s Brand & Product strength in there and make it more powerful.
Technically they are two different concepts – however being neutral for the moment, your “Edge” would certainly include aspects of your “USP” in there. Hope that helps! Love your work and speak soon!