In 1979, a Michigan-based pizza chain made a pledge so outrageous, so devoid of any earthly hope of fulfillment that when it actually put the promise into practice, America took notice:
Your pizza will be delivered within thirty minutes, the pizza place promised. If we take longer, it’s free.
Pizza Hut, then king of the pepperoni mountain, didn’t deliver pizza at all. Domino’s did, and it successfully affixed a stopwatch to itself for all America to see. It worked like a charm. By the late 1980s, the firm had ballooned to over 5,000 stores and $2 billion in sales, by one account of the company’s success. Founder Tom Monaghan once ranked it higher than leadership or personnel in Domino’s annual report. It was the company’s number one priority: timely delivery.
Which, of course, eventually proved to be Domino’s undoing. Drivers trying to make their delivery time caused numerous accidents throughout the decade, and in 1993, Domino’s was slapped with a nearly $78 million judgment by a St. Louis jury after one driver failed to stop at a red light and collided with another car. Domino’s dropped the guarantee later that same year. Which is, sad and sorry for the stakeholders as it may be, a perfect illustration of today’s lesson applied in the rough extremes of the real world. Specificity. measurability. Differentiation from the bozos next door will move whole mountains of money your way. But if you’re reckless, those same qualities will run those mountains over.
Let me explain where I’m going with this, because most entrepreneurs confuse these concepts completely. Domino’s wasn’t selling thirty-minute pizza. It was selling the boring, old-fashioned value of hot pizza delivered to your house with half the work involved that delivery once required. This isn’t news. You know your value proposition because you’ve spent years deciding it. But it wasn’t the value proposition that turned Domino’s into a household name. The “thirty minutes or it’s free” promise was something different. More useful.
Your value proposition answers the question, why should I buy this? Your unique selling proposition answers a different question: why should I buy this when there’s obviously another place selling something just like it right next door? The former is a statement of value. The latter is a challenge both to the competition and, should you take it up, to yourself.
Most startups fail at this. So do most big companies. Too many entrepreneurs believe that they’ve nailed their unique selling proposition when they think of a nice, positive sentence to summarize what they offer: integrity you can count on. crafted with care. Again, it doesn’t matter how well-scripted these sound in your head; your competitor can use the exact same phrase to describe their product tomorrow. If by chance they don’t, they can easily change their slogan to match yours without changing their product.
A true unique selling proposition is both far more specific than that and far more useful. If it’s good, it should sound something like this:
“We guarantee delivery in 30 minutes or less, no matter where you live.” That’s Domino’s USP right there.
Here’s what makes for a good USP. I’m going to keep these broad because they apply to any industry and any niche within that industry.
• It’s a challenge, not a praise. “We love our customers” is a compliment. “We respond to all emails personally within 12 hours” is a challenge. It can be held against you. Which means your customers can hold your neck over the fire if you don’t keep your word.
• It’s something no one else can honestly claim right now. Which is why Domino’s was able to get away with promising fast delivery. Nobody was promising fast delivery because Pizza Hut didn’t offer delivery. Identify where the pack is overlooking or underserving their customers, and make your USP fill that void. loudly.
• When it crunches up against reality, it can still punch gravity in the jaw. Domino’s guarantee wasn’t flawed conceptually. Cars driving through red lights? That’s a logistical problem. An USP that causes your company more pain than it’s worth advertising isn’t a vision. It’s an anchor.
Oh, and one more thing.
Deliver on your promise. Every time.
A value proposition communicates the why behind your brand. A unique selling proposition dares your competitors to tell your customers they do it better, and has the actual data to back up your arrogance when they do. Find one, and your customers will see you before your competition knows you’re gone.
