How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) That Sets Your Business Apart (ft. Ian Miclean)

Logan Shinholser
Everyone, welcome back to the Contractor Growth Network podcast. I’m Logan Shinholser and today I’m joined back to back episodes with marketing director of CGN, Ian Miclean. Ian, we are talking all about unique selling proposition. So in all the things that you could talk about from a marketing perspective, where does discussing identifying your unique selling proposition fall in?

Ian Miclean
It’s, it’s pretty fundamental. USPs and ICAs, like the last conversation we had, these are core components, things that you need to do at the very beginning. They’re going to flow into basically every other piece of marketing that you do. And if you don’t have a clear USP or multiple that you’re utilizing in your marketing efforts, you are going to come across as extremely generic, which is going to be a major detriment to pretty much any marketing that you do.

Logan Shinholser
So a few weeks ago I talked about this in the last podcast, but I did a marketing workshop for a dozen remodeling companies. At this workshop, I split it into two parts. And the first, the reason for that is a lot of people forget why people are hiring them in the first place. They think it’s, oh, they’re hiring me because I give really good service and I communicate and all that kind of stuff. But in reality, they’re hiring me because they have an actual. Like, I really think people in the remodeling world, like, they don’t provide to me a service, they provide a product. Like, I truly believe that you’re hiring it for the end outcome, which to me, maybe I’m off is I look at that as a product. It’s like buying a car. You’re buying the end result.

Logan Shinholser
You’re not buying the salesperson or the service plan. You’re buying the actual car. And that’s the same thing that I look at with a remodel, for sure.

Ian Miclean
Yeah. Again, the services is like a secondary compliment. Ultimately, you want the end result. But if the path to get there is nice, that’s great. But it’s not the core thing that you’re buying. Definitely not.

Logan Shinholser
So the first thing I walked through in this, you know, with this workshop was essentially, guys, we’re only going to focus on product right now. I don’t want you to use the word communication. I don’t want you to use the word process or any of that stuff. I just want you to focus on pretend you couldn’t explain anything and all you could do is show photos of a before and an after that needs to essentially speak the thousand words People go, oh, now I see what’s going on. So with that said, the first thing that went through was the main problem of the actual product itself, which is very similar to the ideal client avatar. But in your mind, Ian, let’s go off kitchens. All right.

Logan Shinholser
Let’s say you walk in your kitchen and there’s a problem with it, that maybe down the line, you may be thinking about doing a remodel, but initially, what sorts of problems would you experience in a kitchen that would make you start to think about doing something different?

Ian Miclean
Yeah, I’d say first off, again, I’m. I’m. I’m more of an aesthetics kind of person. Like, I like my home to be sort of peaceful and calm and make it comfortable for me to be in. So if I was in a space and consistently my impression of that space was like, oh, I hate being here. That’s going to be a major motivator. Motivator for me. But also things that, like, make it hard to use. Right. So if there are facets of the kitchen that are awkward. Right. The height of the countertops. I mean, I’m taller. I’m not super tall, but I’m taller. Lots of countertops, I’m kind of hunched over. If. Right. There’s not enough storage for all of the stuff that I would like to have, that’s going to be a problem. If, like, I. I just don’t.

Ian Miclean
The, like, appliances that I’m having there aren’t functional for me. They’re not doing what I need them to do. A lot of it is really gonna come down to those two things. For me, it’s gonna be functionality and do I like being in that place.

Logan Shinholser
So a lot of this is, like. That’s pretty much what everybody says. Like every home, it’s all pretty much the same stuff. It was like, it’s aesthetically unattractive. And then what typically happens is it’s functionally not sound. Where, sure, you end up having, you know, all your countertops are taken up by appliances, stuff like that. But essentially there’s issues with it. And then while you’re going to make those fixes to the issues aesthetically, you might as well upgrade it and make it look beautiful.

Ian Miclean
For sure. Yeah. Again, like, I’m going to want both out of that. I wouldn’t want a single sort of dynamic solution. Right. I’d want something that is solving all the problems at one time.

Logan Shinholser
So now let’s flip it over to the actual solution here. Or, you know, what. What are you actually proposing to fix it. So if the problem is, let’s say it’s aesthetically ugly and as a result you hate being in it, what would need to happen from a solution standpoint that has nothing to do with the experience of talking or working with the contractor. What would need to happen in your kitchen if you could snap your fingers, what would solve that problem?

Ian Miclean
Yeah, I mean, part of it is about going to be about like layout, like where things are at in the kitchen. I’m a big cook, so I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. So where the sink is in relation to my stovetop is matters. Where I have storage space for like spices, that’s going to be important that I have space for. Right. Like again, I have a variety of different sort of pans and pots that I would like to keep in a more sort of pristine spot. So having space for all of the things that I use on a regular basis is going to be important. But like I, I’m going to need to sort of one. Honestly, I’m going to want it to feel clean. Right. That’s one of my main issues.

Ian Miclean
If I’m in a kitchen space and it’s like, it feels dark and dingy and right. A little bit closed, that’s going to make me feel like, ugh, there’s like grit and grime in places and that’s going to be a problem. So even just aesthetically, like I’m a big person for like clean looking countertops because that does a lot psychologically for me for making that place feel good to be in. But I also am going to want to make it feel sort of open and a little bit more light. Right. So those things just in terms of vibes are going to be what I’m looking for. But then I also have a particular design taste, right. So I’m going to want it to be a little bit of a sort of mix of traditional and modern.

Ian Miclean
But those would be what I would be looking for just like on a personal basis for me.

Logan Shinholser
So so far, if you’re a remodeler and because we’re going to talk at the end about how this impacts the marketing, but you know, if you’re like, look, if you’re reading this, you’re probably in a kitchen that functionally does not work for you like to cook, but you also want something that feels light and airy and currently your space feels dark, it feels a bit claustrophobic because you’re bumping into stuff. So you want some sort of fix there. And that could come in with us reconfiguring the space, updating it so it looks a little bit different. And we’re even going to give you a spot where your pots and pans can feel like they’re in a pristine way, that they’re never going to get dirty.

Logan Shinholser
So far, if you’re a consumer and you read this thing on a remodeler’s website, how are you feeling about that? Remodeler sounds great. And so far, how much of this have we talked about? How much they communicate, how nice their subcontractors are, Any of that stuff?

Ian Miclean
Nothing. I mean, at this point, I don’t really care. I’m more concerned about whether or not you have the solution I’m looking for.

Logan Shinholser
So then the next step of this is identifying those solutions of the reconfiguration, whatever that is, what is unique. Like all the stuff that you said is probably not that different than what every other person out there is going to say. And that’s what makes the product side of the usp, especially in the remodeling space, so difficult. I think the best to me, the best way I, you know, at this workshop somebody brought up was they focus on aging in place.

Ian Miclean
Sure.

Logan Shinholser
And it’s a very specific ideal client they go after. But their thing isn’t just, hey, we do aging in place, which maybe that is unique. You know, maybe there’s only a few people in his market that does that. But their whole spin was, we do aging in place, but it doesn’t have to be ugly. So it was not grab bars from McDonald’s. It was grab bars that actually fit the whole design. And it just looks like it don’t stand out like a sore thumb.

Ian Miclean
Sure. You wouldn’t have noticed that. It was, it was like a aging in place feature. It just looks like a part of the kitchen. Yeah.

Logan Shinholser
It didn’t look like the VA came in and just checked the box of doing. And it really was like, wow, somebody thought through this stuff. So that was what was unique about him, was we, you know, we know our ideal client. They’re like 70 and up. They are getting older. They are afraid to walk around in their house because they don’t. They have like, you know, showers that are curbed that they’re going to trip over and they’re going to get hurt. So we come in and not only do we functionally update it, we also make it look beautiful so they don’t feel old because a lot of people don’t like getting old, but once you put in a grab bar, that’s like, okay, that’s step one to dying. So, you know, he had something that was not only unique, but it was also valuable.

Ian Miclean
Sure.

Logan Shinholser
So can you talk a bit more about that? Of just because something is unique and different, how does that impact somebody’s desire to buy it based off of, is it valuable or not?

Ian Miclean
Yeah. It comes down to, though, is like, is it valuable to you? Right. The benefit of what that person is doing in that context is because they know exactly who they’re speaking to, they’re able to craft a solution that is unique. Right. They’re able to say, okay, like, we know it needs to have this functionality, but we can do it in a better way. Right. Like you said, the thing you mentioned about the pots and pans. Right. If you know that I, as a consumer, am a cook. Right. You can craft a particular solution that’s going to better aligned with what I’m expecting out of a kitchen. Right. But small little details like that make it feel like the message that you’re sending is specifically for me and not just for everybody.

Logan Shinholser
So we’ve identified this point. The problems that Ian is facing is kitchen, why it’s a problem and why he feels that way. And then the solutions that we can come in with, then the final piece of all this is just coming in and talking about. Now, as a result, if we do those things, this is how Ian’s life is going to look. So back to the original messaging is, hey, if you’re feeling like your kitchen is cluttered and it’s dark and it feels messy and dirty and you like to have stuff that’s clean, we can come in, reconfigure the layout, make it actually, you know, look traditional yet modern in the actual aesthetic of it. And as a result, you’re going to love cooking in there all the time because you’re going to feel like it is your own kitchen.

Ian Miclean
Yeah.

Logan Shinholser
If we walk through that problem, solution, impact, and Ian is reading this, how are you feeling about this company now?

Ian Miclean
Seems like the right choice.

Logan Shinholser
Like, they get it. Like it’s.

Ian Miclean
Yeah. Again. And if you’re speaking to my problems and my concerns and my desires, of course I’m going to choose that over somebody that says we communicate well or. Right. We. We have a good process or we’re efficient or whatever, because those things feel generic. And the truth be told, if you’re sending out a generic message, my impression is that you probably have a generic product.

Logan Shinholser
And let’s Say with this, like back in this workshop, it was hard. I mean, this is the hardest one is the product, USP side of things. Because most people are saying pretty much all the same things, except for Chad, who really has, you know, like the aging in place. Sure, that’s beautiful. Most everybody else doesn’t have that very specific thing. Doesn’t mean you can’t have it. But it was a little bit different. But everybody there was talking about, well, we’re design build, and everybody in my area does design build. But a lot of people do. The other element that we talked about was great. Let’s say you are a designer and you do design build, but so does 10 other people in your market. What makes you special? And they go, well, we are design first.

Logan Shinholser
There’s an element of like, you could be NKBA certified, which now means that you actually have essentially a piece of paper that says, yes, we do design, but we’re actually certified in design. And now that elevates you to a different status that you’re not just, it’s.

Ian Miclean
Like going, you’re not just any designer.

Logan Shinholser
Right.

Ian Miclean
You’re, you’re a higher quality designer.

Logan Shinholser
It’s the difference of like a day trader saying, ian, you should make this trade, versus a hedge fund manager going, ian, you should make this trade. They both are telling you to make the same trade, but one of them, you’re like, is this person winging it? And the other one’s like, okay, this person does it for a living. Like there’s, they have all their series, you know, tests done. I’m going to go forward with that person.

Ian Miclean
Sure.

Logan Shinholser
Now, let’s say you’re in this situation. You are listening to podcasts and you’re trying to think through, okay, what are the actual physical problems that people are having? How do I actually solve them? Is it unique? Is it not unique? What happens if all the things that you’re bringing up, product wise, they’re not unique?

Ian Miclean
Yeah, I mean, that’s a harder question to address, but it’s not inescapable. A lot of what you do at that point is then really talk about it in a different way from my perspective. Right. If you’re, if you’re trying to turn something that isn’t unique into something that is unique, it becomes about what are you highlighting that other people in your market are not.

Logan Shinholser
So it’s not necessarily that you have to be 100% unique. And I know like we, there’s a book called Traction and it’s all about EOs. And one of the things they bring up is like, what are your three uniques? And the thing they say is, like, it doesn’t. It’s not like you have to pick three things that each of them make you unique, but it’s when all three are combined, nobody else that is a competitor of yours can say those same things. So it’s a lot of. It’s not. I mean, and this was also the guy who wrote Dilbert. Like, his whole thing is like, look, you just got to be in the top percentage of multiple things or number one in one thing.

Logan Shinholser
So his whole thing was, when it comes to Dilbert, he’s like, I’m probably In the top 20% of artists in the world. I’m also in the probably the top 20% of comedians in the world. I’m not number one at either. But when you combine those two, that’s when Dilbert becomes great. Because I’m combining two different things in one in the upper echelon for that. And he just talks about it. So when it comes to the differentiation pieces of all this stuff, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. You have to do everything differently. But a lot of times, if you are just able to articulate what you’re doing compared to what other people may or may not be doing, a lot of times that. That wins.

Ian Miclean
Sure. That can be enough. Right? Just making sure that you’re highlighting the things that you do. Right. Making sure that people are aware. Right. Okay, we do this excellent, and we do this excellent. And that combination together can make a pretty compelling message.

Logan Shinholser
And let’s say you go through all this stuff and you realize that everything that you’re writing down, product wise, is generic. You’re the remodeler, you’re writing this down. You’re realizing, like, oh, this is. Everybody else can say the same thing. What does this do for you as the business owner when it comes to how you approach the product that you’re.

Ian Miclean
Putting out, probably a sign that you need to make some adjustments. Right? If you’re looking at your own product and you’re realizing truly, like, we don’t do anything exceptional. We don’t do anything different, it’s probably an opportunity for you to, like, take a look and say, what can we do different?

Logan Shinholser
And the beauty here is, like, the remodeling space. It’s a lot of. It’s, like, aesthetics. Like, you. You can visually see for sure what is different about you versus somebody else. Like, I know for our, like, bathroom like, or our remodel project that we did. Like, we have, like, you walk in, there’s, like, this beautiful wallpaper that’s. It’s this tropical thing because it’s for a nursery and stuff like that. Like, that visually stands out in the market compared to other people that just do a normal white wall. Like, it just looks like a nice apartment complex bathroom. And that visually is something that makes you unique. And then if you could tie back into. Yes, we’re design, build, but we put a different flair onto it.

Logan Shinholser
Or like, there was a guy that I know that he does landscaping, landscapes, but his whole thing is like, I build landscapes and, like, backyard renovations around the pond. So essentially, everything that he does, if you say, hey, I want you to redo my backyard, I just want nice patios and garden beds and stuff, he’s like, look, that’s not what I do. I’m going to design this whole thing with this beautiful pond and water feature in the center or some aspect of it. I’m going to build everything around it. And that’s what makes him special, is that, like, he ties the whole backyard together, but it’s all focused around this one individual thing. At the end of the day, that has nothing to do with the experience. It’s all about. His actual product is different.

Logan Shinholser
So if somebody goes, what makes you different than somebody else? He can go, Look, I have 10 years of putting in ponds that everything builds around this exact thing. And for the right person, that lands super well.

Ian Miclean
Yeah, Yeah. I mean, honestly, a visually different product is going to do way more than words for you anyways. Right. Making sure that you have a particular style. Right. That can be compelling in its own. Right. And making sure that you look unique. Again, if you look unique, you don’t need to tell people.

Logan Shinholser
And so that’s. That’s the product side. And again, you guys, this is the hardest part. We had to take a break after this one in the actual workshop because it was. It was kind of frustrating, and everybody was like, well, I feel like there’s not much I can do differently. So let’s now jump into the experience side, which is probably a little bit easier, a little bit more comfortable for people to talk through, but it’s. Yes, it’s super important. The product side is really important because that’s the initial reason people are hiring you. But when you can combine a unique product with a unique service and both of which get people excited to want to hire you, it’s game on. So the second part is, once we’ve Identified what makes you special and unique on the product side.

Logan Shinholser
It’s now on the client experience side. So when we walk through this, the first question instead of saying that I was asking the group was not what’s the problem that people face in their home? But it was what is the expected problem that they think they’re going to get if they hire a remodeling company to do this project? So in your mind, Ian, you’re about to hire a remodeler to come in and redo your kitchen. What are all the reasons that your mind. It could go wrong.

Ian Miclean
Could go wrong or frustrations that I’m going to have?

Logan Shinholser
Both.

Ian Miclean
Yeah. I mean, one biggest thing that could go wrong is I could not like what they do. Right. I could end up hiring somebody that isn’t good at what they do. And the end product is not what I want. Another things, the major disruption to your life. I mean, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind is I’m giving up my kitchen. I, I’m giving up sort of the sanctity of my home. I am sort of inviting strangers into my day to day life. I am obligating myself to eat out for the next however long. And truly, like I’m taking a risk from a financial perspective, but also right. With a final outcome. Right. Like those two things is disruption to life.

Ian Miclean
And then the things that, like what I’m going to get at the end are the things that I’m most sort of anxious about going into a process like that.

Logan Shinholser
And with all that, I mean, you listed a bunch of things. Why do you feel that way? Like, where’s that all come from?

Ian Miclean
Part of it is, I think, like I’ve grown up with a family that’s remodeled stuff before. Not all of those experiences have been positive ones. Right. Both in terms of the people that were in the home, but also right outcomes. Right. There was sometimes a lot of frustration and so there’s some history there. There’s also. And again, I’m not the only one. That experience with that experience and there’s a tone in the market, right. People have a certain expectation when it comes to contractors. Right. Those experiences can be painful and unfortunately there’s a lot of people out there that give a bad name to the industry. The, the other pieces of it is just like, I, like, I am a very like home person. Right. Like that’s what I like. It’s, it’s a place that I find a lot of peace.

Ian Miclean
It’s a big piece of my life is centered around my family and my home. And so anything that sort of comes into that space that isn’t a part of that creates anxiety and disruption for me.

Logan Shinholser
So with that said, if. If. And most people listen to this, recognize that’s the sentiment in the market. I mean, it’s every. You’ve been in business more than five minutes, you know that. What are you supposed to do with that information? So you are a modeler. You know that these are the fears that people have, and this is why you have them. Where do you go from there with that information?

Ian Miclean
I mean, address those questions. Like, I think one easy way that you can help me feel better about the question of, am I going to like what I’m getting? Show me what it’s going to look like before you start working on it, right? Like, renderings are huge, designs are huge. Because it lets me see that you know what you’re doing, right? It gives me a physical, concrete thing where I can look at it and I’d be like, okay, like, that’s actually what I want, right? Like, if it looks like that, I’m going to be happy. Right? And that immediately sort of eliminates this whole category of anxiety. I no longer have this worry about, am I risking money and am I risking sort of a bad product at the end because I understand what I’m paying for.

Ian Miclean
I’m saying, this is what you’re telling me. This is what I’m going to get. This is what it costs. And I can sort of make that decision in my own mind and say, okay, right? I think that. That thing that I’m looking at right now is worth this money, right? So that one is easy to address. If you can create renderings, you can create designs that eliminates a major point of anxiety and stress in that. In that relationship. The piece about, right. Them being in your home, right? Talking about, like, providing evidence that the people that are going to be in your space are good people is huge, right? Like, I want to. I should meet everybody that’s going to be in my home before we start the process, right?

Ian Miclean
If you can do that, if you can bring in staff and you can say, like, these are the people. This is Derek, right? He’s going to be doing your framing. This is Alan. He’s going to be doing the tile or whatever, right? Introduce them. Let me build some of a social relationship with them. Let me understand that they’re good, decent people and teach those people how to respect somebody else’s space. That’s huge because then I know okay, Right. Like, this is gonna suck, but it’s not gonna suck as much because I know Alan. I know Alan’s a good dude. I know he’s gonna show up on time. I know he’s gonna clean him after himself. I know he’s not gonna be too loud. I know if I have concerns, I can talk to him. Right?

Ian Miclean
So creating that social connection between you and the people that are. Again, cause it’s your home, right? Like, they’re in the place that you live. Right? I don’t invite strangers into my house. I don’t do that. Right. Nobody does. That weird opportunity where you’re are inviting people into a space that for many people is a place of safety. Right? And understanding that. Understanding that’s what people are anticipating when they are going into one of these things is critical. So if you can do those things, figure out how to do designs, make it clear what people are paying for, and introduce people to the team, that’s going to be in your home, that’s going to be a major benefit.

Logan Shinholser
And a lot of times, like, with these, I mean, essentially all you’re doing is establishing these are the problems that people face. I get why you’re facing them, and these are the things that I’m doing to address it. And you may be listening to this podcast, being like, there’s no way I can get all my subs there on the same day, that’s fine, but you just won’t really be able to address that concern in that way, and that may lose you the job.

Ian Miclean
And even. Even if you just introduce me to the pm, though, I mean, be honest, like, somebody like. Like. Like, let. Let me know someone, right? Like, because otherwise it’s sort of this faceless entity that’s coming in and out of my space, right? Like, no, you don’t. Again, like, maybe me asking to meet every person that’s on your team is unrealistic, but having somebody that I know I can talk to if there’s an issue that I trust to a certain extent is a major benefit.

Logan Shinholser
And with this, like, the goal of this, to me, is not necessarily saying, like, this is the way that we have to solve it, but it’s just, like, you get to figure out if, you know this is an issue and you know this is what stops people from doing this. It’s like a kitchen remodel. You’re about to be without a kitchen. Like, for a bathroom, you typically have at least one other bathroom in your home that you can go to the bathroom and use, but with the kitchen, what do you do? You set up a temporary kitchen for that client, and then now when they go, well, I really want to get my kitchen remodeled, but I don’t want to be without a kitchen for months. And you’re like, well, actually, now that you mention it, we always have a solution.

Logan Shinholser
Yeah, we always do this thing. And that might be unique, it may not be unique, but either way, you’re essentially just addressing the concerns. And that’s. That’s really what this is. And maybe your way to address it is go, hey, Ian, suck it up in the grand scheme of things. Like, you’re going to be without a kisser for three months, but you’re going to love it for the next 10 years. And some people may go, that’s. That’s a good answer. Like, I’m good with that. Most people probably will not love that answer. But that’s the whole almost game here is just like, what’s the problem? How to what degree can you solve that thing where it makes, you know, financial business sense for you, but it’s also something that the client wants?

Ian Miclean
It’s.

Logan Shinholser
It’s kind of like when people want to do a promotion, they’re like, you know what? How about this? We’ll. We’ll do 500 bucks off a kitchen remodel. I’m like, okay, well, what’s an average kitchen remodel cost?

Ian Miclean
It’s a drop in the bucket.

Logan Shinholser
Yeah, 125 grand. I’m like, that’s not going to do anything. So there is that element of, like, you’re just going to continue to find ways of, like, well, maybe my solution of instead of it being a three month. I mean, we used to have a client that his painting company, he would. He would staff up three times the amount of people that would come in and paint your home, and they would get it done three times faster. He was twice as expensive as everybody else, but they would go, you’re twice the price. Why? And he was like, because I’m going to have three times as many people in there. So you’re not sitting there having somebody paint your bedroom for three days. It’s going to be in and out in the same day.

Ian Miclean
Sure. But that’s. That’s. That is a great usp because you figured out what your consumer wants and.

Logan Shinholser
You’Ve created a solution, and then it’s up to them. Because, like, the most frustrating part I think about this, a lot of this, like, USP stuff is, you know, it’s a lot of people on the phone in the sales call, they’re like, well, I couldn’t think that fast to say, well, I’m going to staff up with three times as many people. And then you walk away like, oh, I should have said this. And if I would have just told him I had three times as many people, which is going to get it done twice as fast, they may have said, okay, actually, that’s worth extra money. But you don’t want to look back and feel like you left so many chips on the table. That sure.

Logan Shinholser
Had they have known all these individual things that you’re actually going to do, if they would have seen all this stuff, then they would have said, oh, well, if you would have told me all that, of course I’m going to move forward with you.

Ian Miclean
Which is why it’s critical to have an ideal client avatar. Because just like you did right now where you asked me, what are my concerns, you were able to, in this conversation, think up. Right again, the temporary kitchen thing. Right. You were able to think up a solution to a pain point that I have. Right. So if you do that research beforehand and you figure out these are the things people are generally concerned about, you don’t have to think on your feet. You can be like, hey, you know what? I know that the concern is timeline. So I’m going to make sure that I have three times the amount of people on every job. So when I go into that sales conversation, I can tell a person I can address your problem.

Logan Shinholser
Yeah, I know, like, when we, like, build websites and stuff, like, we have documents that are like, look like you do bathroom remodeling. We’ve built 700 websites at this point. These are really the top six reasons why people remodel their bathroom. And then here’s a list of all the ways that you can, like, address those things. So it’s almost like, you know, we’ve done this so much that it’s like you kind of. You see the trends, you see what you can actually do, like, how it all comes together. But, like, the more that you’re able to articulate this stuff, like, the easier it becomes because it’s really just anticipating the problem, talking about the solution, seeing if there’s a unique way to do it of, you know, we’re able to get it done twice as fast.

Logan Shinholser
We are buddies with, you know, our local government here. So when it comes to, like, the permitting office, like, we stroll right in. Yep. And they’re like, up Logan’s back, like, right. You know, give him the permit, he’s good to go. So it’s like there’s elements there and the more that you like articulate that and maybe that becomes a thing of like, you figure out a way. Instead of being the kitchen done in three months, now you get it done in two and then you go from two to one. And now people are like, man, like, it’s worth it to go in a one month kitchen. And you go from there and then the last piece, just like with the product focused one is great. Now how does this benefit their life? Is it, you know, the temporary kitchen?

Logan Shinholser
So now it’s like, hey, you’re afraid that you’re going to be without a kitchen. We’re going to actually come in and as we’re doing it, install a temporary kitchen. Nobody else in our area is doing it so that when we’re in there, you are still able to cook, clean, you know, do all that stuff. It’s really just again problem, solution, resolution or impact, however you want to call it. So it’s being able to separate the two out and make sure that you have one for product, make sure you have one for experience. Because if you only have the experience, which is typically what most people find.

Ian Miclean
Those get very generic because everybody talks.

Logan Shinholser
About it, everybody talks about it. You know, yes, you could do like the temporary kitchen thing, but still it’s like, you know, you’re like, the main reason people are hiring you is for the end result, which is the product first, then the experience second. So you know, it don’t, whatever the Michael Bloomberg quote was about the newspapers and like the ink in the paper, don’t confuse the two. But you know, you can’t sell the news, but then have, you know, four point font on a newspaper that nobody can read because then it’s not. The delivery vehicle is off.

Ian Miclean
Yeah.

Logan Shinholser
So and wrapping it all. Talk to me about like you have this unique selling proposition. How does that tie back to like the ica? Like as far as, like, how do you know if you have a good unique selling proposition in comparison to who your icA is?

Ian Miclean
So I mean truly it comes down to, is like are you addressing the concerns of your consumer that have come up in your research for your ica? Right. Like if you can look at your ICA and say these are the things they value, these are the things that are concern them and you have a unique selling proposition. It doesn’t have to address all of them, but let’s say it addresses one or two or three of those things. That’s going to be great. Right. Like, and honestly, you’ll see it in your sales process, right? Like if you go to a consumer that you’re like, hey, you know what, this is a good model of my ideal consumer. Consumer. You get into that sales conversation and you present them, right? With, with like this is what we do different, right?

Ian Miclean
If it resonates, you’re going to know it, right? They’re, they’re going to feed that by, they’re like, oh wow, that’s great. Right? Because if you have properly understood who your consumer is, you’ve properly identified their values and their concerns, it’s going to show through when you interact with the person that actually has those values and concerns.

Logan Shinholser
So let’s talk about it in the marketing perspective. So let’s just assume. Yeah, so in the workshop it was, we know who we’re going after. I do. Client wise, we know what makes you special and unique as much as possible on product, same thing on service side. So now we have all this stuff. How do you, how does this manifest in the marketing now? Like, you know this, but now what? Sure.

Ian Miclean
I mean it should infect pretty much everything that you do, right? It should work its way into your tagline, it should work your way into copy, should work your way into the offers that you’re making to people in your advertisements. It should work your way into your emails, right? It should be something that you’re spreading across the board. Right. If you truly have a compelling usp, it should serve as the foundation for a lot of your messaging. And truthfully, it should also then produce more of the kind of consumers that value that thing. Right. If you found an effective USP and you’re making sure you’re distributing that, you should see more of your ideal consumer showing up at your business.

Logan Shinholser
Essentially it’s just taking all this information and then showing it online in the right way. So people go, oh, this guy gets it correct. Cool. Is there anything we’re missing on? And again, everybody, like this is the USP1, especially on the product side. It’s, it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge. It’s. You’re just constantly iterating. It’s going to force you to like then be able to realize, like, do you actually have a great, special, exciting product? I think it’s a lot of people like forget that for somebody to spend 150 grand to remodel their kitchen and have you in there for a few months, like they have to be super emotionally motivated to get this stuff done because it is disruptive, it is expensive. Like, there’s a lot of other stuff that you could be spending that money on other than a new kitchen.

Ian Miclean
Yeah.

Logan Shinholser
Is there anything that we’re missing relating to unique selling propositions in your mind?

Ian Miclean
I think the only thing I would just highlight is the fact that you may have to do something different. Right. Like you. You may not be able to sort of just craft it out of thin air. There’s a good chance that when you go through the process of developing your ideal client avatar and you figure out what your consumer values and what their concerns are, your product may not address those problems. Right. And if you really want that to be your ideal consumer, if that’s who you want to target, you may have to update your product in order to better service the needs that they have.