This Valentine’s Weekend has been a cold one.
I mean REALLY cold.
Not because my lovely lady is half way around the world. But because Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning this weekend.
We’re talking -27 degrees Celsius.
Or I as like to call it, “Stay the hell inside, you lunatic!” weather.
“Where are you going, you lunatic?”
Hiding away from the freeze, I’ve been flicking through the ol’ Fayshbook.
Funny how it’s full of love and togetherness.
“Look how amazing my man/woman is!”
Bullshit.
The only reason this wall of puke inducing cuteness exists is because anyone suffering a shred of loneliness (on this, the loneliest day in the year for most people) is keeping it to themselves.
True fact: for every one person posting a life highlight on Facebook, there’s another 50 trudging through horrendous pain.
So, I figured, how better to spend Valentine’s Day (separated from mah lovah) than solving romantic woes with my marketing savvy!!
“What??! Does this heartless, soul-sucking marketer think he can give advice on the romantic human condition? Take your sales nonsense and get out of here, you phoney!”
Well, forget for a moment that Valentine’s Day is probably the most successful marketing project — ever…
Let’s look at romance just from the perspective of choice.
The way I see it, finding love is the journey of two people deciding to choose each other.
And, as one of mentor’s Felicia Spahr taught me, there’s a TON of similarities between the romance and marketing game.
What is a headline, but a pick-up line?
It’s only purpose is to get attention and start a conversation.
Another similarity is that gradual nurturing of the relationship is key to success in both areas.
Jump too far ahead in the process and you’re toast.
Ever try popping the big ol’ marriage question on the second date?
I’m sure the conversion rate on that offer is prett-y, prett-y, prett-y, prett-y, prett-y poor.
Yet, this is exactly what SO many people do online with their market – diving straight in with “BUY NOW!”
So, why do so many people have a hard time finding love?
Well, my theory is this:
Their romantic USP sucks.
Let’s look at the romantic Value Proposition Question:
“If I am looking for a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/hookup, why should I choose you, rather than anyone else?”
How many people have ever examined themselves with this question?
The belief is:
“There’s someone out there for everyone.”
But what happens if you meet that person and your Romantic USP blows?
How many opportunities slip you by because you don’t have the right answer to why someone should choose you?
Let’s lay out exactly why most people fail at this game.
It boils down to 3 things:
1) People have no idea who their “ideal romantic customer” is
Just like in business, we often take whatever’s floating by and just happens to enter our world.
“Keep your options open” = casting a widely spread net, as we try not to limit our choices by excluding part of the market.
Unfortunately, this rarely leads to results in business. Why should results in romance be any different?
How many of us have spent any time thinking about the exact kind of partner we’d like to attract?
How many of us just float from partner to partner, getting chosen, instead of going out and choosing?
If you don’t know who you want to attract, it’s hard to craft a strong reason for why they should choose you.
2) They have no idea what their ideal romantic customer wants
This is one of the biggest problems I see when helping businesses with their USP.
Because people don’t really know who they’re talking to, they can’t really define exactly what the person wants.
There are the obvious base-level needs like friendship, shelter, food, security, sex etc..
But what — specifically — does the partner you’re trying to attract want in their partner?
And how are you working toward providing that to them?
3) They have no idea who their competition actually is
Lastly, people have no idea what choices their ideal partner has to choose from.
It’s very easy to think that the competition is vastly superior, but what do they really have to offer?
And what is it that they can’t offer?
What’s appealing and exclusive about you?
So many of us fall into the trap of thinking that just because something’s not COMPLETELY unique to us, it doesn’t apply.
Here’s a tickler: I’m not the only guy on the planet with red hair and an Irish accent.
That didn’t stop it from working like gangbusters whenever I was on the pull outside Ireland.
(Or as I like to call it, “when I’m exotic”)
Just ask mah lady!
So, lesson today — if you’re looking for love — have a hard think about what your romantic USP is.
If you’ve already found love and want to hold onto it, have a think about the USP that got you there.
Are you still delivering?
Like I said, there’s a lot of similarities between business and love.
If you’d like to talk about how to get yourself, your company or your product chosen more often, hit me up below and we can chat:
https://calendly.com/rossolochlainn/usp-exploration
‘Til next time…