Here’s a short marketing quiz that’s a real eye-opener. Answer the following three questions—the first answer that pops into your head.

1. Name a brand of blue jeans.

2. Name a hamburger fast food restaurant.

3. Name a car rental company.

Are you done? Here’s what I think you answered:

1. Levi’s

2. McDonald’s

3. Hertz Can I read your mind?

Am I a psychic?

Well, sorry to disappoint you - but I’m not.

I’m just demonstrating the power of the marketing strategy I’m about to reveal.

ake a moment to imagine what kind of success your business would have if your product or service were similarly imprinted into your customers’ minds.

Each of these brands and businesses “owns” a unique position in your mind. They mean something special to you.

I can almost hear you protesting, “But Dan, those companies spent millions of dollars to position themselves. I don’t have a million-dollar marketing budget! How can I position my business, in my customers’ minds, with little or no marketing budget to work with?”

The answer is to create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

The concept “USP” is the brainchild of Rosser Reeves, once the chairman and chief copywriter of the Ted Bates & Co. advertising agency. In the 1950s, their advertising agency single-handedly set the stage for creative television commercials, something that had never been done before.

Reeves was an outspoken and larger than life character with a passion for advertising. One of the reasons the company soared was because of his USP theory.

His definition of what makes a USP holds true today:

* All advertising must make a proposition to the customer: Buy this, and you will receive a specified benefit.

* The proposition must be unique; something competitors cannot claim, or have not chosen to emphasize in their promotions.

* The proposition must be so compelling that it motivates millions of people to act.

A USP is not just a slogan or a phrase that will appear in your advertising, although that’s one potential use for it.

A USP is a concise and memorable phrase that answers your prospects’ implicit question: “Why should I choose your business, product, or service versus any other?”

You may have a hot product or service, but if you cannot powerfully describe its unique value to your prospects (and create some excitement among potential buyers), you may not truly have a basis for long-term success.