The Marketing Lab

Deconstructing the Art of Client Attraction

Some businesses struggle to attract clients. Others magnetize them.
The difference? A compelling Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that makes the competition irrelevant.

Reinventing the Game

In the 1990s, I was at a crossroads. As a roofing contractor, I saw firsthand how a saturated market drove prices into the ground. Contractors were undercutting each other with low-ball offers, leaving little room for real profit or differentiation. Competing on price was a losing game—it was a race to the bottom.

I needed a better way.

That’s when, in 1996, I stumbled upon direct mail marketing and saw a glimpse of something bigger—a way to position a business so effectively that competition became irrelevant.

Discovering the Forgotten Masters of Advertising

My curiosity led me down a rabbit hole. I didn’t just want to learn how to market better—I wanted to understand the underlying mechanics of why people choose one business over another.

I started reading old advertising books, direct mail strategies, and the foundational works of marketing pioneers. What I found wasn’t just useful—it was transformative.

✔ Albert Lasker’s Legacy in Modern Advertising – Lasker revolutionized advertising by shifting it from mere space-selling to a scientifically tested, results-driven discipline. He understood that advertising wasn’t just about exposure—it was about persuasion.

✔ John E. Kennedy’s “Reason-Why Advertising” – Kennedy defined advertising as “Salesmanship in print,” emphasizing that every ad must clearly explain why the product is worth buying. His Reason-Why Advertising concept became the backbone of effective copywriting, proving that logical argumentation was more powerful than vague branding. Though little known today, Kennedy was the first to clearly enunciate what advertising actually was, making it possible for it to be taught as a structured discipline—an insight that transformed the business fabric of the 20th century.

✔ Claude Hopkins’ “Scientific Advertising” – Opened my eyes to the power of testing and tracking results—how data, not guesswork, drives real advertising success. Hopkins took Kennedy’s approach and applied rigorous testing to advertising, refining campaigns based on what actually worked rather than gut instinct.

✔ John Caples’ “Tested Advertising Methods” – Revealed the psychology of persuasion—how the right words could make an ordinary product feel indispensable. His famous A/B testing approach—comparing different ad versions to see which performed better—became a gold standard for copywriters.

✔ Eugene Schwartz’s “Breakthrough Advertising” – Introduced me to the concept of market sophistication—understanding where the customer is mentally before crafting a message. Schwartz explained that consumers don’t just see ads in isolation; they interpret them based on what they’ve already been exposed to.

Each of these men dissected advertising to its core principles, proving that success in marketing isn’t about creativity alone—it’s about clarity, positioning, and persuasion. Their insights were on their way to being a century old, yet they felt more relevant than anything being taught today.

But nothing struck me as profoundly as the work of Rosser Reeves.

Rosser Reeves & The Power of the USP

Most people don’t know the name Rosser Reeves, but they know his ideas.

He was the advertising mind behind M&Ms’ “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” and Colgate’s “Cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth.”

But more than catchy slogans, Reeves defined the Unique Selling Proposition (USP)—the simple but game-changing idea that every business must have a clear, specific, and undeniable advantage that makes it the only rational choice for the right customer.

Most businesses don’t think this way. They try to be “the best” in vague, generic terms, which forces them into commodity battles—competing on price rather than value.

A real USP isn’t about being the best.
It’s about being different in a way that matters.

Putting Theory Into Practice

Once I grasped the power of the USP, I started looking at businesses differently.

✔ Why do some companies charge premium prices while others fight to survive?
✔ Why do some businesses get referrals effortlessly while others struggle to be remembered?
✔ Why do customers choose one product over another—even when both seem nearly identical?

The answers were never random. They always came down to positioning and messaging.

Armed with this knowledge, I rewired the way I thought about business entirely.

I saw that marketing isn’t ultimately about persuasion—it’s about clarity. When a business truly understands what makes it different and desirable, selling becomes effortless.

The Universal Nature of the USP

One of the most fascinating things I realized was that this principle applies everywhere.

✔ Products – Why do some items in the same category dominate while others vanish?
✔ Services – Why do certain businesses create unshakable demand while others scrape by?
✔ Personal Branding – Why do some individuals attract opportunities while others go unnoticed?

The answer is always positioning. The clarity of a business’s message determines its success.

The net result was that every business decision I made from that point on was filtered through this lens. Whether it was crafting an offer, positioning a service, or even deciding which business to start, I now had a framework for differentiation. Instead of competing on price or vague promises of ‘quality service,’ I structured everything around a clear, compelling USP—one that made choosing my business feel like the obvious choice.

As an example, I applied this knowledge to building my business, Invisible Tuckpointing Ltd., entirely around a USP. Rather than positioning it as just another masonry service, I framed it as the only company that could provide a seamless mortar match—an offering no one else could replicate.

While competitors focused on vague claims of “quality work,” I made a precise, undeniable promise: brick mortar replacement so exact that it would disappear into the wall. This transformed the business from just another option into the only rational choice for those who cared about aesthetics. The demand followed naturally.

Beyond Satisfaction: Engineering Customer Elation

Most businesses aim for customer satisfaction—delivering what was promised, meeting expectations, and ensuring the client has no complaints.

But satisfaction is a neutral state—it doesn’t generate enthusiasm, loyalty, or word-of-mouth referrals. Elation does.

✔ Underpromising, Overdelivering – Setting realistic expectations while secretly planning to exceed them.
✔ Fixing Issues They Hadn’t Even Noticed – Whether it was subtly tinting bricks to create a seamless blend or perfecting details they hadn’t thought to request, we ensured they walked away with more than they paid for.
✔ Creating a Memorable Emotional Response – When clients saw the final result, we wanted their reaction to be immediate and visceral—not just "That looks good," but "I can’t believe this is possible."

Marketing as an Intellectual Pursuit

Most people think of marketing as a business function—a necessary evil for getting customers.

But I see it as something deeper: a universal skill that shapes industries, perceptions, and even culture itself.

Understanding marketing is understanding human nature.

And once you see how it all fits together, you can’t unsee it.