Finding a USP for Stav
Published: Wed, 10/21/15
I sometimes get asked what Stav means, in the assumption that S T A V is an acronym for at least four words. Actually it isn’t, as you may or may not know Stav actually means stave and the word refers to knowledge of the rune staves. Although in martial arts terms it would not be completely incorrect to say that Stav training means learning to use a staff. Assuming STAV is an acronym is an understandable mistake since so many specialist words are actually abbreviations of much longer titles. Anyone with knowledge of the military can probably reel off a dozen or so without even thinking about it, RSM, APC, GPMG, BERGEN, SLR, AFV etc and anyone spot the odd one out?
Business is full of acronyms too and a very common one is USP, which every business is supposed to have. USP standing for Unique Selling Point, in other words why should people come to you rather than anyone else? If you are selling a commodity like petrol your only advantage is going to be price and availability. However when it comes to more specialist services such as body, mind and spirit training it gets a bit more difficult.
Which raises the question what is the USP of Stav training and practice? There are all kinds of possible answers to this but the key to identifying a USP is remembering the difference between features and benefits. Features may make a thing more interesting to talk about. However, people will actually spend their money on a particular thing if they can see an actual benefit to them in their lives. So, if a vehicle has a 300 hp engine and four wheel drive, those are features. They are only benefits if you need to tow heavy trailers across rough ground. Other wise appropriate size, reliability and economy would be the benefits you would look for in an urban family runabout. (Actually, bad example, because if you live in the middle of London and need to take your children to school, then of course you have to drive a top of the range 4x4.)
Back to something close to rationality. Taking self-defence as one thing I teach through Stav then possibly my USP is that I apply 80/20 principle or Paretto’s law to self-protection. Which brings up the next problem which is that there is not too much point in pushing a USP if most people have no idea what it means. Going back to the Range Rover example. Range Rovers are quite impressive vehicles, I remember when the first versions appeared in the early 1970s, full time four wheel drive, a vee 8 engine and a remarkable balance between comfort, performance and practicality. However, I would think that the vast majority of middle class mothers driving their children to school in their ‘Chelsea Tractors’ are not even sure where the engine is located in their vehicle or what four wheel drive even means. Yet range rovers and similar vehicles have been popular status symbols for the past generation or so. I guess it is being a status
symbol that is the USP. Which just shows that the benefits that people actually lock onto are by no means always rational choices.
So, another aspect of USP is exclusivity. Just understanding what the USP means makes you part of an exclusive club. Tomorrow I will explain in more detail what I mean by an 80/20 approach to self-defence training. If you understand 80/20 then that should intrigue you. If you don’t then you either need to ignore me or educate yourself. There is a rather technical introduction on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle , you only need to read the first few lines to get the idea.
Or, just consider porridge (or thick soup, or custard or any other food that is gloopy and sticky), How easy is it to get 80 or 90 percent of the contents of the pan into a bowl? How much effort to get the pan clean? It may sound like a strange question but it is a very good example of 80/20 in action.
Next chance to do a Saturday Self-defence seminar in Crewkerne is on the 31st of October. http://www.somersetstav.co.uk/sd.html
regards
Graham
PS Maybe the overall USP of Stav is that it can teach you to see, think and act for yourself, if that is what you really want.