The world is full of businesses trying to make names for themselves, and it can be challenging to distinguish your business from the hundreds or thousands of others. However, as cheesy as it might sound, your business has something that no one else has—you, and only you know what makes your business different from all the rest. This is where having a unique selling proposition comes in handy.
WHAT IS A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION?
A unique selling proposition, aka a USP, is the one thing that sets your business apart from your competitors’. The bedrock of all marketing strategy, a USP identifies the one thing that benefits your customers over the other businesses in your industry. It’s the message that you shout from the rooftops to cut through all of the clutter, and having a solid, straightforward USP will help you focus all of your marketing efforts from messaging to copy and on.
Your USP needs to be the intersection of what you do authentically well and what your ideal customer is looking for, while excluding what your competitors do well, aka their USPs. For example, let’s say a competitor says they are the oldest jewelry manufacturer in Houston. Even if you are technically older, the claim has already been made and it muddies the waters, making it difficult to reach your ideal customer. Besides, does your audience really care if you’re the oldest manufacturer or do they care more about another more unique selling point?
HOW DO I CREATE A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION?
Developing your USP is actually easier than you might think. A great way to start is to check out your competitors and see how they’re using their USPs to bring in customers. Begin by looking at their ads, copy, and other messaging. By looking at what they claim to sell, instead of the products or services they offer, you’ll start to identify their USP.
An effective USP highlights your strengths and addresses your audience’s needs and/or pain points. Just saying you’re unique is not really enough. Think about your audience and what they need/care about and craft your USP from that perspective.
In other words, put yourself in their shoes. Understand what motivates them to buy one product over another, and try to understand why they might buy your product or service over another business’s.
Here are a few tips to craft the perfect USP:
- Be assertive. For example, saying “our premium white gold bands last a lifetime” is a much more compelling message than “we sell high-quality rings.”
- Know what your customer values. Identify the things your customers genuinely care about. “Wedding bands that last a lifetime, just like your love,” hits a customer’s need and desire for a lifelong relationship, whereas “Unique wedding bands”—even though it contains the word ‘unique’—doesn’t really tell your customers anything about what you sell.
- Don’t get caught up in creating a slogan. Slogans are a great medium for communicating your USP, but they don’t encompass all aspects of your business. A USP should be something that you can embed in every aspect of your business from customer service to content marketing.
HOW DO I IMPLEMENT A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION?
Now that you’ve developed your USP, you need to let your customers know about it. Allow your USP to influence every part of your business. Use it to develop content for social media or your website and let every marketing material you put out reflect the impact and message of your USP. And, of course, be sure to include your USP on your website so that when customers come to see what you’re all about, they don’t have to guess.
While developing a compelling USP can be a challenge, it’s incredibly crucial not only to your marketing strategy, but also to your business as a whole. Want to get started? Schedule a free 30 minute brand consultation.
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