How to Find Your Own Unique Selling Proposition
How to Find Your Own Unique Selling Proposition
While the quote refers to politics and ethics, the same thing can be said for your small business, only it might go something like this:
“If you try to stand for everything, then you’ll fall.” Period.
From a marketing perspective, one of the biggest mistakes a small business can make – especially a young small business – is trying to be all things to all people. Think about it: If you ask your potential customers to buy from you because you’re the “best,” what exactly does that mean? The word “best” is very general, and today’s savvy consumer can smell ad speak a mile away.
However, if you ask them to buy from you because you’re cheaper than your competitors, they understand that. They know you have to back up your claim or lose their business. Or, if you tell them your company is compassionate and caring, they can easily identify that as something they need.
The point is, carving out your own niche in your market is essential if your business is to grow and thrive. You can’t be all things to all people.
However, if you can identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – the "one thing" that sets you apart from your competitors - and thread it through all your marketing materials and customer touch points, then you’ve positioned your company for success.
So how exactly do you go about creating your USP? It will take a little effort on your part, but it will be worth it in the long run because it will put you in a power position in your market.
Recruit three to five key employees, advisors, or trusted friends who understand your business and your customer to help you build your USP.
1. Define your benefits.
Keeping your customer in mind, define the three things about your product or service that is (or should be) important to our customer.
2. Define your competitors’ benefits.
In order to be “unique” in your positioning, you need to know how your competitors position themselves. After all, your USP needs to separate you from everyone else, so don’t go anywhere near their USP.
3. Identify your customers’ needs.
It’s important to remember that your USP isn’t so much about you as it is about your customers and how it will make them feel. Think about what the “benefit” of your product/service, not the “feature.” For example, if you have more experience than your competitor, this feature might translate into the benefit of peace of mind for your customer. Keep it about your customer.
4. Identify market deficiencies.
Is there a gap of service or performance in your industry or market area that your company can uniquely fill? For instance, our local pharmacy has to compete with the big drugstore chains, so what do they do? They deliver! Consequently, they maintain a pretty brisk business.
5. Create a first-draft USP.
Once you’re through gathering all this information, it’s time to create your USP. Taking everything into consideration, loosely write your USP statement – the idea here is to just get it on paper. Of the utmost importance…focus on ONE of your benefits.
6. Refine your USP.
Now, take your first-draft USP and tweak so that it is simple, singular, and powerful. Don’t use any extraneous words. Focus all the information you have gleaned, and distill down to its essence.
7. Integrate your USP.
Use your USP in all your marketing, advertising, and branding materials. Keep in mind that a USP is different than your advertising slogan, but your USP should be the basis for it. Your USP needs to be the power behind the punch in everything you do.
How you differentiate yourself in the marketplace will ultimately determine your success or failure. Going through the process of creating a powerful, dead-on USP can be a little time-consuming, but it’s worth every second…and a whole lot more.
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
How to Find Your Own Unique Selling Proposition - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Williams's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
You’ve probably heard the old adage “If you don’t stand for something, then you’ll fall for anything.”
While the quote refers to politics and ethics, the same thing can be said for your small business, only it might go something like this:
“If you try to stand for everything, then you’ll fall.” Period.
From a marketing perspective, one of the biggest mistakes a small business can make – especially a young small business – is trying to be all things to all people. Think about it: If you ask your potential customers to buy from you because you’re the “best,” what exactly does that mean? The word “best” is very general, and today’s savvy consumer can smell ad speak a mile away.
However, if you ask them to buy from you because you’re cheaper than your competitors, they understand that. They know you have to back up your claim or lose their business. Or, if you tell them your company is compassionate and caring, they can easily identify that as something they need.
The point is, carving out your own niche in your market is essential if your business is to grow and thrive. You can’t be all things to all people.
However, if you can identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – the "one thing" that sets you apart from your competitors - and thread it through all your marketing materials and customer touch points, then you’ve positioned your company for success.
So how exactly do you go about creating your USP? It will take a little effort on your part, but it will be worth it in the long run because it will put you in a power position in your market.
Recruit three to five key employees, advisors, or trusted friends who understand your business and your customer to help you build your USP.
1. Define your benefits.
Keeping your customer in mind, define the three things about your product or service that is (or should be) important to our customer.
2. Define your competitors’ benefits.
In order to be “unique” in your positioning, you need to know how your competitors position themselves. After all, your USP needs to separate you from everyone else, so don’t go anywhere near their USP.
3. Identify your customers’ needs.
It’s important to remember that your USP isn’t so much about you as it is about your customers and how it will make them feel. Think about what the “benefit” of your product/service, not the “feature.” For example, if you have more experience than your competitor, this feature might translate into the benefit of peace of mind for your customer. Keep it about your customer.
4. Identify market deficiencies.
Is there a gap of service or performance in your industry or market area that your company can uniquely fill? For instance, our local pharmacy has to compete with the big drugstore chains, so what do they do? They deliver! Consequently, they maintain a pretty brisk business.
5. Create a first-draft USP.
Once you’re through gathering all this information, it’s time to create your USP. Taking everything into consideration, loosely write your USP statement – the idea here is to just get it on paper. Of the utmost importance…focus on ONE of your benefits.
6. Refine your USP.
Now, take your first-draft USP and tweak so that it is simple, singular, and powerful. Don’t use any extraneous words. Focus all the information you have gleaned, and distill down to its essence.
7. Integrate your USP.
Use your USP in all your marketing, advertising, and branding materials. Keep in mind that a USP is different than your advertising slogan, but your USP should be the basis for it. Your USP needs to be the power behind the punch in everything you do.
How you differentiate yourself in the marketplace will ultimately determine your success or failure. Going through the process of creating a powerful, dead-on USP can be a little time-consuming, but it’s worth every second…and a whole lot more.
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
How to Find Your Own Unique Selling Proposition - To learn more about this author, visit Donna Williams's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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