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Why you need a unique selling point (USP)

Written by: Mark Gwilliam

Article Overview: Having a business without a Unique Selling Point (USP) is like running for office without a defining slogan. The result can be similarly devastating: you’ll lose.

Why you need a unique selling point (USP)

Your business needs a USP. It’s your business’ unique promise to customers. It cuts through miles of marketing red tape and categorically tells your customers that “this is who we are and this is what we can do for you that any other company cannot”.

Not having a USP will hurt your business in more ways than one:

1. Lower Conversion Rate:
Having no USP almost certainly means a lower conversion rate for your ads. Your Unique Selling Point is the central marketing message upon which the customers you are targeting will focus; it will be the pivotal factor in converting potential customers into buying customers. To illustrate, imagine that you are a typical customer who has become tired of pizza delivery delays. Wouldn’t an ad for a pizza place that says “delivered within 30 minutes or your money back” compel you to try out the company that made this claim?

2. Less Memorable:
People tend to think of businesses and brands the way they think of other people. Some are hard to remember and yet others (the noisiest, the most trustworthy, the most artistic, etc) are very easy to remember because of their defining characteristic. In the same way, businesses that are able to invoke emotional responses from customers through a defining characteristic are usually remembered and get referred to others. Loreal’s “because you are worth it” manages to cut through the price issue by addressing its customers’ need for quality and their desire to pamper themselves and to feel good.

3. Less Focused:
Not having a USP also decreases the focus for your business and leads you to try covering all the bases – to try satisfying all of the implicit and explicit promises you make to your customers. This stretches out your resources for less the market share. Consider Head & Shoulders’ USP “you get rid of dandruff”. By focusing on the dandruff issue, Head & Shoulders is able to concentrate all of its resources in delivering this single promise. It is also able to corner a specific niche or portion of the shampoo-buying market.

Indeed, being generic hurts your business. Stand out from the crowd through your unique selling point. Start by reading about how you can formulate a USP for your business. Resources abound online; marketing newsletters are especially helpful in this regard. If you are finding it exceedingly hard to create your own USP, seek professional marketing help.

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Article Tags: 30 minutes, central marketing, conversion rate, dandruff, delivery delays, desire, emotional responses, head shoulders, loreal, market share, niche, pivotal factor, pizza delivery, pizza place, promises, red tape, stretches, typical customer, unique selling point, usp



Related Forum Posts
Re: This is Marketing Warfare! - Thanks Rita. The Fedex example was perfect to describe unique selling proposition.
Closing the big sale - Many entrepreneurs create a new invention with the hope of selling out or licensing their creation to a Fortune 500 company with deep pockets. Assuming that you have something truly unique and valuable, how do you approach the big companies so that they will take you seriously?
Your advantage over others - Sell using your USP - unique selling proposition. Why should people buy from you, instead of your competitors? Think about it, why are you so great? It may be a hard question, but finding the answer can multiply the effectiveness of any advertising or marketing activities you undertake.
Money Back Guarantee - That's a good point Louis - if people don't offer a money back guarantee it shows that they don't believe in their product. Most people never ask for their money back anyway but you have to have confidence in what you're selling. If it delivers value you shouldn't have a problem with the guarantee and it reduces the barrier customers have to buy what you're selling.
Buying and selling online - Have you tried purchasing bulk sale products and than re- selling them online. I know a friend who recently purchased a bulk of genuine and unique, sports shoes which was sold at a throw away price. Later on he managed to sell the entire lot on embay. Do you think this is a bright Idea to make money? You may share your comments accordingly.


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