Andre Plessis, CEO Savings4Merchants

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Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is a term that refers to the one thing about a product or service that makes it distinct from all others. 

No matter what you sell, it is critical to define what sets you apart from your competition, makes your product/service appealing to your target audience, and what benefits your product/service provides your customers. This is your Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

In order to successfully market itself, every company needs to focus on what's special and different about its products/services. The best way to do this is to try to express this uniqueness in a single statement/phrase.

If you cannot concisely describe the uniqueness of your offer, you may not have a chance to fully grow a successful business.

Ask yourself the following question: What benefit is so unique about your offering, and what is the basis of this claim?

If you are struggling with marketing your business, it could be because you aren’t giving potential customers a good enough reason to do business with you, instead of with your competition.

Because competition is so fierce in most industries (except ticket sales: Ticket Master), the only way to increase your sales is by offering prospects a benefit that no one else is. You need a Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.

How to create a USP:

Without a USP your marketing won’t work and the business will inevitably stagnate. Are you currently stagnating?  If so YOU MUST have a USP if you want your business to succeed. Amazingly 95% of businesses don’t have a USP.

You should aim to make your USP the one specific idea that first comes to mind when people think of your product or service. A very famous example comes from the automobile industry: when people hear "Volvo" they instantly identify it with "Safety".

You must obviously educate your target market about your service/product's USP. People did not just automatically associate Volvo with safety. Volvo helped to instill this idea in their heads through advertising.

Your offer should be different, and more valuable than, your competitors' offerings and placing that idea in the minds of a target group of customers. Positioning attracts customers by creating a positive and unique identity for your company and its offerings. Positioning is vital for distinguishing your offering from everybody else's. What position do you hold in your industry?

There may be very little difference between your product and your competitors' but if you can't find a way to communicate uniqueness and connect it to a need of your target, you might as well quit fighting your competition.

How do people perceive your business?

How will your business be perceived as different from your competition in the minds of your targeted customers? To figure this out, you must look for your best customer and then design a position that matches his or her wants and needs to an advantage that only you can offer.

Do the work now to develop a clear position for your business vis-à-vis your competition. You will ensure that you get the most from your advertising budget. Think how much farther your advertising budget could take you if you had a unique selling proposition.

Developing the Positioning Statement and the Tagline

To begin creating your own sense of positioning for your business, answer the following questions with short, articulate answers that relate your offering to your customers' needs.

1. What does your business do?
2. Who is your target audience?
3. What is your biggest benefit to your prospects?
4. Prove your claim. To what do you attribute that benefit?
5. How will your customers perceive this benefit, relative to the competition?

The easiest way to understand what a USP is and what it can do for your business is to look at an example of Domino’s Pizza in the US that used a Unique Selling Proposition to become the market leader in a competitive business.

Domino’s incorporated key benefits into a compelling USP.

“Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed”

The focus is on convenience, freshness and quick delivery all important benefits to people living rushed and convenience lives. Notice that the USP focuses only on benefits that the customer gets.

Domino’s has included their USP in all their marketing campaigns. As a result, there is a strong awareness in the market of what you can expect if you choose Domino’s Pizza. Their USP has enabled Domino’s to take ownership of a big piece of the market as people who want quick delivery of fresh, hot pizza.

The USP answers the question of why people should buy Pizza from Domino’s. The answer is of course, call them if you want fresh, hot pizza delivered to you within 30 minutes. Note that the USP is very specific. It says that you will get fresh, hot pizza delivered to you within 30minutes, guaranteed!

The USP is like a promise to your existing and potential customers. You can imitate Domino’s and make a compelling promise to your customers. First, you have figure out a USP that will appeal to your target market. Then, you need to announce it in a way that attracts attention. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you must make sure that your USP is delivered. Don’t make promises you cannot deliver.

Now you know what a USP is. The trick is to develop a USP that will attract your target market and that your business can deliver on. You need to spend time developing a Unique Selling Proposition that will give your business a competitive advantage.

Each advertisement must say to each reader: 'Buy this product and you will get this specific benefit.'

The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions; i.e., pull over new customers to your product.

Depending on the real benefits of your product or service and the void in your market that you are filling, your USP might be one of the following (or any number of others you might think of):

* You sell your product or service for less than your competition does.

* You offer something that no one else offers.

* You sell a higher quality product or service than anyone else in your industry.

* You provide more customer service or education before, during and after the sale than anyone else does.

* You offer twice the guarantee of your closest competitor.

* You offer better bonuses than anyone else does.

* You serve a specific demographic i.e. age group, industry, or type of person.


Here's Exactly How to Create Your USP:

Write out in one to two paragraphs the benefits, NOT features, of your product or service; what sets it apart from your competition; and what makes it appealing to your target market.

Edit out the generalities and focus on clearest, most specific promise your product/service can offer to your target market.

Does Your USP Pass This Checklist?

* Is it true?

* Is it easy to understand?

* Does it differentiate the product in an attractive manner from the competition?

* Is it expressed the way people will express it in their own minds?

If you haven't answered YES to all four of the above, go back and rework your USP until you can.

You should present your USP in every ad. And do so year after year. People remember with repetition. 

 Andre Plessis 

Andre Plessis
Author & Marketing Consultant
Savings4Merchants
http://savings4Merchants.com
Big Marketing Ideas Without The Big Spending!