It’s a crowded business landscape today. It seems like nearly any product or service you could think of is being sold by someone, somewhere. If you’re a new entrepreneur, or a business owner already, you may be struggling to figure out how to make your business stand out from the crowd.
Provided your business idea is a feasible one and that there is a market for it—you know, you may not want to open a tween clothing store in a city dominated by retirees—you want to determine what it is about your business that makes it unique. This is called your unique selling proposition (or unique selling point), commonly referred to as your USP.
Your USP may be easy—you may be the only coffee shop in your small town. But for most businesses, you need to put a little time into figuring out what sets you apart and what makes your brand memorable to customers. Determining your USP requires some research and a bit of introspection. In this guide, we will walk you through how to define your USP.
What is a USP?
The unique selling proposition refers to the characteristic(s) of a product or service that sets it apart from competitors in the minds of consumers. It is a distinctive feature, benefit, or quality that answers the question, “Why would a customer choose you over the competition?”
For example, price is probably the most common distinction that comes to mind. Cost is one of the biggest influences on buying behavior, which is why the advertisements you see all the time—like for Walmart, let’s say—focus on their prices being lower than competitors.
This is not the only defining factor for a company though. Products and services may be set apart by factors such as:
- Quality: Luxury vehicles are known for superior workmanship, premium materials, advanced technology, and smooth driving experience.
- Customer service: Zappos, for instance, built its success on exceptional customer service.
- Convenience: Amazon Prime anyone?
- Social responsibility: Toms, for instance, appeals to customers wanting to feel good about their purchase with their “buy one, give one” shoe donation practice.
How to Define Your USP
Know Your Audience
The very first task is to understand your audience. Do a little research to understand demographics, preferences, interests, and pain points. What questions do your customers have? What problems are they trying to solve? What do they value in a product or service? Why should a customer buy from you and not someone else? You can conduct research by looking at your current customers or by reading through related websites, blogs, or social media accounts. Reddit and Quora are also excellent sources for market research.
Example: As a natural-minded home cleaning company, our target audience is individuals who have concerns over the chemicals in traditional cleaning products. Additionally, our audience includes busy families, likely with children, in which parents’ work schedules make it challenging to keep up with household chores.
Analyze Your Competitors
After researching your audience, you want to dig into your competitors a little as well. What is their offer? What do you think their USP might be? The aim is to identify gaps or unmet needs in the market that you can fulfill. Take a look at your competitors’ websites, ads, or other communications, and note their “selling points”; these points are often their USP.
Example: Our competitors are other home cleaning companies. A couple of these companies are franchises, and others are locally owned.
Identify Your Unique Strengths
The next step is to take a look at your own products or services and determine what makes you unique. What features or qualities do you offer that others don’t? What do you do really well? We often first think of differences in the products or services themselves, but a USP can also be a difference in the level of customer service, convenience, affordability, business values, or experience level of the service provider, to name a few examples.
Example: Our strengths are that we use all natural, and some organic cleaning products. We pay attention to detail, and we spend greater time on cleaning tasks than the average.
Craft a Clear, Concise Statement
Now take that list of strengths you just made and distill all of that information into a clear, concise statement. Be specific. Focus on what matters to your audience, align your message with your brand values, and make it memorable.
Example: Our home cleaning company provides a spotless, healthy home without the use of harsh chemicals. We provide reliable, quality, eco-friendly service while keeping your family and pets safe.
USP Purpose
Crafting a USP serves to keep your team aligned around who you are as a company. The USP guides your marketing efforts and should be used throughout your marketing to consistently communicate why customers should choose you.
A USP Can Evolve
Remember that a USP can change over time. Business grow, customer needs change, market conditions shift, competition changes, technology advances. These factors may make it necessary to update or refine your USP as your business continues over the years.
Conclusion
Crafting your unique selling proposition is a key step in the early development of your business. It helps you better understand how to gear your offering to solve the problems of your customers. It may take some time to do, but once you have your unique selling proposition defined, it will function as a brand compass to guide marketing and other business decisions. If you’d like to discuss marketing strategy for your business, schedule a call today.
