"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition"

"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition" Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

WHAT IS A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Unique Selling Proposition’s (USP) purpose is to help your marketing efforts generate better results. It positions you as standing out from your competition because you offer something (or some way) that your competition does not – you’re unique.

Your USP is a selling tool that draws prospects to your offering and persuades them to purchase your product or service. Your USP is a proposition that offers benefits by buying from you.

Since your USP is a sales proposition, you are making an offer. The classic example is Domino’s Pizza, “Pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free”. Dominos positioned itself as unique since none of its competitors made that claim, and (as we know) made the sale to millions.

 HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR USP

Put yourself in the customer’s chair. What are the pains in your industry that you guaranty to solve?  It’s not what you do; it’s what benefits your customer receives from your efforts.

Craig Herberg is owner of Info-Safety, an IT services company providing on-site and remote computer services for residential and micro-business clients in Northern Virginia.  

Craig identified his customers’ pain as the frustration they experience dealing with their computer technology. Craig offers Technology Frustration Remediation®

That is his trademarked process by which he offers assurance while explaining the method by which he will solve the problem along with tips on avoiding or reducing the impact of similar problems.

What is the “pain” (irritation, frustration, disappointment) your customer experiences when working with your industry - the endless wait for pizza. 

The key is to be unique. Since you are promising to alleviate the “pain” something no one else has, or does, make a guarantee. It sets you apart from your competition and it makes you more visible in the market.

The Bottom Line

Your USP drives your business and success because it differentiates you from your competition, it persuades someone to buy, it makes an offer to the prospective buyer.  It can also be used as a branding tool for your marketing efforts. This allows you to build a lasting reputation while you are making the sale.  

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.