In the world of marketing, there is standard marketing term called the USP, Unique Selling Proposition which is nothing more than what differentiates you from your competition. The USP is very useful in helping you and prospective clients figure out why they should work with you rather than your competitor across town.
In developing and defining your USP, there are several key questions you must ask yourself. Here are the main questions you must answer in order to define your UNIQUENESS.
1. Considering all the people in my field, what do I offer that others do not?
2. What features of my business make me stand apart from my competitors?
3. What benefits can I promise that others do not offer?
4. What results can I deliver that others do not provide?
Once you develop your USP, you will want to use this critical statement to help you convert potential prospects into becoming paying clients.
Take into account that every human being is different. Most people love to be perceived as unique. As human beings we are all unique and very different. Don’t believe it? Just take a fingerprint of one thousand people and you will get one thousand different fingerprints. No two people have the same fingerprint, ever. As business owners and especially entrepreneurs, we all have something that sets us apart from everyone else, including our colleagues and competitors. Whether it is a customer benefit we specialize in, or a different product, a different type of service or, a specialty or niche that we excel in better than anyone else, it is something that makes us different.
Your job is to figure out what that special “it factor” is for you and your business that makes you different. Not better necessarily, just different.
Whatever your “it factor” is that helps you to stand apart from others, it is crucial for you to identify and communicate as your Unique Selling Proposition.
Consider these four very important concepts when seeking to define your USP.
- Your skills and strengths – What skills or strengths do you (your team) possess that are unique?
- Your cultural asset and identity – What is your background and how do you identify?
- Your brand promise – What can customers expect as the resounding experience when buying from you?
- The customer benefits – What can customers expect as a value add component from doing business with you/your company?
Why is it absolutely necessary for you to define your USP?
Imagine one of your potential clients surfing the web using a key word for your industry and along with your business, one hundred other businesses pop up. What would make them choose your company? What if one of your prospects was to browse the telephone yellow pages and saw 50 listings and ads for your category? How would you stand out? What would make them call YOU as opposed to the next listing? This isn’t a contest to be the first name on the listing or to have the biggest advertisement. Quite honestly it is simply about being different, compelling and unique.
To have a competitive edge in your industry these days, you must be innovative as well as unique. It’s vitally important to be able to clearly communicate what your USP is whenever you are speaking to a potential client or current client. New customers need information that distinguishes you from your competition so when they are making a buying decision, there is something that stands out about your brand, company, staff or team. Being able to define and convey the uniqueness of your brand or company is a business skill that every entrepreneur must master.
© 2012 Quality Media Consultant Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved
This article is written by Lori A. Manns, President of Quality Media Consultant Group. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, is CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group and founder of Sponsorship Sales Secrets System ™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To receive expert coaching and consultation for your business growth or to receive marketing, advertising, sales tips and articles, on how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit https://qualitymediaconsultants.com.