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Selling Proposition (USP)
How to Create Your "Unique Selling Proposition" (USP)
That Makes Your Marketing Generate More Results
Boost Your Sales And Profits By Positioning Your
Company As The Best Choice In The Market
What makes you more unique, more
valuable, and more visible in the market? You've heard
the old saying "Differentiate or Die" right? In our highly
competitive world, you have to be unique and fill a
special niche to be successful in the marketplace. Yet one of
the most harmful mistakes small businesses make is not being unique
and positioning themselves as the best choice in the market. How do
you show that your product or service is the best?
Use a Unique Selling Proposition or "USP". Having
a USP will dramatically improve the positioning and marketability of
your company and products by accomplishing 3 things for you:
-
Unique - It clearly sets you
apart from your competition, positioning you the more logical
choice.
-
Selling - It persuades another to
exchange money for a product or service.
-
Proposition - It is a proposal or
offer suggested for acceptance.
The Force
That Drives Your Business And Sales Success
Your USP is the force that drives your
business and success. It can also be used as a "branding"
tool that deploys strategy with every tactical marketing effort
you use such as an ad, a postcard, or web site. This allows you to
build a lasting reputation while you're making sales. The ultimate
goal of your USP and marketing is to have people say to you...
"Oh, yes I've heard of you. You're the
company who..." - And then respond by requesting more
information or purchasing.
The Federal Express Example:

Federal Express (FedEx) dominated the
package shipping market with the following USP:
"Federal Express: When it absolutely,
positively has to be there overnight." The deployment of
this USP allowed Federal Express to emerge as the dominant leader in
the industry, taking market share rapidly, and also increasing its
sales and profits.
In today's competitive market, your business
cannot thrive if you are using the same old "me too" marketing that
everyone else is using. Your small business absolutely positively
has to have a USP that "cuts through the clutter", separates you
from the competition, and positions you as the best choice... the
ONLY choice.
Building your USP takes some effort, but it
is absolutely worth it because of the added advantage you'll have in
the market. Using a powerful USP will make your job of marketing and
selling much easier, enabling you to more easily increase your
sales and profits for the same budget.
Winning USP Examples
The following are 6 powerful USPs that
alleviate the "pain" experienced by the consumers in their
industries..
Example #1 - Package Shipping Industry
Pain - I have to get this package delivered
quick!
USP - "When it absolutely, positively has to
be there overnight." (Federal Express)
Example #2 - Food Industry
Pain - The kids are starving, but Mom
and Dad are too tired to cook!
USP - "Pizza
delivered in 30 minutes or it's free." (Dominos Pizza)
(This USP is worth $1 BILLION to Dominos Pizza)
Example #3 - Real Estate Industry
Pain - People want to sell their
house fast without loosing money on the deal.
USP - "Our
20 Step Marketing System Will Sell Your House In Less Than 45 Days
At Full Market Value"
Example #4 - Dental Industry
Pain - Many people don't like to go
to the dentist because of the pain and long wait.
USP - "We
guarantee that you will have a comfortable experience and never have
to wait more than 15 minutes"
Example #5 - Cold Medicine Industry
Pain - You are sick, feel terrible,
and can't sleep.
USP - "The
nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can
rest medicine." (Nyquil)
Example #6 - Jewelry Industry
Pain - The market hates paying huge
300% mark-ups for jewelry.
USP - "Don't pay 300% markups to a
traditional jeweler for inferior diamonds! We guarantee that your
loose diamond will appraise for at least 200% of the purchase price,
or we'll buy it back."
How To Develop Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Your USP is the very essence of what you are
offering. Your USP needs to be so compelling that it can be used as
a headline that sells your product or service. Therefore, since you
want to optimize all your marketing materials for maximum results,
create it before anything else (such as advertisements and marketing
copy).
Print this article and jot down your ideas
to construct a "Unique Selling Proposition" (USP) for your
business. Follow this easy 7-step process:
Step 1: Use Your Biggest Benefits:
Clearly describe the 3 biggest benefits of
owning your product or service. Let me be blunt. Your prospect
doesn't care if you offer the best quality, service, or price. You
have to explain exactly WHY that is important to them. Think in
terms of what your business does for your customer and the
end-result they desire from a product or service like yours. So,
what are the 3 biggest benefits you offer? Write them down on a
piece of paper...
1.
2.
3.
Step 2: Be Unique:
The key here is to be unique. Basically,
your USP separates you from the competition, sets up a "buying
criteria" that illustrates your company is the most logical choice,
and makes your product or service the "gotta have" item. (Not your
competitor's.)
Write your USP so it creates desire and
urgency. Your USP can be stated in your product itself, in your
offer, or in your guarantee:
-
PRODUCT:
"A unique baseball swing that will instantly force you to hit
like a pro."
-
OFFER:
"You can learn this simple technique that makes you hit like a
pro in just 10 minutes of batting practice."
-
GUARANTEE:
"If you don't hit like a pro baseball player the first time
you use this new swing, we'll refund your money."
Write your ideas on paper now...
Step 3: Solve An Industry "Pain Point" Or
"Performance Gap":
Identify which needs are going unfulfilled
within either your industry or your local market. The need or "gap"
that exists between the current situation and the desired objectives
is sometimes termed a "performance gap". Many businesses that base
their USP on industry performance gaps are successful.
For example, Dominos Pizza used the
"Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free" USP to become wildly
successful. This worked because of the need or "gap" in the market -
After a long day at work Mom and Dad are too tired to cook. But the
kids are starving and don't want to wait an hour! They want pizza
NOW. Call Domino's.
So, what are the most frustrating things
your customer experiences when working with you or your industry in
general? Alleviate that "PAIN" in your USP and make sure you deliver
on your promises. Write your ideas on paper now...
Step 4: Be Specific And Offer Proof:
Consumers are skeptical of advertising
claims companies make. So alleviate their skepticism by being
specific and offering proof when possible. Write your ideas on paper
now...
Step 5: Condense Into One Clear And
Concise Sentence:
The most powerful USPs are so perfectly
written, you cannot change or move even a single word. Each word
earns you money by selling your product or service. After you get
your USP written, your advertising and marketing copy will
practically write itself!
Now take all the details about your
product/service/offer from the steps above and sculpt them into one
clear and concise sentence with compelling salesmanship fused into
every single word. Write your ideas on paper now...
Step 6: Integrate Your USP Into ALL
Marketing Materials:
Variations of your USP will be included in
the ALL your marketing materials such as your...
-
Advertising and sales copy headlines;
-
Business cards, brochures, flyers, &
signs;
-
Your "elevator pitch", phone, and sales
scripts;
-
Letterhead, letters, & postcards;
-
Website & Internet marketing.
Step 7: Deliver On Your USP's Promise
Be bold when developing your USP but be
careful to ensure that you can deliver. Your USP should have
promises and guarantees that capture your audience's attention and
compels them to respond to you. Having a strong USP can make your
business a big success, or a big failure if you don't deliver on it
thereby ruining your reputation. In the beginning, it was a
challenge for Federal Express to absolutely, positively deliver
overnight, but they developed the system that allowed them to
deliver the promise consistently.
Conclusion:
Using a powerful USP is the driving force
that builds your business success. Build your USP and use it to
optimize your marketing materials for maximum results.
Contact us now for a free price quote
on our marketing optimization services by calling Matt
Hockin at 541.280.3363 or by clicking here.
Other Related Resources:
- 10 Step Checklist to a Website
that Sells
Only a small percentage of Websites on the Internet sell...
about 1%. This means that 99% do not sell effectively. Is your
Website in the 99% category that don't sell? This article and
gives you a checklist of how to build a Website That Sells.
Click Here
- Make Your Website Copy Sell
Why don't more people buy online? From what I've seen on the Web
it is painfully obvious. The reason that more people do not buy
online is because most Websites are not designed to sell
correctly. You need words that sell. Click Here
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