Unique Selling Proposition

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Differentiate or die.
-Jack Trout

That’s what businesses have to do today just to survive. You have to differentiate yourself and set yourself apart from your competition.

Uncovering the Unique Selling Proposition (“USP”) of your company is the most fundamental marketing project you must complete as you begin to grow your business. It is the very cornerstone of any successful marketing plan.

Your USP is the unique position that your company has in the mind of your potential customer. How you are position in their mind determines whether or not they will choose to conduct business with you.

A USP must be a true reflection of what your customers experience with your company — it cannot be all image and no substance. If the USP does not match the customers’ experience, they will not return.

For example, how would you feel if you went in to Wal-Mart one day and found their prices to be equal to Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, or Saks Fifth Avenue? Conversely, how would you feel if you walked into Nordstrom’s shoe department and received the service and quality that you would normally find at Wal-Mart?

Those stores have different Unique Selling Propositions. Wal-Mart promotes itself as a price leader, Nordstrom — quality and service.

Yet, both these organizations make money and satisfy a particular market demand. Each has its own USP and attracts customers accordingly.

In order for your company to grow and survive in today’s marketplace, and beyond, you must be able to successfully answer these two questions:

1. Why do people do business with you now?
2. If they are not doing business with you now, why should they?

A company today must have some kind of a sustainable competitive advantage. This is what sets it apart from the competition or makes it unique.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, however, it’s often difficult to really determine what’s unique about a particular product or service. Many times, there’s nothing unique about it.

In that case, your company must establish a Unique Selling Proposition that the competition does not offer, that creates extra value or gives people additional reasons to buy your product or service.

Your company’s Unique Selling Proposition can take form in four different ways. It can:

1. Be the price leader – This means that out of all the competitors in the market, your company has the lowest price. This is a great advantage if it can be created and maintained. However, it is often difficult to consistently be the price leader. Many companies make the mistake of trying to be the price leader and always cut the price. This has caused many companies to go under. If you can compete as the price leader — great. If not, you shouldn’t play that game.

2. Differentiate – This means that your company can create an advantage by doing something more, or better, or different than the competition. It could be in the form of longer hours, better guarantee, higher quality, more selection, better service, etc.

3. Focus on a certain niche – This means that your company can zero in on only one small segment of the market and then become either the price leader or differentiate in some way, but only to that small segment of the market.

4. Extra Value Proposition – Your company provides more value (more quality, more service, etc.) than your competitors.

No matter which way you go to create the competitive advantage, it is crucial that every company have a distinct and very defined Unique Selling Proposition.

Without an effective unique selling proposition, people will never know why they should come to your business. In the absence of any other perceived value, the buying decision on the part of the consumer will always be price.

This is great if you are and want to be the price leader, but if not, you will soon be out of business unless you can create the differentiation in some other way.

Here are the seven important characteristics of effective Unique Selling Propositions:

1. Be able to articulate the proposition in 90 words or less. Answer the question: Why should people do business with you and not your competitors?

2. Quantify the benefit as much as possible.

3. Be specific in the areas of quality, service, selection, guarantee, etc. A USP is not a mission statement.

4. Fill a void the competition is not filling.

5. It must matter to prospects and customers.

6. It evolves, based on what the competition does.

7. You must be able to execute the proposition.

It is your job, as the business owner, to make sure that this USP is created, documented, and then firmly embedded it in the minds of your employees and customers. This is so crucial to the long term success of the business that it is the first pillar of our eight-step marketing system.

For more information on how uncovering your company’s Unique Selling Proposition can dramatically increase your revenues and profits without spending more money on advertising, contact us today or just call 646-450-4120.

Or, click here to find out more about the next pillar: how to sell more to more people, more often and at higher prices.