Unique Selling Point: Your Advantage Over Your Competition
Everyone is unique. You are different, in a special way, from the next person. It is in your DNA. If you have a business, it should be unique too! Please, never treat your business like the next person’s even if that person is your mentor.
In this special article, you will learn how you can create a powerful USP that is unique and will help you to skyrocket your profits. I am not a fan of reading long articles, so after writing this for several days, I will provide the TL;DR (Too long; didn’t read) version.
What is a A USP?
A USP is a unique selling point (sometimes called a unique selling proposition). It is what makes your business stand out from the crowd. All businesses need a USP. How do you spot a USP? It is usually in the unique products and services that a business provides.
Your USP tells your audience what you stand for and why you are different from your competition. It is the main reason why your customers should choose you and not your competitors. Powerful USPs are the reason why customers continue to be loyal to a company and keep coming back for more.
My USP as a ghostwriter is in my mission statement.
“I am on a mission to overcrowd the overwhelming bad content in the market with sweet, flowy, easy-to-read, human content one page at a time.”
As a copywriter, (not a teacher) I recommend that you get your business a strong USP.
Your USP will change as time moves on. This is because the needs of most markets change often and your USP needs to reflect significant changes. You can use your original USP as the foundation. It is a promise to your customers which you need to continue to live by. Your USP just needs to evolve to take account of market changes.
I will show you some examples of successful USPs in this special article. They should inspire you to create your own powerful USP.
At this point you may be thinking that it is impossible to write a truly unique USP. How can you possibly be different from your competitors when you are in the same niche?
Well, it is possible to create a unique and powerful USP no matter how many competitors you have. For example, HelloFresh is a meal delivery company that has many competitors. Their USP is “America’s Most Popular Meal Kit” and that is working very well for them.
The fact that they are the most popular meal kit provider makes them stand out from the rest. They even show some social proof in their USP.
People want to that someone else is using this product and they like it. That is what social proof means. It helps the company gain new customers. You can see how this all makes sense.
A powerful USP is much more than a catchy slogan as you have seen. Each part of the USP tells people important things about what the company offers. These all highlight why they are better than their competitors.
USPs like the one from HelloFresh answer the question “why should I do business with you over your competitors?”
Your USP needs to answer this question as well.
I recommend that you use your story when you are generating ideas for your USP. A powerful USP will always focus on how your products and services will benefit customers. Using your own story provides a uniqueness.
To write the most powerful USP you must believe in your business and yourself. The enthusiasm and confidence that you have will come through in your USP. You need to be very excited about your products and services. If you are not, how can you expect your customers to get excited about them?
Let’s get started creating your powerful USP…
How to Write a Compelling USP
A compelling USP will answer two questions:
- Why is your product or service different from your competitors?
- Why should I choose you over them?
To create the most compelling USP, you will need to spend time brainstorming. When you have created your winning USP it will provide the direction that you need for the most effective marketing. It will guide you with branding, the messages you create, and more.
In addition to this, your USP will focus on the strengths that you have that will differentiate you from your competitors. These strengths need to be things that your potential customers will care about.
Your USP is not just a Slogan
There is nothing wrong with having a good slogan. In fact, I encourage you to come up with one. I can help with that. I love businesses with a catchy and clever slogan. But your USP needs to go beyond any slogan that you come up with.
Take a look at the USP of Tiffany and Company. They are well known sellers of jewelry but there USP goes beyond this. Their USP is:
“The Right One Is Worth Waiting For”
From this slogan/USP, you feel that they are selling more than jewelry. They are selling the idea of living happily ever after. This is a very creative use of emotional triggers that help to make them stand out. It’s like they’re saying, “Come to Tiffany and Company for that special person in your life.”
How are your Products and Services different?
Your USP needs to be assertive but it must also be something you can defend. It is not enough just to say that your products and services are high-quality. How can we be sure they really are?
What do your products and services offer that your customers cannot get elsewhere?
It doesn’t matter what business you are in, you can come up with why what you offer is different.
Maybe you sell online courses and you are different because of the number of videos in your courses or that you provide bonus elements that your competitors don’t? Or because your course is LIVE and students have unlimited access to you.
You must find a way to be unique. It doesn’t matter if the uniqueness is a small thing. Find it, CAPITALISE on it and make it work for you.
Spend time analyzing your products and services to find those details that make you stand out.
What do your Customers Need and Want?
The first step is to know what your customers need and want. What do your customers value in the type of products and services that you are offering? When you can fulfill the needs and wants of your customers, they will appreciate this and return for more.
How do you know your customers?
Spend quality time researching your niche thoroughly. This is something that you need to do before you create any products or services and before you write your compelling USP. The more that you know and understand your audience, the easier it will be to create a powerful USP that really speaks to them and motivates them to do business with you.
HubSpot is a digital marketing company. Their USP is “There’s a better way to grow”. This is an assertive statement that they can defend and it supports their unique services.
The company provide several free digital marketing services that you can use to get started. As your business grows they have paid services that will help you to grow even more.
They know what their audience wants.
When you are starting out with digital marketing you don’t have a lot to spend. With the HubSpot free services, the door is open for anyone to get started. Their USP goes beyond a slogan. It evokes curiosity and garners interest because people want to know what the better way to grow is.
Here’s another example of an assertive USP that is much more than a slogan. The Ben & Jerry’s company have this USP: “We make the best possible ice cream in the best possible way”.
This is more than a slogan because it highlights their corporate social responsibility and sustainability policy. The company is well-known for its non GMO products, fair practices, the use of cage-free eggs and more. Today, consumers really care about the environment and want to purchase products that reflect this.
In the next section, we will discuss USP mistakes you need to avoid…
Mistakes to Avoid with your USP
There are common mistakes that businesses make when they are creating their USPs.
A marketing strategy is probably not going to be unique. For example, your customer service may be excellent and the fact that you give free shipping on certain orders are convincing statements. But these features are not unique. Also, you will be powerless to stop your competitors copying these strategies. At least, you cannot say you didn’t copy them yourself.
Pricing is another factor that you should avoid using in your USP. Your competitors can undercut your pricing which then renders your USP useless. The important takeaway here is that you need to focus on the benefits of your products and services that your competitors would not find it easy to copy.
Write Your USP Around Your Business Angle
When I say business angle, I mean that reflection of your whole business and what you stand for.
Let’s use a good example of a USP to illustrate this point. At one time, you could only purchase women’s hosiery in a department store. The Hanes company had a unique idea which was to sell their hosiery in a place that women visited every week. The grocery store.
They created unique packaging for their hosiery in the shape of an egg to blend in at the grocery store. Because they didn’t need to fold and press the hosiery, the company could lower the price.
Hanes had two unique USPs which were price and convenience.
Lowering the price was a risky strategy but the unique egg packaging helped to make Hanes the market leader. Selling hosiery in a place where women often frequented in special packaging was genius and worked very well.
So, if you are doing something different, make a statement of it in the most unusual way possible.
Let me illustrate. Let’s say you sell gym wears for plus size women. What is your angle? It may be fitting. Perhaps you offer clothes to fit each customer. That is something different. CAPITALISE.
Before you craft your USP, there is still something you must check. Your ideal customer…
Who is your Ideal Customer?
You must have a good idea of who your ideal customer is before you create your USP.
Who will pay for your products and services? It is very important that you know the demographics of your target audience. Demographics mean who, what, where, and how old they are. When you know this, you can create a compelling USP which will resonate with your audience.
Ask yourself Important Questions about your Audience
The best way to find out about your audience is to ask yourself the right questions. Here are some of the questions you could ask:
- What is their gender?
- What is their average age range?
- What is their annual income?
- What are their political leanings?
These are just examples. There may be other questions that are right for your market. I want you to create a customer profile for your ideal customer so that you can have a vivid picture of your audience.
For instance, the gym wear business may have an ideal customer profile like this:
Name: Allegra Cole
Gender: Female
Pain point: Fitting active wears hard to find…
Just continue this and tailor it to your market. Tailor it. ;)
Don’t Fall In Love
One mistake startups make is that their owners usually fall in love with their products and services so much that they think it is stupid for anyone to not love them at first sight.
See, you should be proud of what you offer but you must always remember that the customer comes first. You must not forget who this is about. Not about you, or your product that much. It is about who pays for them.
Place yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer and ask yourself what do they really want?
Where does your Ideal Customer hang out?
Find out where your ideal customer “hangs out” and hang out there too. This could be on Facebook Groups, for example. What social media platforms does your ideal customer use? Do they use forums? Join in with the conversation and find out what the pain points of your customer are.
What is it that their competitors are not giving them? When you know the answers to these questions you will be able to create a compelling USP.
What Problems do your Products and Services Solve?
Your customers are looking for ways to solve their problems and not for a specific product or service. Think about the impact that your products and services have on the lives of your customers. How do your products and services improve their lives?
It is very important that you get this straight so that your ideal customer will choose your products and services rather than those of your competitors.
Find out what makes your target audience (ideal customer) buy stuff like yours. Are they looking for low prices? Or perhaps the highest quality? Maybe the most reliable products? It is very important that you know the answer to this.
The next step is to communicate all that you have to offer as simple as possible with your USP.
You ant to focus on how your products and services will solve their problems, and not on the products themselves.
Make the point that you can give them what they really want better than your competitors. Always make sure that your USP will excite your target audience.
Your USP needs to be a confident statement so use powerful words to communicate this such as “best”, “first”, “greatest” and more. When you write your USP it needs to be aimed at the customer. Put the focus on them by saying “you will save money” rather than “we will save you money”.
I recommend that you look at some other USPs that have stood the test of time for inspiration. What you should notice with these is that they always make a promise and their products and services consistently deliver on this promise.
Now, you have gotten your USP. How can you use it to get the competitive edge?
The Competitive Edge of your USP
In this part, you need to do what I tell you. Don’t just read. It took a lot to get all of this thought out! And give it for free! This stuff is supposed to be sold.
Anyway, if you have not come up with some ideas about what your business is good at and why it is unique, stop reading and do it now.
Once you have unearthed some good ideas, you need to identify the competitive advantage that you have. What edge do you have over your competition?
How can you find out?
A good way to find out is to create a list of your competitors and what they offer. Identify the customer needs that they fulfill and their USPs.
Take this a step further by analyzing the marketing messages that they use. What do they say in their ads, or content? Do their words reflect their USP? How do they differentiate themselves from their competition? Is there something that they are doing that you can do even better? Is there an aspect of the market that they are not covering? Can you exploit that gap with your business and your USP?
Your USP Positions you in the Market
Your USP needs to position you in the market. Identify a place in the market where you can really stand out. While there are many ways that you can market your products and services, your USP will position your brand in a way that your ideal customer is looking for and what your competitors are not doing.
Are there any wants and needs of your target audience that nobody is taking care of? Do your customers have problems that nobody is providing solutions for? Is there a way for your business to provide solutions? Could you be first to market with a solution?
What are the Key Trends in the Market?
Identifying the key trends in the market can help you to create your USP. What is the market going to be like in 5 or10 years’ time? Maybe even in 12 months’ time? Can you adjust your USP to take these important trends into consideration?
For example, if you are in retail, perhaps the trend will be more towards online shopping in the future. Is your business prepared for this?
Always think ahead when you are creating your USP.
The USP of Saddleback Leather is very good. It is: “They’ll fight over it when you are dead”. Talk about getting your attention, right? This USP is claiming that their products are so well-made that they will outlast their owners. There is a 100 year warranty on their products to back up their USP.
They are using longevity in their USP and this is great for high-end products such as expensive leather bags. Their competitors are using other tactics such as style, rather than longevity. They want their customers to keep buying more and more of their products as a replacement.
If you have created your USP, can you test it to be sure that it works?
Test your USP
You need to be prepared to test your USP and make adjustments to it based on the feedback that you receive. One of the most effective ways to start your USP testing process is to interview a small number of existing and potential customers ask for their feedback on the different ways you are attempting to position your products or services. The viewpoint of customers is the most important.
How to Test your USPs
You need to find out what your customers and potential customers think about your unique selling proposition. In a nutshell, what do they think about what you offer? Does it compel them to buy or is it meh!?
Tell your customers how you intend to keep your promises.
You need to know why your customers buy your products and services and what stops them from buying. If you have a new business, there may not be customers for you to interview.
In this case you can take a look at your competitors. Take a look in one of their stores or their website. What are their customers buying? Be brave and ask a few of their customers why they purchase from this business.
What are they getting from the business that they cannot get elsewhere?
What is really drawing you to this business? What if they add so-and-so to their services, will it make you buy more?
When you can do this, you can assess whether you could provide something way better and steal all their customers!
As you start to gain customers for your business you can now ask them directly why they buy from you. Tell them that you are looking to improve your business and that their help will be invaluable.
A strong feature of a USP is a brand story.
What’s the Story?
What is the story behind your business? The well-known publication, the Economist, has a target audience that wants to know what is happening in the world. They know that most people get their information from newspapers and the news and they are left wanting more.
The USP of the Economist is “you’ve seen the news, why not discover the story?” So, their unique proposition is that they deliver the stories behind the news. They go further than traditional media outlets will go.
There is a second USP with the Economist and that is that they claim to have unrivaled stories. They are able to prove this which makes the USP robust.
How to Communicate your USP
When you have created and tested your USP it is time to communicate it to the world.
Always bear in mind that your USP needs to be the driving force behind all of your marketing messages. Make sure that you clearly represent your USP in all of your marketing.
Your communication plan for your USP needs to include every market that you are involved in. Do your research here and identify what the customers in each market that you operate in are looking for. Adapt your USP to suit each market if necessary.
For example, if you are in the business of digital marketing then you can be targeting different markets. It may be necessary for you to communicate a slightly different USP to each of these markets. This should not be too difficult for you to do but it will require some careful thought.
Keep Your USP Short and Simple
Always aim to keep your USP as short and simple as you can. It should be obvious to your target audience what message you want to convey through your USP.
If the message in your USP is not obvious to your audience then you risk losing them. They should not have to think about your USP too much to understand your message.
Your USP should be no longer than two sentences. It’s even better if you can write your USP in one sentence. Aim for your USP to be short and “sticky”. The “stickiness” is the way that your audience will remember and relate to your USP in all of your marketing campaigns.
Don’t make the mistake of including jargon in your USP. Not everyone in your audience is likely to be up on jargon so keep the language plain and simple. If anyone is confused by your USP then you have failed.
Be Consistent with your Branding
Your USP should make it clear to your audience how your business can help them to solve their problems. It needs to include the most important benefit for your customers to do business with you. Use your USP to tell your customers that you understand their pain and that you have the solution for them.
Consistency is very important with your brand and your USP. Whenever you connect with your audience through social media posts, landing pages for your products and services, your website and ads, always reflect your USP in your messages. Make sure that your USP is the central element of your brand.
Use it to communicate with your existing customers and prospective ones to help them understand how your brand is different.
Another way to communicate your USP is to include a “USP bar” on your website. Make this visible on every page of your site so that your visitors are reminded what your USP is and how you can help them.
When it comes to images and icons on your website and in your marketing messages, we recommend that you keep text toa minimum. It is also a good idea to create a catchy tagline that embodies your USP.
There are plenty of good taglines out there right now that you can search for and use as inspiration. Probably one of the most famous taglines is ”just do it” from Nike. Mine is “Abby says it best.”
Your aim is always to communicate your USP clearly to your audience and make it recognizable as part of your branding.
Conclusion
Creating the most compelling and powerful USP for your business is essential as it is the foundation that you need to work from. Your USP will tell your target audience how you are different, why they need you, and the benefits they will get from purchasing your products and services.
The right USP will make you stand out from your competitors and will not be easy for them to copy. Most niches are very competitive these days, and it is vital that you stand out from the crowd.
To create the most powerful USP that resonates with your target audience you need to fully understand who they are, what they want, and what problems they are experiencing. Spend as much time as necessary fully understanding your market. Find out where your target audience “hangs out” and go to the same places and join in the conversation. Your aim is to create a blueprint for your target audience and keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening in the market.
In addition to this, take the time out to really study your competition. Look at their USPs and see what they are offering the market. Do not copy what your competitors are doling as this is not unique. Instead, look for gaps and think about how you are different from them.
Knowing what problems your target audience is experiencing is vital information for you. You will find many clues online so look out for the most commonly asked questions that your target audience has. Look for other ways to identify the issues that your market faces. When you are ready, you can create a powerful and compelling USP that makes sense to your target audience and speaks to them in a way that will resonate with them.
Creating the very best USP for your business is not something that you are likely to achieve overnight. Be prepared to put the necessary time in to develop the most compelling USP as it will be worth the time in the end. Always keep in mind that without a strong USP, your business will struggle to compete in the market. The right USP is essential for long-term success.
Once you have created and tested your USP, use it as the driving force for all of your marketing. Your USP will help you to create a very recognizable brand and this will enable you to sell more of your products and services at the prices that you want to charge.
I wish you every success with creating your powerful USP!
Essential Resources
Use these essential resources to help you to develop your powerful USP:
Unique Selling Proposition (what it is)
https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/unique-selling-proposition-usp
How To Create A Unique Selling Proposition For Your Business
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-create-a-unique-selling-proposition-for-your-business
Unique Selling Proposition Examples
https://www.nasp.com/blog/5-examples-of-unique-selling-propositions/
How To Develop Your USP
