Defining & Promoting Your Unique Selling Point

What is your business' unique selling point or USP? Also called unique selling proposition, your USP is what which make your business' products or services better than those of your competition. Having an identified unique selling point helps you successfully target your business to your target market. Today we're going to explain how to define your USP, and then promote it to maximise your sales.

Understanding About Unique Selling Points

To know what your USP is, you need to have a solid grasp on the essence of your business. What is it that makes your products or services better than your competition? It's the unique position your business stands for, it's values and the problems it solves. It's the benefit your business offers which your competition doesn't and makes your business stand out above theirs.

In a world where customers have plenty of options, you need yours to stand out above them all. Your unique selling point will do this for you.

Here are some examples of USPs from NZ based businesses:

Countdown - Countdown's Mangere East store widened it's aisles to meet the needs of locals, and it's newer stores throughout the country are being designed with local markets in mind.
New World - proudly advertises that it is 100% NZ owned
The Warehouse - uses the phrase, where everyone gets a bargain
Whittakers - deliberately doesn't change its chocolate recipe to keep it the same taste

Some other common examples of unique selling propositions include price, quality, quantity, free shipping, personal service, add ons, a signature style, extreme specialisation, location, social proof, unique skill level and customer support levels.

How to Define Your Unique Selling Point

Defining your USP isn't always easy. It needs to be something you can always provide and is better than something your competitors do. A good question to ask yourself is, why should the customer buy my product instead of my competitor's product?

Here are some reasons to consider:

price - are you charging more or less for the product?
differences - what makes your product different from theirs?
support - what customer service or after sales support do you offer the customer?
quality - why is your product of a higher quality than theirs?
problem - how does your product solve the customer's problem?
motivation - what motivates your customer to buy the product you are selling? What is their pain point you are focusing on?
guarantee - will you offer a guarantee, and if so, what is special about it?
location - is it manufactured overseas or locally?
manufacturing - how is it made? What materials is it made of? Who makes it?

By answering these questions, you will be able to narrow down your unique selling point: the thing that makes your product the best choice.

Best Ways of Promoting Your Unique Selling Point

Once you've decided on a USP which is different than what your competitors offer, it's time to tell your customers all about it. This is done via marketing, which can be in many different forms, including:

using it as a part of your tagline
reassessing your branding, such as including an 'official seal' for a guarantee in your graphics
adding it to your email signature
sharing it with others when introducing yourself
create a video
post a case study
share a press release
use testimonials
share through social media
include in website text
add to product packaging

You want customers to quickly learn what your USPs are, but you don't want to be seen as being spammy by pushing them. Like with all of your communications, it's finding the balance between self promotion and sharing information. For further information about marketing, take a read of our articles: