A Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is something you have probably heard of before. But do you have one for your business?
A USP can be very useful for online marketing, and it can help give you more direction in your decision making. Here’s a guide to how to come up with one of your own.
What Is a USP?
A USP is what makes your business different. It states clearly and succinctly how your business stands out from the rest, highlighting a unique quality or benefit that you provide.
Most businesses will be able to state their USP in a few words or a short sentence to make it punchy and memorable, and you should aim to do the same.
Benefits of Having a USP
People encounter so many messages every day that it can be hard for you to make your message stand out. A USP provides your targets with a way to know instantly what you stand for.
Choice is hard, and your customers want to know immediately what you offer that other companies do not. Importantly, your USP should provide a convincing reason why your targets should choose you instead of your competition.
Quick Guide to Creating Your USP
Coming up with a USP is not an easy thing to do. It takes time and effort to get it right, so don’t expect to work it out instantly.
Start off by writing down all the benefits you can think of about your business. Don’t be too picky, and simply write down everything that you can think of.
How do you help your target audience? What do you provide them with? How do you make their lives better? Why do you exist? Why do people need you that they cannot get from your competitors? Are you cheaper? Better quality? Faster?
What makes you different? What really sets you apart? Do you provide the best support? The best customer service? It could even be something like your distinctive brand voice or your charitable activities.
You may have many benefits, but you cannot include them all in your USP. Instead, come up with a few different USPs based on different benefits. Start by writing them down without worrying about the length.
Once you have a few written down, try and shorten them into a few words or a short sentence, and you’ll now have a few USPs to work with.
Work Out Your Most Effective USP
Once you have come up with about five USPs, it’s time to test them to find out which is the most effective. You may have a gut instinct about which one to focus on, but it’s still worth asking your existing customers what they think.
Set up a survey on your website, or send an email to your customers, asking them their opinion. Ask them what matters most when they are looking for the products that you sell, and use the results to guide your decision.
You could even set up a Facebook advertising campaign, focusing on different USPs in each ad to see which gets the best reaction.
Refine Your Chosen USP
Once you know which USP to focus on, it’s time to refine it. Take your USP and work at it. Edit it down. Remove words and change it around. Make it more powerful, more impactful.
It’s not always easy, but it’s well worth doing to end up with a USP that is succinct, powerful and memorable.
Now Use It
Once you have your USP, use it to direct your marketing decisions, your social media updates, your blog posts. With everything you do, ask yourself: is this in line with your USP?
A USP is a great way to become more recognisable, more memorable and more attractive to your target customers. So start working with yours, and enjoy the benefits of having a powerful USP.
As a specialist digital marketing agency consisting of a number of highly experienced digital consultants, Web Results Direct is expertly placed to support its clients with advanced, and strategic, digital marketing consulting services. To learn more contact us – call us now on 01483 429222
