Unique Selling Proposition (USP), what it is and how to find it

What is the Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? Why can defining it be so important for your business if you are a professional or an entrepreneur?

If you ask any marketer about the USP, they will tell you that it is a commitment that you make to your potential customer and that it is something that differentiates you or differentiates your product/service from other similar ones. In short, it is the answer to the question of why a customer should choose your service or product over that of your competitors.

This is correct, but it is only one possible answer because what matters is that the definition of a USP can be a crucial decision for you because it implies the creation of an identity that distinguishes who you are as a professional or as a company.

A strong and meaningful concept capable of capturing the attention of your potential customers. However, the USP is not a slogan but something much more tangible.

Your Unique Selling Proposition must identify what makes you unique, in a way that is relevant and attractive, to your ideal target customer

Whether you are starting a new business or beginning a process of growing your business through the creation of a marketing strategy and plan, developing an effective USP is a crucial step .

The overall process, as I will explain to you shortly, can be divided into a few steps but it will be essential for you to also analyze your competitors in depth and develop the ability to "put yourself in the shoes" of your target customers.

In fact, by analyzing your competitors, you can get an idea of how they want to be perceived and what they convey with their USP, assuming they have one…

Putting yourself in your customers' shoes instead means analyzing your products/services/solutions/realisations and your business in depth, but from their point of view.

This can be, believe me, a step that is far from simple but you absolutely must consider what drives and motivates your target customers in their purchasing choices.

You need to know what your customers really want, not what you think they want or will want…but what they want.

The Unique Selling Proposition is a statement that succinctly outlines how your business, enterprise, product or service is different from that of your competition.

Identify what makes you the best choice for your potential customers and why your target potential customers should choose you over your competitors.

In a nutshell, it is a summary of what makes you unique and particularly attractive to your target audience. It's the maximum commitment you feel you can make to your target customer.

Defining your USP is therefore an important element because it helps you focus your marketing objectives and verify that each communication element stands out from what your competitors do.

Your unique selling proposition usp can also be an important part of your brand.

All clear and easy to say, but how to do it?

How to write your Unique Selling Proposition

The development of your Unique Selling Proposition, as we have said, is a crucial step in the development of your business , whether you are starting your own business or your desire is to shake it up.

On the contrary, the USP is really a concept to be taken up periodically to perfect it, adapt it and make it evolve together with your business and your products.

It is also a useful exercise to analyze where your competitors are, understand how they are moving and how your company fits into the market over time.

At this point, let's see the main and indispensable steps to write your Unique Selling Proposition :

1. Who is your ideal target customer

Who is your target audience customer?

Who is the type of customer who without you or your products / services / solutions / achievements can find themselves in greater difficulty?

Who is the type of customer who thanks to your expertise / experience / specialization can significantly improve their life or their business?

Imagine the ideal customer you want to address , put yourself in their shoes and consider what their needs might be. The most effective way to sell is to satisfy people's needs by helping them solve their problem or fulfill their wish.

2. Mission and Vision

The second step is to define (you may have already done so if you've worked on creating your own business plan...) what your professional mission and vision are.

If you've never done it, you can start thinking about it now, answering a few simple questions that can summarize what you do, to whom you do it and why you're doing it:

What are your goals?

Where do you want to go in the medium to long term?

How can you help your target customer get the results they want or satisfy their desires?

What products, services, solutions or realizations do you propose and why do you want to do it?

What are you good at? What are your strengths?

3. Which problem you solve or which wishes you realize

The next step is to clearly identify the main problem or desire of your target customer and explain how your products/services/solutions/realisations solve their problem or satisfy their desire.

What is the most important need your target customers have or the most relevant challenge they face?

How do you meet their needs?

How do you help them deal with their challenges?

Think deeply about your product/service , start from its intrinsic characteristics and clearly express how these will bring concrete benefits to your potential customers. Remember that to be successful you don't have to sell objects but results. What will your customers get by buying from you? How will their life be better or easier?

4. Identify or create your own differentiators

This step focuses on identifying what about your solution to your target customer's problem or desire is different or better than the solution offered by your competitors.

Why do your current customers choose you over the competition or why should they choose you?

What can you do or do you think you can do much better than your competitors?

What are the main benefits that a customer can get by choosing you that they couldn't get from your competitors?

The value you identify here must be one of the main reasons why your potential customers will choose you over your competitors .

Interesting right?

5. Make your promise challenging

Focus on a strong, unique and very clear promise . Your product or service will certainly have multiple qualities and characteristics, but you need to find a main and incisive one on which to build your unique value proposition.

Take your time doing this step, as well as defining the previous steps. Work on these aspects with a fresh mind, during the weekends or at the start of the day but never under stress or when you're tired.

In fact, this step combines the most important elements that emerged in the previous steps. So it's time to start uniting everything you've written trying to give it a form that flows and makes sense as well as effectiveness.

Then, step by step, you will need to start looking for a summary, reducing what you have written repeatedly, until you arrive at a concise statement that will represent the greatest value you have to offer to your target customer.

Keep in mind that your Unique Selling Proposition essentially involves a promise, a strong commitment, that you make to your customers.

If you don't find your USP right away, don't lose heart. It is not an easy thing to do, it requires a lot of effort and in-depth reasoning. Furthermore, another piece of advice I want to give you is to write more than one sales proposal depending on the types of people you want to address . In fact, the more precise and targeted your communication is, the more your chances of successfully increasing your sales increase.

How to apply the USP?

Once you've found your USP, it's time to put it into practice and start applying what you've done so far.

According to Rosser Reeves, the philosophy that every company must follow to acquire new customers and sell more by leveraging the power of the USP is the following:

• each advertising campaign must offer a valid benefit for the potential customer;
• this benefit may not also be present in the competitor's products or services;
• the benefit must be so advantageous as to be able to push the potential customer to buy it as soon as possible.

Even if the theory is very fascinating, to be able to obtain concrete results it is necessary to put the concepts we have seen into practice.

How to do it?

Let's get started right away.

1. Define your competitive strength in one sentence

How is your product or service different from those of the competition? What makes you unique?

Try writing several answers to these questions. Do it using simple and clear words. The USP must be immediate , understandable to all.

2. Collect feedback and testimonials and use them to come up with new ideas

Ask your customers what they love most about what you sell and what you do for them. Usually the answers give you new ideas to find what is perceived as your strength over the competition. Why do they buy from you instead of from others?

At this point you will have to start communicating your new message.

There are tons of ways you can apply your USP, as long as you get the message across as many times as possible.

You can apply your USP to your website's home page, for example. In this way all visitors who land on your site for the first time and do not know you, immediately read the differentiating element that sets you apart from the competition.

Similarly, you can write your USP on business cards and brochures if you have a local business or sales network that works mostly offline.

Furthermore, you can communicate your USP every time you receive an interview, publish a blog article or launch a new advertising campaign.

I could go on and on, but it's important for you to remember only one thing:

You must include your USP in any type of communication.

Why use the USP?

Building a successful business is an exciting goal that motivates any entrepreneur, but achieving this goal is by no means easy.

It takes a lot of effort and an effective communication strategy.

This is why it is very important to use a USP.

If you can communicate a reason why it is better to buy a product or service from you, rather than from the competition, you can be perceived as the ideal solution for the potential customer who is looking for you.

Rosser Reeves , the creator of the USP, said :

“The consumer remembers ONLY ONE THING: 1 strong message, 1 strong concept and that's it. Therefore, one must communicate a single persuasive message that must be easily remembered”

The potential customer can't remember everything you try to tell them to convince them to buy from you. He will only remember ONE.

And it must be exactly what differentiates you from everyone else.

In your USP, you shouldn't talk about what you do or what you sell. You need to talk about the most important problem you solve to your prospect.

Now I show you examples of Unique Selling Propositions that work successfully.

Examples of Unique Selling Propositions

To understand the USP even better, let's see real examples of unique sales propositions that make products and services different from the competition and recognizable.

The first example that comes to mind that I find astounding is Domino's Pizza . The slogan until 2007 read "Your freshly made and hot pizza at your door in 30 minutes or it's free". The promise is extremely clear: you will have your pizza in a maximum of half an hour and directly to your home, otherwise you don't pay for it.

Those who choose Domino's pizza, especially in Italy, are not looking for the quality of the ingredients or the preparation. He's looking for something to eat with the assurance that it will arrive in no time. Excellent USP and perfectly clear warranty.

Another example, I admit it from a few years ago, but which I want to mention is that of Tonno Rio Mare . The very famous slogan "So tender that it cuts with a breadstick" leads the customer to clearly imagine the texture and tenderness of that tuna.

Staying on the subject of food, the slogan of M&Ms “Chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand” comes to mind. In a single sentence he is communicating that it is chocolate, therefore sweet and that it can be eaten even if it is hot, because it does not melt in the hand. I am reminded of a delicious snack that a mother can carry in her bag when she picks up the children from school. Or that kids can carry in their backpack or pocket on a trip or trip.

Make your company's value proposition unique

We have seen what a Unique Selling Proposition is and how to find it, but that's not all.

Applying the USP in your marketing materials is crucial if you want to find new customers and start selling more .

And once you have identified what to differentiate yourself on, you must communicate ONLY and ONLY that.

Now try to analyze your advertisements and the messages you are using today: can your customers understand why they should choose you, rather than your competition?

Establishing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the starting point of all your company's communication.

You must be able to sum up in twenty-five words or less, what makes your product or service unique and best.

The best marketing, advertising and sales campaigns are built around a single promotional slogan that can be conveyed in a meaningful way embracing the customer's perspective.

What's your?