Sometime a USP is obvious and quick to reveal itself. You may already be doing something unique and simply not letting your customers know about it. If this is the case, it’s just a simple matter of starting to tell them what you’re doing that will make you unique. At other times finding a USP can be a difficult, painful, and frustrating task. Eventually, finding a USP may require a whole change in strategy.
Your starting point, however, is always with your customers. Go out and ask them. Get to know what their fears, frustrations, desire or concerns are with your company, your industry, or your product. Always do it face to face and do it yourself as much as possible.
Once you think you have found your USP, remember to test it first. Try it in a limited number of ads or brochures and compare the sales or qury rates with your usual methods.
This is important, because you may be off the mark several times before you hit the jackpot. And remember, if someone else in your market is offering the same thing, your USP is therefore not unique and it is not a USP.
In developing your USP, you need to thoroughly understand the distinction that a USP is product-or service-specific. This means that a USP should usually apply to each product or service you offer.
Becoming unique gives you the massive advantage of offering your product or service in a way that nobody else does. If your customers want what you are offering-which they should if you’re done the right research-you can almost always immediately raise your prices without fear, and this means an immediate rise in profits, too.
The best way to explain this is to give you some examples to which you can relate. The following examples of great USPs are mostly retail-focused, but USPs are equally applicable to any business, large or small, in any industry or market segment.
Plumbers Here’s an advertisement, you might find in your yellow pages.
Does this business give you a compelling reason to seek out Joe’s services? The obvious answer is no! Unfortunately, as you can see, this gentleman has not developed a USP. Perhaps he actually does do something unique in delivering his service, but from his ad, he is certainly keeping it a secret from us. If Joe was to get to understand his customers – their real fear, frustrations, desires, and concerns-he would quickly realize that people who have dealt with plumbers, or tradesmen in general, are mostly concerned and frustrated about their punctuality. So the question is: Why is Joe’s advertisement not addressing this frustration?
This advertisement is from a plumber who has been through the exercise of talking with his customers. He now offers his services on the basis that “If we’re not there on time, you service call is on us.” This is his USP. This is what make him unique and helps him stand out from his competititors; he has made no secret of it by putting his unique offer in the headlines of his advertisements and on his shop window. You be the judge. If you needed a plumber today, which on would you call?
