Unique selling proposition

A unique selling proposition (USP) is an opportunity to distinguish a company or product from competitors, impressing the client as much as possible so that he will contact you. This is the heart of the business and what the entire marketing strategy will revolve around. Before you start writing a USP, you need to answer two key questions for yourself:

1. What makes your company or product different from others?

2. Why should a customer choose a company or product?

Since we need to win against the background of competitors, using hackneyed phrases like “individual approach”, “professionalism”, “high quality” will be a fatal mistake. It is also important to clearly understand that the USP is not a promotional offer or positioning. The fact is, a promotion or offer is a temporary phenomenon, and positioning is more global (for example, Volvo cars are positioned as safe – this is a strong point, but they are not unique in this).

Recommendations for armor-piercing UTP

To write a win-win unique selling proposition, it is enough to adhere to certain principles. You need to know and understand 2 points very well:

• The essence of your product or company – will help create a good USP (it is better to rely on permanent employees in this matter, but a fresh look from newcomers will not be superfluous);
• Target audience – ideally, the USP is based precisely on the priority selection criteria for customers.

A detailed analysis of competitors and their offers will not be superfluous, so as not to create similar ones, but to do something unique and stronger. The main approaches for this are:

• Creativity – for example, “Chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hands”, a dubious method that requires a lot of effort and investment in order for the client to really believe;
• Highlighting the strongest sides – “The largest cup of coffee to go in a coffee shop … – 1 liter!”, Here you need to choose the really strongest side, but the word “most” cannot be used directly according to the law of the Russian Federation on advertising, but as in the example it is possible;
• Emphasis on the fears of the client – “Chemical-free dish detergent”, to use the formula you need to know exactly the fear of the client;
• Emphasis on useful additions – “Cream with vitamin E”, you also need to know what your client needs;
• A hint of positioning – “Cottage cheese like in the village”, a rather vague formula and is more suitable for district stores;
• Highlighting unique properties – “Pure Gold Earrings”, the most relevant option for those areas that have eye-catching properties or technical features;
• Exclusivity – “The only transforming chairs in Moscow”, the most successful option for USP, if the product is presented in the same way in the region or country;
• Hidden procedures – “Three degrees of glass tempering”, if you know your company well, including raw materials, equipment, suppliers, then you can stand out perfectly through any process;
• Guarantee – “If the cream does not help, we will refund the money”, you can give a guarantee for the timing, quality and that the client will definitely get the desired result;
• Professionalism – “Delivery in half an hour or free”, the simplest scheme, with the most complex and productive implementation.

Having created your own USP, you need to check whether what was said by your competitors, whether it is important for the client and how trustworthy the difference is. An important issue is the relevance and conciseness of USP.