A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a marketing strategy to let clients know how your company’s product or service is unique and different from your competitor’s. The USP is used to demonstrate what makes your product or service better. Some marketing experts say that unless you can point out what makes your business unique, you will not be able to target your sales efforts effectively. A strong USP helps customers understand the differences between similar products and brands. Without a USP, brands and products tend to look alike. In markets with many similar products, your company needs a way to stand out.

Very few businesses are one of a kind, so you need to be creative to find what makes your business unique. One way to start is to look at your competitors and other companies to learn how they differentiate themselves from other companies. Your USP can be based on Product characteristics, Price, Placement of your products (by location or distribution) or Promotional strategies. In Marketing, these are referred to as the Four “P’s” of marketing.

USP Marketing Intelligence Process

1. Look at your business through the eyes of your customers.
   • What do your customers want from your product?
   • What problem are they trying to solve?
   • What need are you filling with your product?
   • Remember that price is only one consideration and never the only reason customers make a purchase.
   • Other considerations could be Quality, Ease of Use, Convenience, Reliability, Warranty, Friendliness, Cleanliness, Courtesy, Customer Service, Technical Support, or the product’s ability to solve a problem.
2. Understand your customer’s motivations.
   • What drives your customer to make a purchase?
   • Look at more than just the traditional customer demographics such as age, gender, race, income and geographic locations to understand the process and motives that they use to choose one product over another.
3. Find the reasons why customers buy your products.
   • The best way to find out is to ask.
   • You can talk with your customers directly, ask for ratings or use surveys to get their feedback.

How to create a Great USP for your business.

• Let your potential client know why your product is superior.
  • "Buy this product, for this specific benefit."
• Your USP should be based on something you offer that your competitor does not.
  • Use the Four “P’s”  to help define and create your own USP
    • Product
    • Price
    • Place
    • Promotion
• The USP has to be compelling in order to attract new customers.
  • Do your research and be creative when creating your own unique USP

Your USP should be bold and memorable, be customer focused and be something your customers can rely on. A clear USP helps customers understand the differences between brands and products. It should help the customer decide to purchase your product over your competitor’s product.

Examples of great USPs over the years

• Robinhood: ”Investing for Everyone”
  • Robinhood was the first mobile based investing app to offer commission free trading. They are making trading affordable for everyone by offering fractional shares of stocks.
• FedEx: "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." 
  • FedEx differentiated themselves from their competitors by promising overnight package deliveries.
• Warby Parker: “Try 5 frames at home for free”
  • Warby Parker’s offer to ship glasses frames to your house to try for free is a strong USP and has helped them compete in a new way in an old established business.
• M&M's: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand." 
  • M&M’s are unique in that their chocolate has a hard sugar coating that prevents the chocolate from melting in your hands unlike their competitors.
• Geico: = ”15 minutes could save you 15% on car insurance”
  • Geico has a well defined USP that is a good catchphrase and easy to remember which helps their brand awareness
• Head & Shoulders: "Clinically proven to reduce dandruff." 
  • Head  &Shoulders contains Pyrithione Zinc which was found to be an ingredient that was effective in eliminating dandruff where other products were not. 
• Lemonade: “Forget everything you know about insurance”
  • Lemonade makes a bold statement that is meant to quickly get your attention.
• Domino's Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less—or it's free." 
  • Dominos promised fast delivery for their pizzas. 
• Avis: We're number two. We try harder.
  • Avis was the second largest car rental company behind Hertz. With their USP, they were able to turn a negative into a positive message that helped their company grow.

Hopefully this will help guide and inspire you to create a USP for your product or brand to help differentiate you from your competition.

Contact Us for help creating a Unique Selling Proposition for your Business.