What is USP in marketing? A successful unique selling point (USP) articulates a benefit that consumers value and differentiates the business from competitors. It must carefully balance what the customer wants with what the business does well or can deliver that others cannot.
What is a Unique Selling Point?
A USP is a short statement that explains what sets your business apart from competitors. It shapes your brand, market positioning, marketing messages and techniques, and customer interaction.
It should be clear and concise so that customers can understand it. The best example is IKEA’s USP, which states what they are known for and how it benefits customers.
- It’s a promise. This is a promise to your customers about what they will gain from using a product or service. Defining your USP is an essential part of developing your business model and market positioning, and can shape the way you market your products and services to your target audience. Narrowing your market, assessing your competitors, and taking a clear look at what you offer are all essential to creating a strong USP. It should also be a realistic promise that you can deliver on and will help your customers connect the value of your product to their lives in a positive way. A strong USP should be short and concise, and communicate what’s truly different about your company. A good USP will also be believable and should be reinforced with facts, data, testimonials, or other evidence in the surrounding copy.
- It’s a benefit. In the case of most businesses, especially those selling in competitive markets or niche marketing industries, this can be challenging. However, there are a few strategies to help. One is to find a benefit that sets you apart from the competition, and then promote it. Another way to distinguish yourself is to choose a key differentiator that is clear and concise. Avoid jargon, which will alienate potential customers. Market positioning is best when it speaks to a customer’s pain points, values, or questions.
Every Business, Needs One Defined Unique Quality to Connect With Customers
There are various USPs that can be utilized, however, every business needs to find its own unique and quality USPs in order to fully utilize them.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Developing a strong USP is the key to connecting with customers. A USP is a clear definition of your business’s value and benefits that set you apart from similar businesses.
Remember that being unique won’t mean anything if it doesn’t resonate with your consumer base. Lastly, your USP should be more than a tagline. It should be embodied in everything from your return policy to your support line. It should be a promise to your consumer that they can trust you as the only choice in their market.
Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
UVPs explain the relevancy, specific value, and differentiation of your product or service. They are usually the first thing a customer reads when they visit your website. They are not slogans or catch-phrases, but rather a statement that communicates to your ideal customer how your products and services can add value to their lives.
The best way to craft a UVP is to start with the number one problem your product solves. From there, you can identify the benefits that make your product different from competitors. This information should be distilled down to a concise, easily understandable statement. Creating a UVP can be challenging, but it is vital to gaining attention and building a brand identity.
How to Get More From Sales and Marketing
Many companies struggle with sales and marketing alignment. Salespeople often believe that marketers are myopic and out of touch with customers, and vice versa.
Salespeople need to ask more questions. This doesn’t mean peppering prospects with questions, but actively listening and asking for feedback after each interaction. These questions help them better understand buyers and their pain points.
Customer Relationships
Developing strong customer relationships requires proactive as well as reactive efforts. The latter involves addressing customers’ reported issues, working with customer support, and creating long-term solutions that are designed for customer success. Customer service teams are often the first to engage with customers and can provide valuable insight into their concerns and behavior.
Encourage your sales team to proactively seek feedback from customers through methods such as surveys, polls, and phone calls. This can help your company develop a clear picture of its customer base and identify trends that might require attention. In addition, consumers are more willing to overlook a business’s mistakes if it shows that it is dedicated to improving the overall experience. This is especially true when the business offers transparent communication to resolve any problems.
Customer Service
Even if your product is top-notch, buyers will quickly abandon you and go elsewhere if they experience poor customer service. This is especially true if you can’t solve their problem quickly and easily.
It’s also important to remember that while many buyers today want to resolve issues online, some prefer to talk with a representative to get the answers they need. That’s why it’s essential to have a seamless transition from online to phone support for customers and prospects who choose that route. High-performing customer service teams are able to do this more than three times faster than their underperforming counterparts, and they handle far more tickets on average.
The front-line role of your customer service team is unique in that it offers the most direct interaction with your buyers. When reps are well-trained, they’re able to offer a personalized experience that reflects the needs and goals of each individual customer. This, in turn, allows them to create fruitful upselling and cross-selling opportunities that increase sales revenue.
Manufacturer’s Representative
Because manufacturers’ representatives live and work in their territories, they know the local factors that affect their clients’ success. Competition, weather, brand awareness, cultural nuances, and urban vs. rural preferences are all factors that influence a customer’s ultimate success. Representatives leverage this knowledge to promote and sell the products they represent.
Unlike salaried salespeople, who are often transferred out of a territory, manufacturers’ representatives stay in their territory. This translates to the stability of relationships, continuity of sales, and extensive market opportunities.
A good manufacturer’s rep knows the merchant, his goals, and concerns at retail, and is able to identify and capitalize on product synergies for the client. This requires the rep to spend time in the retail environment and a genuine interest in knowing the merchant’s future plans, concerns, and goals. Consequently, a great rep is more than just a great salesperson — he’s a trusted advisor.
Best Unique Selling Proposition Examples For B2B Companies
These are a list of great USP samples for business-to-business companies. A strong unique selling proposition is one of the most important aspects of a company’s branding. It sets it apart from the competition and fosters repeat business.
Canva
Creating a unique selling proposition can be difficult, but it’s essential to the success of your business. It takes a lot of thought and creativity to come up with something that stands out. Fortunately, there are many examples of successful unique selling propositions that you can use for inspiration.
One example of a unique selling proposition is Canva’s “Empowering the world to design.” This statement aligns with their online platform, which provides a user-friendly, drag-and-drop design tool. This is a way to stand out from their competition, which includes more advanced tools like Adobe.
Nike
A unique selling proposition must be woven throughout your company’s marketing. It should be prominent in your website header, but it also should appear in all your copy and in all the ways you talk about your business. Your USP should help people understand why they should buy from your company instead of your competitor.
The best USPs capture a lot of meaning in as few words as possible. This isn’t just to save on printer ink, but to make sure your entire team can easily articulate what makes your product or service unique.
Coca-Cola
If you want your products or services to stand out from the competition, you need a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP shows potential customers how your product is different from other competitors. It also helps you frame your marketing strategy and sales approach.
A strong USP is clear and concise, and it emphasizes a quality that your customers will value. It should also tell customers how your product will benefit them. For example, Bee’s Wrap states that it will help reduce plastic pollution with its simple promise of “a better alternative to plastic wrap.” Similarly, Domino’s offers a thirty-minute delivery guarantee for their pizzas. This guarantees that the pizza will arrive within thirty minutes or less, and it gives them a competitive advantage over other restaurants.
HubSpot
For B2B companies, there’s often little room for differentiation. You’ll likely have a lot of competitors who do exactly what you do, so the key is to communicate your USP better than everyone else.
USPs must be clear, concise, and compelling. If not, they will be ignored by your prospects. They also shouldn’t be full of hyperbole. A strong USP will capture a customer’s attention in just a few seconds. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to craft your USP carefully. The results will be worth it! For example, Hiver’s USP is that it provides an all-in-one customer service software within Gmail.
Shopify
Identify your target market’s demographics, habits, goals, and problems. Then, figure out how your product or service can solve those issues.
Remember, your USP should be specific and clearly state how you’re different from competitors. It should also be backed up with evidence. Avoid making claims that you can’t back up—it will only hurt your credibility in the long run. And don’t try to be all things to all people—choose a niche and focus on it. Your USP should be easy for your ideal customers to understand and resonate with. This will make it more compelling in your marketing efforts.
In Conclusion
After identifying what your business’ strengths and weaknesses are, then you will move on to the next stage of determining whether your business needs USP or UVP.
Is your business more tailored to advocating a certain lifestyle, or brand? Do they absolve to customer service instead? Do they market products? What kind? These are all questions to keep in mind as you proceed into this next time.
DigitalSpecialist.co is a digital marketing firm in London Ontario, where we specialize in all digital marketing-related efforts. Head on over to their own website in order to avail your free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. It refers to a distinct feature or benefit that sets a product, service, or brand apart from its competitors in the market.
Having a USP is crucial for a business because it helps differentiate itself from competitors and communicate a compelling value proposition to the target audience. It helps create a clear and memorable identity, attracting customers and building brand loyalty.
To determine your business’s USP, you need to analyze your target market, identify their needs and pain points, assess your competitors, and find a unique aspect or benefit that your business can offer. It could be a feature, quality, pricing, customer service, or any other aspect that makes your business stand out.
Yes, a business’s USP can change over time. As markets evolve, customer preferences shift, and competition grows, businesses may need to reassess and refine their USPs to stay relevant and maintain a competitive edge.
To effectively communicate your USP to customers, it’s important to align your messaging across various marketing channels. This includes incorporating your USP in your brand messaging, advertising campaigns, website content, social media posts, and other customer touchpoints. Consistent and compelling communication helps customers understand and appreciate your unique value proposition.