The Mighty USP – How This Could Make Your Business Successful…

Some things never go out of style. For example, the other half never gets tired of hearing those three magic words: “I love you.” Even if you have been married for 40 or 50 years, saying, “I love you” never feels outdated. “I love you” retains its incredible power year after year. In the case of marketing, certain concepts never go out of style either, and retain their extraordinary power year after year. One of those is the USP – the Unique Selling Proposition.

The USP is what makes you stand out from the rest. It’s what makes you different. It’s what makes you special. It’s something that jumps out vividly at prospects and makes them want to buy from you, and not the other guy. Every person in business needs to sit back and ask themselves: “What is my USP?“ If they can’t answer that question quickly and in one clean sentence, then they probably don’t have a USP, or a very good one. What we’re talking about here is similar to the discussion we had about positioning just above. But let’s focus more specifically on the USP. Momentum’s USP is, ‘Our Business Is To Grow Your Business’. Simple and to the point…

Think about opening up the Yellow Pages. No matter what business or service you are looking for, there will be a lot of choices. Accountants, solicitors, dentists, landscapers, painters, electricians and so on. So why would you choose one over the other? What jumps out of an ad in the Yellow Pages that tells the shopper: “Pick me, I’m better than my competitors!”

One of the biggest mistakes made by business owners is that they do nothing to differentiate themselves in the Yellow Pages, or anywhere else for that matter. They simply give their basic information — tell what they do, maybe brag about themselves a bit, and provide contact information. But when such ads are tucked in with a few dozen competitors, all that is essentially be said is “I’m here, too!” They do nothing to make themselves appear unique, different or special. Others make weak attempts to stand out, such as using clichéd phrases like “Lowest prices in town!” Or, “Superior Service!” But such slogans are so overused to be all but invisible to the shopper.

A true entrepreneur knows a USP has to be special, intriguing and enticing, and noticeably different from the herd. There are many examples of famous USPs that made highly successful companies what they are today. In the United States, the fast food company “Burger King” realized it needed to stand out from all the other fast food burger slingers, such as McDonald’s. The company reasoned that the biggest knock on fast food restaurants was that they were based on “prepackaged” burgers that were designed to get out fast, and that meant everyone pretty much had to order the same kind of hamburger. So Burger King began pushing its slogan “Have It Your Way,” meaning the customer could “custom design” the kind of hamburger he or she wanted to eat. It was a great USP. While all the other fast food chains were clones of each other, Burger King made its product seem unique and different by caring about the customer’s individual desires, even though they were still eating at a fast food joint. “Have it Your Way” was not only and excellent, catchy slogan, but also a USP and even a positioning maneuver all in one. It worked!!

Another fantastic example is one from the soft drinks industry. Back in the 1970s the major cola brands, such as Coke and Pepsi, commanded a gigantic portion of the market. Rather than fight them head-on, the citrus-flavored drink 7-Up decided to position itself against the cola giants with a nifty USP and powerful positioning slogan. 7-Up began calling itself “the Un-Cola.” When you think about it, it was a brilliant ploy. 7-Up was using the term “cola” to sell a non-cola drink — it was tapping into the power of “cola” while at the same time carving out a positive difference and strong alternative to the others. Being the “Un-Cola” gave consumers a clear-cut choice and made them see it vividly. 7-Up had other citrus-flavored competitors, but there was only one “Un-Cola.” Again, a brilliant strategy.

So, what can you choose for your USP? If you think creatively, it doesn’t even have to cost you money, as when one tries to have the lowest prices in town. What will make you the “Un-Accountant” or the carpenter that “let’s you have your house built your way”? Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea for a small business to be “The Non-Tesco.” A great USP is all about making the customer see you in a different way, a way that stands out. Something as simple as developing a killer USP can cause a small company to become a giant company if their USP is catchy enough, sticks in a lot of minds and become a household word, or phrase. When that happens, when you effectively “stick” something into millions of minds, there’s nothing stopping you.

Summary

The USP, or Unique Selling Proposition is a tried and true marketing concept. It’s not a gimmick. A USP makes your business very clearly stand out from the rest, and do so in a positive and exciting way. A great USP has to be immediately perceived, and change the perception of your product or service in the minds of the people in your market. And if you can’t create a USP, Momentum Business Development will find the right USP for your business and industry…

To your success…