Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Why A USP Is Crucial To Your Business Success

It’s a simple – but absolutely CRITICAL – factor to your business success. USP is short for Unique Selling Proposition. This tells the marketplace why they should do business with you, over and above your competition…even instead of doing nothing!

It's what makes you different (and hopefully better) than your competition. It’s also your ‘reason for being’ in business. Most business owners’ USP is (at least privately): “Do business with me because I need the money.” That’s an honest USP, but doesn’t say anything about the benefits it’ll give your customers and prospects.

You should ask yourself this question before getting into business, and if you’re already in biz: “What is my Unique Selling Proposition (USP), and what makes me stand out from my competition?” If you’re not sure where to start, here's a couple examples:

Domino’s Pizza: "Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – guaranteed."


M&Ms Chocolate Candies: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand."

With Domino's Pizza, they didn't say it was the best, or even great-tasting pizza! Domino's was started in a college town, and they knew their market: College kids.

College kids aren't looking for gourmet pizza, usually they just want hot, reasonably-priced pizza delivered quickly. And that's exactly what Tom Monaghan - the founder of Domino's - brought to the marketplace.

There are two main reasons why you should have a USP: 1) To make your company stand out from the competition, and 2) To increase the actual value you’re giving your customers, which allows you to charge higher prices.

In my next post, I’ll go into more detail about how to craft your USP, and what MY USP is as a copywriter and marketing consultant. Until then, here’s a couple of links to help you better understand this important marketing concept:

http://www.marketingsphere.com/marketing-articles/unique-selling-proposition.html

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/USPs_Your_key_to_selling_success.html