Hi team! Starting from this week, I have partnered with the awesome folks over at ViAGO International who will be producing some super awesome quality content for all of you! So for the next 10 Fridays or so, the good folks over there will be sharing their wisdom in enhancing small business profitability and productivity with you!
This piece has been written by ViAGO team member Tim Wilson:
Most business owners believe that they need a Unique Selling Point (USP). Sometimes known as a Value Proposition (VP), a USP is a benefit that your business provides to customers but your competitors don’t or can’t. It sets you apart from other businesses, and can often be a sustainable competitive advantage.
The fact that it’s described as unique can cause trouble. Sometimes, people think that their business is doomed if they’re not the only person in the world doing something. Other times, people think that anything unique will be a USP. Neither of these things is true. Fortunately, though, it’s easier than you might think to find the USP of your business.
Know Your Customers
Start by going over what you know about your target audience: what do they buy, and what need are they trying to satisfy by buying it?
What factors make them choose one way of satisfying that need over another?
Once you have some ideas about those things, see if there’s anything that your business is (or could be) really good at.
Know Your Competition
Once you know what your customers want, it’s time to look at what other businesses in the industry are doing. See how well your competitors are meeting the needs that your customers are trying to satisfy – you might have a way of doing it better!
At the same time, don’t forget to think about the needs that currently aren’t being met by a competitor. Think about the future as well: there may be changes coming (for example in legislation or online competition), and you might be able to position your business for them.
Know Yourself
Next, focus on your strengths. What makes your business better for customers? Perhaps you have better pricing, an easier ordering system, more knowledgeable staff, or something else.
Mark any of these which would be difficult for a competitor to copy or obtain for themselves.
Put It All Together
Now it’s time to take all the information you have and combine it to find potential USPs. You’re looking for things your business does really well, which satisfy the needs of your customers in ways which your competitors aren’t doing, and which your competitors won’t be able to do themselves.
This is a good time to let yourself be creative. It’s not just what you do that is valuable to customers it can also be how you do it which makes a difference.
Translate and Communicate
The final step is to be able to describe your USP in a way that will resonate for your customers. Customers need to have a clear idea of what the unique value is that your business can provide for them.
A good way to do this can be to start with a template:
- I help [target audience] get [desired outcome] without [undesired side effect]
- I help [target audience] get [desired outcome] even if [typical obstacle]
- I help [target audience] get [desired outcome] with [additional benefit]
- I help [target audience] get [desired outcome] using [unique approach]
Use a template to start off your thinking, but don’t be restricted to them. Once you have a value proposition statement that feels like it would be attractive to your target audience, you can work on making it more specific or more memorable.
Having a USP is a valuable way to make your business stand out. If you get it right, you can make your sales job a lot easier! For some other quick tips about sales skills, try visiting our website for productivity improvement skills.
Tim Wilson joined ViAGO International in 2018, and quickly found a home for his skills in logic and language. He uses these skills and ViAGO’s processes to analyse business and design solutions for them, taking them “from Chaos to Calm.”