How to Stand Out from the Crowd (And Look Good Doing It)

Wherever you find a successful business, you will find a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) — something that sets them apart from the competition and defines them in the minds of consumers. Companies without a USP either struggle to form an identity, or fail to leverage the benefits they offer.

When you boil down a USP to its basic ingredients, you find it is made up of two things:

1. The aspect of your business that makes it unique

and

2. The benefit your business offers to the consumer.

Without the uniqueness, no one will be able to distinguish you from your competitors. Without the benefit, no one will see why they should care.

So the USP is vitally important — but how do you create one?

I'm glad you asked. Follow these three simple steps to a specialized USP for your business. 1.         Have the meeting

Gather your staff together, especially those who have direct contact with customers, such as salespeople. Once you have everyone together, you need to have a brainstorming session and answer these three questions:

1.      What makes us different from our competitors?  (and don't say "it's because we have the best customer service" – everyone says that and it's NOT unique…at all)

2.      Why is our product/service a "must have"?

3.      What are the benefits of choosing us over the competition?

Disclaimer: You are going to hear your staff say things that will make you cringe!

However, everything said here is productive because you need to know not only what you want the USP to be, but also how you are currently perceived. It is good to get a dose of reality every now and again. You also may find out you are unique in ways you hadn't considered before.

Usually, one question will be harder than the others. For instance, a lawn service company is pretty clearly a must- have for people with lawns, and the benefit is obvious as well, but it may be difficult to find out what makes you different from the thousands of other similar businesses.

Here's where you really need to dig in. No two businesses are exactly the same — find what is different about yours. If you can't, come up with something! There are always ways to separate yourself from the pack.

Once you have discovered what makes you different, and why a consumer would want you, you are ready to create your USP.

2.         Craft the Wording

Take your businesses uniqueness and benefits and marry them together in a way that is absolutely crystal clear and easy to read. You don't want a single word to be lost on the reader.

For example, my company PostcardMania's USP is, "PostcardMania is the ONLY postcard marketing company that creates custom marketing campaigns based on proven industry results."

From that you clearly understand why we are different (i.e. we are the only company that tracks industry results and uses them to create our clients campaigns), and why we benefit you (better marketing = better results).

3.         Put It Everywhere

Now that your USP has been discovered and crafted, simply put it on every piece of marketing that goes out the door. This is how you build recognition of not only your name, but your business' purpose and benefit as well.