USP stands for Unique Selling Point (or a Unique Selling Proposition – both mean the same thing) and it’s a crucial part of any business. Think about it, what makes you buy a Coke instead of a Pepsi, or a Nike instead of Adidas? Chances are it’s their USP, because these big businesses know what their Unique Selling Propositions are and use that to develop strong marketing messages around it, identify their target market, and then push to appeal to prospective customers. Knowing a company’s unique position in the market is the key to attracting potential customers and developing a successful business. So how do you develop the best USP for your business?
In this article we will investigate what a strong unique selling proposition looks like and we will look at some of the best USPs in the business world to provide some helpful advice on how to discover one for yourself. Are you ready to beat the competition and scale the business? Let’s dive in.
What Is USP In Business?
These days, most commercial marketplaces are saturated with products and marketing strategies, each trying to outwit the next. So what makes a customer choose one product over another? It’s a Unique Selling Point. (USP). What you need is a differential, something that makes your product special, and there are plenty of ways to achieve these angles in marketing because there are so many different selling points you can focus in on.
Unless you identify and utilise your USP, your product will look like all the rest on the market and you will simply be lost in the noise. There’s good news though, it’s simple to find a USP, even for basic products. Spend some time with your team brainstorming ideas and searching for unique angles that will make your product stand out even in the most crowded market.
Who Needs A USP?
Sometimes products sell by themselves, a consumer needs a solution to a problem and your brand is the first one they find–but that’s rarely the case. USPs are used to make products competitive and appeal to people in various ways, and they allow you to reach target customers in a deliberate and effective way to give you a competitive advantage over other brands.
Is your product the best for families or children, maybe it has a luxury angle, or a colour scheme that coordinates with a particular trend; these are all examples of USP angles that can elevate your product from the rest. Every business can benefit from having a USP to reach their target audience.
Benefits Of Having A USP
There are numerous benefits to having a USP, these are detailed below:
- Standing out in a crowded marketplace
- Becoming a memorable brand
- Increase your prices
- Attract new customers
- Retain existing customers
- Build a relationship with your customers
It’s now time to take a closer look at these USP benefits.
Standing Out In A Crowded Marketplace
In saturated marketplaces, and especially in an online environment, it can be tough to make your business stand out from the crowd and encourage consumers to choose your product over someone else’s. A good unique selling proposition will allow you to focus your marketing efforts on product details that appeal to customers.
Becoming A Memorable Brand
Why stop at shifting units when a USP can help you to build a brand identity that supports customer acquisition and retention? As you become a more memorable brand thanks to your product or service’s unique benefit, customers begin to align with your style and values and buy from you more regularly.
Increase Your Prices
Once you have identified your primary USP and marketed it properly, you have the opportunity to increase your prices. Nike trainers for example, are not expensive to make, but people pay much more for the brand they’re buying into. You can see why investing in USP is the same as investing in the bottom line of your business.
Attract New Customers
USPs are called USPs because they make your product stand out and get noticed, even when it is surrounded by dozens of brands that perform the same function. That is why a USP attracts new customers. It helps with visibility in the marketplace and business growth.
Retain Existing Customers
Retaining existing customers is just as important as acquiring new ones, and USP can be part of that process. Well crafted USPs are aligned with the brand’s core values, and become the reason people invest in the business. Select your USP carefully for best results and focus on that specific benefit with your marketing strategy to drive home the message.
Build A Relationship With Your Customers
We all want our customers to return and recommend us to others, which is why you need to utilise your USP at every turn. Create a brand identity for people and you will understand your demographic better. This in turn can lead to better customer satisfaction as well as long-term loyalty.
How To Find Your USP
Understanding that you need a USP for your business is one thing, but locating it and designing it is something else; that’s why we are going to break down the process right here.
1. Know Your Customers
Before you think about your USP you need to think about your customers; where do they come from, what are their ages, and why do they buy products from you? Understanding your audience and matching your product to their desires, is a definitive element of a USP.
2. Know Your Competition
Once you have identified your ideal customers, it’s time to take a look at the competition. Understand what the competition is offering and how you can outperform them in terms of uniqueness. Is there anything you’re offering customers they are not, do you have leverage?
3. Consider Your Values
If you want to identify a strong USP that lasts, you need to think about your core values. When you align your USP with your core values you ensure you have a reliable product.
Bring your marketing team together and brainstorm your core values and beliefs, or if you have these already, think about how they can be applied to your leading products in new ways. Perhaps you have another core value that can inform a new marketing campaign?
4. Find Your Niche
Hopefully, you have identified your demographic already, but if you haven’t now is the time. The market niche is important for brand development because you will be selling to the same type of people across channels, so identify your niche and who you’re going to target.
5. Think About What You Can Offer
If you want to stand out from the competition and be counted, the best way is to identify something you offer that your competitors don’t; there is usually something, even with very similar brands. This point of difference becomes your angle that will inform USP growth.
6. Work Out How You Can Promote Your USP
Finding your USP is the first step, promoting it is the second; people need to know and understand why your product is different and that comes down to marketing. Whether it’s on the website, on social media, or a combination of platforms, it’s time for focused promotions.
Examples Of Famous USPs
So far we’ve covered the definition of a USP and how to identify and use one in your business, it’s now time to turn our attention to some famous examples of a quality USP.
1. Amazon – The World’s Largest Online Store
If you buy something on Amazon, you can guarantee it will be there the next day thanks to its superfast delivery service. This is one of the company’s primary USPs and it’s one of the reasons Amazon leads the way in ecommerce. It challenges others to keep up to standard.
2. McDonald’s – Fast Food
The McDonald golden arches are famous worldwide, but that’s only one of its USPs. Known for its standard food which appeals to many palettes and contains enough calories to sustain someone at short notice, the restaurants are open after hours, giving them an advantage over other restaurants and meaning you can get fast food whenever you need.
3. Nike – Sports Clothing
Again, Nike is a leading global brand with more than one USP, but the one we will focus on is its variety of sports clothing and accessories. Since Nike manufactures clothing for almost every sport, athletes can guarantee they will find what they need when they enter a store.
4. Ikea – Affordable Furniture
Ikea is a Swedish furniture company known for its stylish flat-packed furniture, but that’s not the only thing that makes it unique. Ikea is so confident that you will be satisfied with its furniture that it offers returns for up to 365 days–not every furniture company can say that.
5. Apple – Technology
Are you an Apple person or a PC person? If you’re the former then you are completely aligned with Apple products thanks to its unique marketing strategies. Apple prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation, a USP that translates perfectly to its customers.
6. Netflix – Entertainment
In the days of old, you might have been frustrated with periodic buffering while watching your favourite TV shows, but this is now a thing of the past thanks to Netflix technology. Netflix can automatically adjust its streaming to suit your internet speed, and it lets you know that.
7. Pepsi – Soft Drinks
Pepsi is another recognisable brand thanks to its focus on advertising over the years. One of its USP happens to be the bottle size which is 100 ml larger than the largest standard soda bottles. If you enjoy being refreshed by Pepsi, then you get some value for money as well.
8. H&M – Fashion
One of the biggest issues in the clothing industry is fast fashion, that means clothing that’s made from unsustainable materials that don’t last. H&M is all too aware of this and aims for sustainable fashion at the right price: it means you can wear clothes with a clear conscience.
How Does USP Increase Sales?
USPs are designed to beat the competition and increase sales, but they also create customer loyalty and more. One of the main ways USPs boost sales is by displaying the product value clearly and showing what benefit the customer gets from buying the brand.
Brands can also increase general awareness and customer retention with USP marketing strategies. When customers have a positive experience with a brand they are more likely to return to it in future. Brand loyalty is a key feature of USP marketing and business growth.
In a market filled with competitors, USPs help brands stand out from the crowd and win new customers. When you follow brand advertising you will notice some focus on different USPs at different times, this helps to maintain independence from simpler products on the market.
No matter what stage of business growth you find yourself in, it’s never a bad time to consider your USP and what can be done to differentiate your products to meet customer needs. If you have an upcoming campaign it’s even more important to invest in a USP focused brand strategy.
Disadvantages Of USPs
So far, it’s all been positive when it comes to USPs, but there are a few disadvantages to be aware of as well. It’s best to understand both the pros and cons of any marketing strategy to ensure that you invest in the right areas and get the best results, so let’s take a quick look.
- The first obstacle you are likely to encounter is the uniqueness of your USP which may or may not set you apart from your competitors. If you find it challenging to gain an angle on your product, it’s time for a brainstorming session. Think about how customers should feel.
- USPs are also very rigid once you have decided on them. It’s important to align the USP with your core values for consistency, but this also builds limitations into the advertising model. For instance, you can’t change or adapt a USP without changing product perception as well.
- Maintaining a consistent USP can also blind you to other important aspects of the business. With a strong and narrow focus on your USP you might miss out on some innovative marketing strategies that could benefit your business in a myriad of ways. It’s important to try to stay open minded.
USPs can advance your business and boost your profits, but they can also be limiting and hold you back. For this reason it’s crucial that you pay close attention to your USP and branding at the outset, so that you have something that’s unique to you and progressive.
In spite of all the disadvantages outlined above, brands need a USP to sell their products and build their customer base. Creating a strong USP will give you an edge over your customers and an advantage in the marketplace. Don’t cut corners on USP marketing.
In Summary
Unique selling points have been a core aspect of marketing practice for a long time, and offers a powerful tool to any business. Whether you have a USP in place or not, it’s worth spending time on developing them and updating them, especially if you have an upcoming campaign.
