Virtual tips for the savvy business owner!

Have you thought of a USP or unique selling proposition for your company? It’s an important part of a company’s message to the public. What is it that you want the public to know about your company? How are you different from all the other companies out there that are competing with you?  Ask anyone what Head and Shoulders shampoo does and they will immediately say it gets rid of dandruff. This is their USP and everyone knows it. It can really pay off for a company to have a clear and concise USP for the public to wrap their minds around.  A good USP needs to have a clear message that can be backed up by the company. This needs to be a tangible quality that is not just talk. For example, you’re USP can’t be “buy my product because it’s the best”. That’s way too vague to be a USP. The USP needs to state that it can do X, Y and Z specifically.

Also, your service or product had better do exactly what it states because if it doesn’t the public will soon realize it. A USP should also be a unique statement that is not being made by your competitors. If everyone else is making the same claim that you are, you aren’t being very unique and you will be lost in a sea of similar advertisements. Of course, unique is a relative word. No USP can be truly unique because there is always a company out there that makes a similar product or does something similar to your company. The market may shift over time and you will find that your once very unique USP is surrounded by many similar USP’s. When this happens, and it will eventually, you need to change with the times. An example of this is Head and Shoulders. They aren’t the only shampoo out there that gets rid of dandruff anymore. They can’t get by anymore by simply saying they get rid of dandruff. Why are they better than the other brands? These are questions that you will need to ask yourself when your USP gets old and needs to change with the times.

Filed under: Marketing tips