Your unique selling proposition (USP) explains to you and your audience why your products and/or services are preferable over someone else’s products or services. Figuring out and writing down your USP is an important part of helping you develop a profitable business.
To be able to create a working USP you’ll need to:
* Understand Your Target Audience Â? Who exactly are they and what problems do they have that you can solve?
* Get to Know Your Competition Â? How is your competition serving your audience?
* Know How Your Product Provides Value Â? How does your product provide value and solve problems for your audience?
* Know Why You Created It Â? Why are you the one who should create the product service that really works?
Researching each of the four points above will help you gather the information that you’ll need to write your USP. Using the information collected above, you’ll want to write your USP in a concise, creative way that connects you to your market and explains how you solve their problems and fill their needs differently from your competition, in a way that resonates with your customer.
To write your USP answer the following questions:
* Product Name – Write down what you want to name the product.
* Description of Product – Describe your product succinctly.
* How Product Works – Explain how the product works.
* How Product Is Different – Tell your audience how your product is different.
* Why You Created the Product – Explain why you created the product or service.
* Why They Should Buy It – Tell your audience which problems the product solves.
* Explain the Guarantee Â? This is where you tell them they’ll get their money back, or somehow show them that trying your product or service is risk free.
To develop your USP, answering these questions will tell your customers (and anyone involved with your business) what you do, why you do it, and why someone should buy from you. That’s what the USP does. What makes it work is that it’s something you and your entire organization can look to when creating new products, services, or marketing for the products and services.
You need to be able to describe the unique benefit to your clients if they purchase your products and services. But, having a clear USP isn’t just beneficial to them – it’s beneficial for you and your organization too because you need something to focus on to keep your marketing messages on track.
The other way to make your USP work well is to have it be short and concise. After you collect all the information and answers, you’ll use it to write your USP. But you will narrow it down immensely. Your entire USP should not be more than a short paragraph of about 50 words or less that you can easily use. Sometimes your USP can become your slogan. Think of some famous slogans. If they answer who, why, how, what, when, where and make a guarantee, then it’s their USP. Think: “The chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”
Of course, you can use your USP to create an entire story that you can put on your about page to answer questions your audience has and expand on your short USP.
