Marketing Tip: Find and Flaunt Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

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Are you having trouble getting sales?

A little while ago, someone asked me how to brand his website.

His website was selling products that are available in many other places on the Internet.  In other words, he did not offer his website visitors a compelling reason to return to his website, much less generate enough enthusiasm for his visitors to DEMAND to their friends to visit HIS website.

So I asked him and other people what he could do to make his website different than most other people trying to sell the same thing that he is.

We call this his Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

What is a unique selling proposition?



The best way I can think to describe this is to compare selling a new car versus trying to sell a used car.

Which, do you think, is easier to sell?

Most people answer "New Cars," but they are WRONG!

New cars seem like they would be easier, because they are nicer than Used cars.

However, if I am trying to sell you a new car, can I sell it for a little more than the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)?  Probably not!  If you do not like MY price, you can just visit the car dealer on the other side of town or the next town.  They will have the SAME thing for sale.

There is not anything that makes what I am trying to sell to them special.

Used Cars are Actually Easier to Sell

Yes, that's right.  Used cars are easier to sell than New cars.

Why?

If you visit my car lot, and you see a used car that catches your attention, the seller has the advantage over the buyer, because the buyer CANNOT go anywhere else and get THAT exact car.

Sure, other car dealerships might have other cars of the same Make, Model, and Year, but NONE of those other ones have the combination of the same appearance, maintenance, mileage, or inner workings that THIS car has.

Yes, THIS car has a UNIQUE selling proposition that NO other car in the world has.

Now, you might not buy that car, but you are turning down THAT car.  You are not simply buying that same car at another dealer.

How You Can Benefit

What does this have to do with you, your website, or your business?

You can find your own Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  You can find that one thing that makes you genuinely different than anyone else trying to offer something similar to you.

Some Examples of USP

Men's Hair Salon with TV's playing sports with women dressed to impress men.  Men can get their haircut anywhere, but they won't get to watch sports shows while they wait anywhere else.  They probably won't have women making them feel all that special anywhere else, either.

McDonald's Playland is no longer the only place that has this, but they were either the first or amongst the first places to combine eating for a cheap price and providing a place for your kids to play.  Hardly any adult really likes the taste of McDonald's, but they sure like being able to feed their family while having a place to send their kids.  Eventually, several Burger King restaurants joined that game, but by then McDonald's already established themselves as the family-friendly fast food restaurant, and a habit was formed.

Car Wash with a sunny day guarantee.  If they wash your car, and it rains within 24 hours after you wash it, they will re-wash your car, again, at no charge to you.  You can get your car washed anywhere, but few other places guarantee that your car will stay clean for a couple of days, unless you're in the desert.  (This business was on the west side of Michigan, where nearby Lake Michigan makes sure it rains often.)

Mortgage Website that offers a cool, easy-to-use calculator to help you figure your eventual monthly payment is helpful, but that is pretty commonplace today.  What if they also provided an easy-to-reach reference of housing prices and fair rental values in the area where you are interested in living?  What if they also offered tips about ways to make the entire mortgage process less of a hassle, including instructional videos?  Are you likely to go there for all of your answers yet take your business somewhere else?  Some people will, but many will not, and nobody is telling their friends to use the other websites like they are this one.

What Unique Selling Proposition can YOU offer?

While every business and website varies, there are lots of possible things that you may be able to offer.

• Skills: For what types of things do people ask you do or help them do?
• Tools: Do you notice anything that is hard for many people but easy for you?
• Samples: Do you have a lot of something that other people wish they had one?
• Instructions: Are you much better at explaining certain things than other people?

The list can continue, but this is meant to get you thinking.

If you want and need help with this, you are welcome to contact me.

With or without me, good luck finding YOUR unique selling proposition.  Once you find it, flaunt it.  It's not bragging; people need what you have to offer.  They just don't know what you can do for them, yet.

Find your Unique Selling Proposition, and you will find your gateway to success.

What could that first guy I mentioned do?

Remember that guy with the website I mentioned in the beginning of this post?  What can he do for his website?

He might be able to offer videos, where he interviews people who are industry leaders.  He could give samples of his other product when they place a large enough order of their product.  He could provide helpful information about the product that he is selling, especially misconceptions about the product.  People do not very often buy things that confuse them.  He might offer them a newsletter with information specific to that industry.

He could do a lot of things.  The important thing is that he does (a) something different than other websites offer and (b) something that people want or really need.  Whatever he does will become his unique selling proposition, and he will develop his brand--not just another site that sells something that they can get anywhere else.

Good luck to you finding YOUR unique selling proposition (USP)!

To see more Marketing Ideas, visit Chris' Marketing Ideas.

To visit The Ultimate Analyst company website click HERE.

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