What is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.
A USP helps to define your brand.
It tells people what you do and states a promise that you’ll deliver throughout your products and service offers.
In other words, your USP helps you stand out!
Your USP states why you and your business are unique.
It described what you can offer your clients that no-one else does.
A well crafted USP goes beyond just a simple catch phrase or logo.
It involves every aspect of your brand, starting with how your company is different from others in your marketplace.
Your USP should be part of every marketing component too.
Your USP should appear in your advertising campaigns and social media posts.
It’s essential that your USP is highlighted in your marketing materials like advertisements.
If it’s not in the (keyword-rich) headline, it should be in the very first line of your ad.
And remember, a good USP is always focused on the customer, not on yourself.
Show them the benefits your product or service and how it will benefit them.
Some great USP examples in advertising would be in the coaching field.
Instead of simply advertising your class, course or platform, focus on going the extra mile.
Perhaps your USP could include personal assistance or being available at extended times.
Identifying Your Unique Selling Proposition
If you’re stuck, try searching Google to look up your competitors.
Enter your top five keywords (based on impressions) and see who your real competitors are.
Then, try to determine what their USP is.
This will help you keep a watch on your market.
But it will also make it easier for you to come up with a USP of your own.
Your USP should always be based on what the market wants as well as what may be missing.
For example, if you’re a personal travel advisor, your competitors may be big, online vendors.
Now see what those competitors are offering and how you can deliver a better service.
What can you do differently?
How can you stand out?
It shouldn’t be price (unless you have come up with a totally new process that inherently saves money).
Differentiation based on price doesn’t last because a competitor can always lower theirs, too.
So, look for other ways to stand out.
Using your USP in Advertising
Now that you’ve got to know who your competitors are and what their USP is, you’ll want to create ads that highlight to customers the benefits of your business over that of the competition.
Remember to keep the text short and simple, with a tagline or catchy phrase that will stick in the customer’s mind.
Here are a few great examples:
- M&Ms – Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands.
- Geico – 15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more.
- Disneyland – The Happiest Place On Earth
- City of Las Vegas – What Happens Here, Stays Here
- FedEx – When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Take some time to come up with a really great slogan or tagline for use in all your marketing.
Try out some of these free slogan generators:
- Shopify free slogan maker
- Procato
- Slogangenerator.org
- Sloganizer.net
- Oberlo free slogan generator
- BizCardCreator
Finally, here is my favourite USP tagline used by a Boyle Fredrickson, a firm of intellectual property lawyers; You’ve got ideas. We protect them.
That slogan meets all the goals
- It clearly states what the company does.
- The slogan talks about the customer and what they want.
- It is short – only 6 words.
- The focus on IP protection clearly differentiates them from other lawyers.
Creating Your Adverts
Tempting though it may be, resist the urge to start your ad by touting your products or services.
The way to make a sale is to show the benefits of buying – what’s in it for the customer?
Always lead with that!
If you make it clear how your customer will benefit they’ll want to read further and explore the details of your service or product.
You’ll want to write a killer Call to Action (CTA) for your ad, as well.
I’ll discuss this in a later article.
The goal, right now, is to get that customer to “sign on the dotted line” and close that sale.
You want them to click the button and make the right decision.
