Discover Your Unique Selling Proposition

No matter what you sell online, be it a product or service, it is critical to define what sets you apart from your competition, makes your product/service appealing to your target market, and what benefits your product/service provides your customers. This is your Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

Being able to communicate the unique benefits of what you have to offer in a specific manner is critically important for achieving a distinguishable difference between you and your competitors.

You should aim to make your USP the one specific idea that first comes to mind when people think of your product or service. A very famous example comes from the automobile industry: when people hear "Volvo" they instantly identify it with "Safety".

You must obviously work to educate your target market about your product's USP. People did not just automatically associate Volvo with safety. Volvo helped to instill this idea in their heads through cleverly planned advertising, promotion and publicity.

You must have your USP clearly defined before you begin to craft any sales material for your product or service. This will help you to communicate your USP to your target market. If YOU can't state it your prospects sure won't see it.

Depending on the real benefits of your product or service and the void in your market that you are filling, your USP might be one of the following (or any number of others you might think of):

* You sell your product or service for less than your competition does.

* You sell a higher quality product or service than anyone else in your industry.

* You provide more customer service or education before, during and after the sale than anyone else does.

* You offer twice the guarantee of your closest competitor.

* You offer better bonuses than anyone else does.

* You serve a specific demographic i.e. age group, industry, or type of person.

Here's Exactly How to Create Your USP:

Write out in one to two paragraphs the benefits, NOT features, of your product or service; what sets it apart from your competition; and what makes it appealing to your target market.

Edit out the generalities and focus on the crispest, clearest, most specific promise your product/service can offer to your target market.

Rework it until you have a simple, clearly defined USP that your customers can instantly identify with. You should try to express your USP in a way that people really think. For example, forget anything like, "The innovative leader in banking services, financial products and convenient technology".

People just don't think that way. So it doesn't stick in their minds. This is more like it: "South Africa's only international bank". Get the idea? Keep it simple. Succinct. USP's work best when they are a sentence or two for the most.

Lowestfare.com is an example of a company whose USP is clearly defined in their domain name. This company provides the lowest air fares in the air travel industry.

Does Your USP Pass This Checklist?

* Is it true?

* Is it easy to understand?

* Does it differentiate the product in an attractive manner from the competition?

* Is it expressed the way people will express it in their own minds?

If you haven't answered YES to all four of the above, go back and rework your USP until you can.

You should present your USP in every ad. And do so year after year. People remember with repetition.

About the Author

Article by Marc Goldman, Goldbar Enterprises subscribe to The Marketers Resource Weekly: The Free Internet Marketing Resource for the New Millennium. Subscribe at goldbar.net Discover the exclusive members only website that will propel your business to dizzying heights.

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