… Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

… Unique Sales Point

… Competitive Strategic Advantage (CSA)

… Key Differentiator

Whichever term you’ve heard, these are all different ways of saying the same thing. Regardless of the different “wrappings” given by people over the years, it still boils down to one thing… the ability to differentiate yourself from your competitors in the eyes of your current, and prospective customers.

Like it or not, competition in business across all sectors is becoming more fierce year on year. And as if that isn’t hard enough, along comes this latest downturn in the economy. So what chance do we really have to survive, let alone grow?

If you don’t set your business apart from that of your competition and if you don’t give your clients a compelling reason to buy from you rather than anyone else, then it only comes down to one thing…

Price.

And that is the LAST thing you want to be competing on – unless of course, being the cheapest IS your USP!

When it comes down to competing on price, there is usually only one winner – the customer.

Now I’m not talking about the sorts of comments you see banded around as USPs, such as “We give better service” or “We’re nice people” or “We’re the best around”. What do they really mean to the customer? And anyway, they are difficult to quantify. How can you prove you’re “the best”?

In whose opinion?

What I’m talking about are real differentiating factors, which are definable, quantifiable and compelling.

In 1961, an advertising executive Rosser Reeves published a book titled “Reality in Advertising”, which quite literally revolutionised the marketing industry. In the book, Reeves outlined the idea that every business, product and service absolutely MUST have a “USP” – a “Unique Selling Proposition.”

He maintained that focusing on the USP in every advertising and marketing effort was the key to creating super-successful products and services.

This wasn’t just guesswork and assumption on his part. He had first hand experience in the success of these techniques since the 1940s. But even today, nearly 70 years on, a USP is as essential now as it was then, if not more so.

I believe it is critical to the long-term survival and success of any modern business.

I believe that the success of any business is directly proportional to how well you develop and then market your unique differentiating factor(s). The better job you make of it, the better your business will prosper and the more chance you will have of surviving longer.

And here’s why…

Rosser Reeves was responsible for a number of USPs, such as the one for Anacin – a product which gave pain relief – “Anacin, the pain reliever that doctors recommend most” and for M&M’s “…melt in your mouth, not in your hand,” which is still in use today.

But the most famous USP story is probably that of Domino’s Pizza:

“Hot, fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.”

Prior to Domino’s, there was hardly any chance of getting a pizza delivered to your home, much less it being a hot one. This was a real opportunity, a “bull” which Tom Monaghan grabbed firmly by both horns. His business went national, then international because they stuck to their word – if you didn’t get your hot pizza on time, you didn’t pay!

Domino’s didn’t promise the best tasting pizza, or the most toppings or lots of tomato sauce, they just focused on the one major promise – fast, reliable delivery of a hot pizza.

But they also took it one stage further. Domino’s offered a guarantee. They promised that if your pizza didn’t arrive at your door within 30 minutes, you’d get it for free.

Stroke of genius.

What do you think that did for the business? How many people were enticed to order pizza from them just to see if they could “beat the guarantee” and get it for free?

Another example is Federal Express. When it started there was no such thing as an economical and reliable airfreight package delivery service, that could consistently deliver packages overnight – so that’s what founder Fred Smith focused on, using:

“When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

FedEx went on to become the international multibillion dollar giant it is today by focusing on delivering peace of mind that the client’s package would get there on time, and then making it happen.

That’s why I always start my clients with developing their USP.

It is a process I take them through before we focus on anything else. Why? Because it forms the foundation of any business and absolutely crucial to build on, grow AND take market-share away from your competitors.

Now there is a (small) word of warning here… don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what your uniqueness is.

Just recently I had a similar conversation with one of my clients. He was adamant that he knew what made his business different and why his clients buy from him “or I’ll eat my hat”! When we went through his USP development, we discovered that the reason his clients were buying from him was completely different to what he originally thought.

I handed him the salt.

Oh, and don’t for a minute think he’s an isolated case – I’ve seen it happen time and time again.

So – do you have a clearly defined and proven USP? Are you actively using it in all of your marketing?

If not, and you want to stick around a while longer, I suggest you give it some serious consideration. The time it takes is a small price to pay considering the benefits to your business.

Now, onwards…

… to your success!

Jez