
Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.
Before you can begin to sell your product or service to anyone else, you have to sell yourself on it and the key to effective selling is to have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Unless you can pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of homogeneous competitors, you cannot target your sales efforts successfully.
Steps to Creating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Step 1: Describe Your Target Audience
Before you can even start marketing your services, you need to know who you are targeting. In this step, you want to be as specific as possible. For example, if you are a web developer, instead of targeting anyone who needs help in building a website, you may identify your target client as a small business owner who is looking for a developer to customize his/her site.
Step 2: Explain the Problem You Solve
From your prospective clients’ perspective, what is the individual need or challenge they face that your business can solve for them?
Step 3: List the Biggest Distinctive Benefits
In this step, list 3-5 of the biggest benefits a client gets from choosing to work with you that they could not get from someone else (i.e., what sets you apart from your competition). Again, thinking from the clients’ perspective, these benefits should explain why your services are important to them and why they would choose you over another provider.
Step 4: Define Your Promise
A big part of a successful USP is making a pledge to your clients. While this can be implied instead of spelled out in your USP, write down this promise you make to your clients in this step.