Defining Your "Unique Selling Proposition"

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a statement that defines your uniqueness—it sets you apart from all of your competitors. It is a distinguishing statement that only you can lay claim to, and expresses the benefits of doing business with you over your competitors. It should be the nucleus around which you build all communications, and should be integrated throughout all of your promotional, marketing and advertising operations. It tells your customers what really makes your company different, better and special.

Make your unique selling proposition one sentence long if possible. We take this approach because we feel that these days you have 15 seconds or less to impress people or they lose interest. You must be able to use your USP as a headline or sub-headline in your marketing materials.

It should be one of the first things customers see on your website. It should be used as a quick line for your on-hold phone recordings. And most importantly, it should be the sentence your customers use to refer their friends to you.

So here is the structure we use to create a unique selling proposition:

(Business Name) is the only  (Business Type) in  (Your Market Area) that (Your Unique Quality).

Here is an example we created for a client:

Cabrillo Pet Hospital is the only Pet Hospital in Point Loma that is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association.

This is an impressive sentence that the customers and prospects of Cabrillo will remember. And it sets them apart from their competitors in Point Loma. It certainly is not an easy task to create a USP, but with careful research and wording, it can be powerful.

For more assistance on creating a USP, or for any other marketing ideas, please visit http://www.sdmarketingservices.com/