Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Definition & How To Create It

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) : Today, you are no longer just competing with the neighboring company. The market has become global. We live in a world of infinite supply and customers can choose from thousands of options. So you need to make your product stand out from the competition. This is where the USP comes in.

A USP (Unique Selling Proposition) allows a brand to distinguish its product and make it easily identifiable.

In this article, we present how to define a USP and include it in your marketing strategy.

What Is A USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?

A USP, Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point, is a feature of your product, service, brand or company that sets you apart from your competitors.

This concept was developed by Rosser Reeves, one of the pioneers of television advertising in the 1940s.

Reeves has three fundamental rules that a USP must follow, and this is still valid today:

The benefit should be clear: “If you buy this product or brand, you will get this benefit.” This benefit must be unique and not found in the competition.

And finally, this profit must be able to be sold and make customers want to buy the product in question.

For Reeves, a USP defines why your product or service is worth its price. In addition, this USP must be the mainstay of any advertising campaign for the product being promoted.

According to him, it is necessary to avoid advertising a product that will not be able to meet the expectations of its target audience and that does not have absolutely unique features. In the long run, this will only cause you to lose customers and damage your reputation.

Promote A USP

A Unique Selling Proposition can be perceived in different ways:

• The visual identity of your product,
• The user experience of your webshop,
• The content you broadcast on social networks,
• The vocabulary and turns of phrase of your AdWords ads,
• The hashtags you use,
• Etc.

In other words: you have a lot of options to promote your USP and make it visible.

In the end, a convincing USP is:

A proposal supported by concrete arguments. You can strengthen your USP with numbers, case studies, examples, or customer testimonials.

A customer-oriented offer. Your USP must necessarily be based on something that means a lot to your customers. 

We can also talk about UBR or Unique Buying Reason. It’s the qualities and features of your product that speak most to your customers. For example, when Apple launched the iPod, they didn’t talk about the specs. They focused their communication on the following benefit: 1000 songs in your pocket.

More than just a slogan. A slogan is a good way to communicate your USP, but it’s not the same thing. The slogan is used to express your USP.

Today, ask yourself if your product has a USP and if you know how to communicate it? Sometimes there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Some products do very well simply by adopting a communication angle that their competitors do not have.

For example, there are a lot of smoothie brands, but Innocent stands out thanks to its communication.

What Is Not A USP?

“We are the fastest”

“We offer quality”

“Our brand focuses on its customers”

It is not uncommon to come across this kind of speech. However, these sentences do not constitute USPs.

Many companies may find it difficult to define a USP and therefore distinguish themselves from their competitors. Offers like free shipping, 24-hour delivery, and 24-hour customer service are not USPs.

Even if a company is very efficient in each of these elements, they can be copied.

Thus, speed, quality, and efficient customer service are not USPs as such. On the other hand, they can form the basis of a USP.

Conclusion

A USP is more than a slogan displayed on your website. It participates in the positioning of your brand and your products. Know that your products don’t have to be extraordinary to have good USPs. It’s all about positioning them well in the market and finding an angle that your competitors don’t use.

There are dozens of ways to market a product, but a USP is a real “sweet spot” that you have to find to strengthen the positioning of your products.

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