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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 09 November 2008 00:34 |
 Developing a well thought out unique selling proposition (USP) is vital for any business - and even more so when you go online and start competing with the entire world. I want to take some time and walk/talk through the steps of developing your unique selling proposition.
First - we have to fully understand what a unique selling proposition is. Lets break it down into its parts and then see how they all fit together.
Unique - having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable: Bach was unique in his handling of counterpoint. (from dictionary.com)
Selling - of or pertaining to a sale or sales: the selling price of oranges. (from dictionary.com)
Proposition - the act of offering or suggesting something to be considered, accepted, adopted, or done. (from dictionary.com)
It looks like you need something that makes you one of a kind. You then use that one-of-a-kind feature and present it as the reason for others to buy from you.
Lets take a look at a couple of examples of powerful and successful USPs.
Domino's used to have a USP that put them ahead of the competition: made-to-order pizza, delivered hot in 30 minutes or less - guaranteed! They didn't promise that it was the best pizza. Nope - they focused on it being HOT! and there in 30 minutes or less. That was enough!
Same industry - we now have Papa Johns - they talk about using better ingredients making better pizza. You know - Papa Johns is more expensive than the competitors. It doesn't matter - they deliver on their USP - they make better pizza using better ingredients.
So - examples aside, how do you go about defining your own unique selling proposition?
Step 1 - What Makes You Unique?
Start by making a list of thoughts about what makes you unique. Do not judge the thoughts yet - just let them flow. There is nothing more sure to stop the flow of creative thinking than judging the thoughts as they come out. This is brainstorming 101.
Next, consider each of your previous and current customers - why did they choose you over the competition? Write down as many answers for this one as you can conceive. You may not know for sure, but hopefully you have some idea why they selected you.
Now, create another list of all the things you WANT to be known for. What do you want people saying about your business? What do you want them saying about you? If you were featured in the newspaper, what would you want the article to be written about? Get ideas by completing this statement: Your Name is the greatest X in the World! - Fill in the X with what you want to be the best at.
Finally - review the lists, sorting through each one looking for your top 10 areas of expertise or interest. Look for big-picture themes to your answers. Once you have it down to the top 10, go through each one and consider if there is anyone else in the market that offers that same thing. If so - is there a way you can do it differently/better than they are?
Now - choose your favorite - the one you are most passionate about. You will need the passion for this, as it may take work to make sure you shine in this area! Passion will help sustain you through it and make it fun along the way.
Congratulations - you are on your way to a powerful and exciting Unique Selling Proposition.
It is a fundamental step in building your business both offline and online. Next time I will write about the next 2 parts - Selling and Proposition.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 09 November 2008 22:38 |
