A unique selling point is a differentiator which distinguishes your business, products or services from others. It helps you communicate key benefits, get new customers, and establish a competitive advantage.
First you need to outline the features of your business, products or services. That is, the distinctive attributes - as you see them. Second, you should seek to understand why your customers come to you, and why and how they use your products or services. Third, you need to understand your competitors, specifically why and how their business, products or services differentiate from yours.
Missing a step in this process can be problematic. The way you see your business, products or services may be different from how your customers perceive them. You may also believe you are unique, when in fact competitors offer similar offerings. If you begin to define your unique selling point based on incomplete or misguided perceptions, you may end up sending the wrong message entirely.
But that’s just the beginning. Once you have completed these 3 initial steps, you can begin defining what your unique selling point is.
Your new found intelligence helps you identify the key benefits you offer. These might be benefits that satisfy key customer needs, or fill gaps that exist in the current marketplace. For example, if you identify that customers value you because you offer exceptional customer service, you may begin to more explicitly position this benefit via your marketing messages. Or, if competitors focus on exceptionally high quality, you might consider positioning yourself at the budget end of the market, especially if your intelligence highlights an untapped audience.
But remember - whilst various customer, market and competitive insights may influence many areas of your marketing activity, your unique selling point is intended to be just that - unique. Ideally, you should be able to summarise it in one or two sentences. Of course, you may have one unique selling point for your business and another for each of your products or services. And indeed, these unique selling points may change over time as your business, products or services evolve.
The more relevant, defined and succinct your unique selling point is, the easier you can permeate the message throughout your business and beyond, from your core marketing messages to the way employees talk to customers. And crucially - the way customers remember your unique selling point and how much they believe it. As a result, your unique selling point goes beyond a vague definition, becoming a key quality of your brand, products or services.
Read the guide Know your customers’ needs which includes information on defining a Unique Selling Point, and outlines 10 things you need to know about your customers.
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