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How to Develop Your USP

Written by Pete Nelson

Legendary basketball coach and one of the world’s foremost experts on peak performance, John Wooden, once said, “People who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

Most professionals and entrepreneurs will agree with this statement, yet, when it comes to branding a business, a vast majority of women entrepreneurs do not set aside the time to properly plan and strategize their branding or marketing efforts. The impending result is that if their message emotionally resonates or connects with their audience it’s usually by accident more than it is by design.

The difference between succeeding by accident versus succeeding by design is one of the most important distinctions you can make with your career and business. But just how do you go about doing that, especially when there are so many variables in the process?

We’re going to answer that question by looking at your company’s USP and its relationship to your ideal target audience.

What is a USP?

USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. The word and concept was developed by one of the greatest advertising minds of our time, Rosser Reeves. Reeves believed that for a company to stand out in a crowded marketplace it must clearly communicate the one definable point about itself or its product and service that it will capture the attention and stir the emotions of the company’s prospective clients. When done right, the USP resonates with the company’s target audience on an emotional and profound enough level that causes them to no only remember the product and/or company but prompts them to ultimately buy.

To give you an idea of how powerful a chord a well stated USP can strike in the hearts and minds of its audience, here are some very well known primary USPs Rosser Reeves developed for his clients and their products.

· "Wonder Bread helps build strong bodies in eight ways."

· "M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hands."

· "Colgate cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth."

· "How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S."

Many of these are still being used today and have been responsible for generating billions of dollars in revenue.

But coming up with one single “magic”USP isn’t easy and it is only part of the overall process. The way Reeves and our own agency advises clients is that once you’ve identified your primary USP the next step is to list out several sub-USP’s. Sub USP’s are created to support and further leverage the primary USP. They can be used for specific products, a branding campaign and in some cases, they are so powerful that they replace the original primary USP.

Here are a few more excellent examples of primary USP’s that have helped build, enhance and grow both small and large companies. Many of these were not the company’s initial choice for their primary USP. In fact, a few of these were initially used for a specific branding campaign, but struck such a chord with the target audience that they are now synonymous with their respective companies.

• Affordable Solutions for Better Living – IKEA

• Quality Takes Time – Rolex

• The World’s Biggest Bookstore – Amazon.com

• When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight – FedEx

• Think Different – Apple Computers

• Whitens Teeth & Freshens Breath - Crest

• Fun . Simple . Profitable – Selling In Color

• Business Makeovers for Women – Everywhere Marketing

• It’s Not Just About Losing Weight – Healthier Outcomes

• Fresh . Delicious . Delivered – Susan’s Healthy Gourmet

• Training Yourself Just Got Easier – Trainer To Go

• Dependable Service Delivered With Integrity – Optimum Bookkeeping

You are probably very familiar with most of these. In fact, you may have even been a customer of one or more of these companies, initially drawn in by the promise their USP made. But what exactly makes these USP’s work and what do they all have in common?

• Simple: You immediately get it. In other words, the USP tells you what the company stands for and/or exactly what result you will receive by doing business with them.

• Succinct: They’re to the point and can be read even with a casual glance. Think billboards when you’re driving down the freeway.  

• Intriguing: Even if you don’t know the company, the USP is strong enough to cause you to want to learn more, especially if you have a need for their solution.

• Emotional: If you are part of their target audience you can rest assured that their USP will resonate with your wants and/or needs on some level.

Making The USP Work For You

To help you further identify and better communicate your USP, the following is a brief sampling of the document and process we use with many of our agency’s clients.

What is your company’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

Most businesses that are like mine do _______________________ (FILL IN THE BLANK). But what we do better is _______________________ (FILL IN THE BLANK).

Here are some important questions that need to be answered as you’re coming up with your USP:

• What makes you and your company/product/service special? (list as many points as you can).

• What special results can you deliver to your clients with your service? Think about how can you do it better than you have in the past?

• What has to happen in order for your customers to seek out your product or service? Think in terms of the emotions that your customer has to experience.

• What area of your business do you and your existing customers see you as a “leader” in?

• What words do your customers use to describe the feelings and results they get from using your product or service?

Begin combining the words and phrases from the answers to these questions in a way that best represents the need and/or want your company and product/service is fulfilling for your customers. Determine which statement is the best and then list that as your primary USP. Keep the USP as short as you can with powerful words and phrases.

From there take the other USP statements you came up with and begin the process of listing them as your Sub USP’s. Remember to test your primary USP with some of your customers and colleagues. Once you have a general consensus that it works, further test it out with a marketing campaign. You may even want to include it on company stationary.

The Formula

To help keep you on track throughout the USP development process here are four of the most important questions for marketing and branding your business. It is the formula we utilize to not only unlock the key positioning statements for your company but in writing copy and development campaigns for clients. It is also one of the key steps we go through for creating business makeovers for our clients.

1. What is it that you offer?
2. Who is it for?
3. How is it relevant to your audience?
4. How do you deliver it?
5. What are the results?

At the end of the day, what good, sound brand development planning will do is help identify and clarify you and your company’s vision, your mission, your core competencies. It will help you put in place a system that allows you to effectively leverage and connect your core talents to the wants and needs of your target audience. Doing so will bring you the consistent results you and your business so richly deserve.

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Pete Nelson is recognized as one of North America’s top sales and marketing strategists. He is the founder of Everywhere Woman Media, LLC., which includes the revolutionary marketing & branding agency www.EverywhereMarketing.com that creates business makeovers for women entrepreneurs. He is also the creator behind the popular sales training program Selling In Color.

Along with being the co-author of the book, Success Under Fire: Lessons for Being Your Best In Crunch Time, Pete is also a popular international speaker, who has delivered programs to over 30,000 professionals, during the last eight years, across North America and Europe.

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Did you find this article valuable? If so, don't miss attending Pete's seminar "Are You Talking To Me?" on February 28 at IKEA.