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Identifying Your Unique Selling Proposition

Your USP. Also called Unique Selling Position or Unique Selling Point.

If you’ve done your homework well and have chosen a specific target market – you might have nailed an untapped group of people and you’ll be in the enviable position of not having any competition.

But for the rest of us – even if we have narrowed our target market down well, we’ll still have others who are attempting to reach and serve the same group of people.

Some tight markets are incredibly competitive. Standing out from the crowd is hard work.

Every small business with any competition at all needs to identify or develop their Unique Selling Point.

This means, when a potential client lines you up with the half dozen or so possible competitors – why will they want to pick you?

Question: How is what you offer different from what your competitor offers?

Are you cheaper?
Are you faster?
Have you been doing it longer?
Do you have more training?
Do you have a bigger staff?
Can you offer around the clock support?
Do you work with a spirit of excellence?
Are you more modern or traditional?
Do you have more choices?
Are you more earth friendly?
Do you offer them a shared perspective?

There are probably a lot of different things that make you unique – but you have to identify the areas that will best resonate with your target market.

It would be a great idea to make a list of what you feel gives you a unique approach to your business and ask for some feedback from others who have a grasp on your target market. (A business coach would be great.)

Whoever you ask for feedback, have them tell you if any of the items on your list make them think ‘so what?’ (Perhaps you think it makes you special but nobody else really cares.)

Ask them if knowing any of these things about you inspires additional trust or makes them feel drawn to you in a special way.

If you bounce these ideas with a few different people you can narrow it down and start to develop your own USP – then you’ll be on your way to communicating it to your market and working it into your overall business brand.

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