The document discusses finding and defining your unique selling proposition (USP). It recommends asking customers directly why they buy from your business to identify your main advantage, such as price, quality, or customer service. Once identified, your USP should be promoted as your company's tagline to differentiate yourself from competitors and attract more customers. It is important to consistently deliver on your USP to build trust and gain referrals.

1. What's Your USP and Why Should I Care? Page 1 of 2
What's Your USP and Why Should I
Care?
By Mitchell Harper
Let me start by asking you a question:
“Why should I buy what you sell, from
you, when I can buy it from one of your
competitors?”
Yes this question sounds a little harsh,
but it runs through the head of every
potential customer who is about to buy
from you. Your answer to this should be
your USP, or unique selling point - the
one thing that makes you different (and
hopefully better) than your
competitors.
If you sell a commoditized product such as apparel, food or services, then your
USP should be based around how you deliver your product. For example,
Zappos.com sells shoes but their USP is customer service. We sell software that
helps small businesses sell online at BigCommerce.com and our USP is ease-of-
use. I could go on with examples all day, but I'm sure you get the point.
So what's the best way to find your USP if you don't already have one? Well,
what's the main reason customers buy from you?
Is it price?
Fast or free shipping?
Excellent pre- or post-sales service?
If you're unsure then the best way to find out is to ask.
You could use a tool such as PollDaddy.com to setup a free poll on your website
and ask customers why they buy from you, or if you want immediate feedback you
could send a survey via email using SurveyMonkey.com. Just create a multiple
choice question titled "What's the main reason you chose to buy from us?". Create
answers for all of the reasons you think customers buy from you, and then make
sure you add the "Other" option. So, you might have something like this:
What's the main reason you chose to buy from us?
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2. What's Your USP and Why Should I Care? Page 2 of 2
Low prices
Fast shipping
Free shipping
Customer service
Our 200-day return guarantee
Other (please specify below)
If you email the survey to a few dozen customers you'll usually have your answer
within 2-3 days. You can use the answer to craft your USP and that can then
become your company's tag line. For example, if 85% of customers said they
bought from you because of your liberal return guarantee (let's pretend you offer a
200-day return-for-any-reason guarantee), that becomes your USP and should also
become your tag line, such as "The widest selection of shoes, backed by our 200-
day return guarantee!".
To get real insight into why customers buy from you, you might also ask for their
email address or phone number so you can follow up with them. It's amazing what
you can learn from a 5-minute call. Put yourself in your customer's shoes: do you
think they've *ever* been asked for their opinion on something they've purchased?
My guess is no, so they'll appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, plus you'll
get even more feedback to help shape your USP.
Finally, you can use your USP to position your company against competitors.
Remember, at face value your business probably doesn't look that much different to
your competitors, so you need a strong USP that shouts to potential customers
"Hey, here's why we're better!!!". If you look at your closest competitors I bet they
don't offer potential customers a USP, so the opportunity is there for you to easily
win more business.
The one thing you have to remember is to always (always) deliver on your USP.
You want to become well known for your USP and if you do anything and
everything you can to make sure you and your staff members deliver on it, you'll be
amazed at the amount of referral business that will come your way.
Source: http://www.startupnation.com/articles/9530/1/usp-what-is-yours.htm
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