Learn why a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is crucial for your business
A unique selling proposition (USP) is an important foundation for all businesses. It helps you stand out from the pack and explains how you’re unique, a.k.a. it’s your secret sauce.
Having a USP allows clients to identify your business and solidifies why they should choose you over someone else.
Is a USP essential in business?
Yes! Having a USP is essential for a thriving, successful business. It’s what sets you and your business apart from your competition by defining who you help, why, and how.
By having a strong USP that is special to you and your business, you help ideal clients confirm that you’re the right fit for their needs and why they should choose you over someone else.
How do I create a USP?
There are so many ways to create a USP! The most important elements to remember are define your ideal client, explain the problem you solve, what makes you different, and how you solve the problem. USPs are short and sweet, so they are usually 1 sentence long (the sweet spot). Think of it as a quick pitch. If you had only a few seconds to grab someone’s attention, how would you do it?
Here’s a baseline formula to get your creative juices flowing:
I help (X) do (Y) by doing (Z) OR I help (X) solve (Y) so they can (Z).
Remember, this is a baseline, so don’t go plugging in XYZ and think you’re all set. The whole point is to make sure you stand out from the crowd, and trust me, “I help” statements are everywhereeee.
Let’s workshop this, shall we?
Pretend you’re a small business owner who creates beautiful candles sculptured to resemble animals. You’re an animal lover through and through and are also obsessed with candles as your favorite form of self-care and relaxation. You launched your business with the hopes of bringing joy to other animal lovers through soothing scents and carefully crafted art. You offer a selection of your favorite animals, but also offer commissions for beloved pets.
Using the formula, we can plug and play and come up with:
I help animal lovers relax with soothing, beautifully sculpted candles or I help busy animal lovers practice self-care with beautifully custom-designed animal candles.
Now that we have our baseline, let’s throw away “I help”. Perhaps we can say:
Unique animal sculpted candles for busy animal lovers that soothe and relax the soul.
Catch my drift? ?
How to show off your USP
Once you’ve defined your USP, it’s time to show that baby off. Here are the top places you can place your USP so you can attract your ideal clients:
- Your website – ideally, you want your USP on your home page front and center (and ideally above the fold). It also knocks out a huge chunk of the top 5 essentials every home page should have. You can also sprinkle it in multiple iterations throughout your about and services pages.
- Social Media – stick it in your bios for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Clubhouse, Twitter, etc. You can also weave it into your content.
- Advertisements – if you’re crafting any type of ads, be sure to have some form of your USP in it so you ensure you attract the right audience.
- Pitches – if you’re doing any sort of pitching (cold or warm), you’ll definitely want to incorporate your USP somewhere so that the person you’re pitching knows right away how you can best serve them.
- Branded Materials – any piece of branded material should somehow speak to who and how you help.
Weave your USP into everything! It’s a core foundation to your branding and should be everywhere you and your business is.
Go and get em’ tiger. I believe in you!
Save this blog post for future reference. Want to pick my brain? Get in touch with me to schedule a 1:1 strategy session – you’ll have my undivided attention to bounce ideas and get a fresh perspective.
