It’s likely that someone at your corporate headquarters has developed a unique selling proposition (USP). And you might think this is something you don’t need to be concerned with.
But really, you should embrace the USP and use it when talking one-on-one with a prospective buyer.
A strong USP can produce more sales because it works to ingrain new long-term memory. If you haven’t examined your USP lately, there’s a good chance you’re not leveraging your unique strengths as strategically as you could.
It may be helpful to clarify what a Unique Selling Proposition is not:
Customer service. Great customer service doesn’t qualify because your customer expects you’ll provide great customer service and support in the first place.
Quality. Like customer service, it doesn’t qualify. It’s expected.
Price. You can never win if you think your USP is price and price cutting (or assume that a high price will signify better quality).
Looking for examples? Gary Hennerberg, author of Crack the Customer Mind Code (and a personal friend) shares these two examples of USPs he has been involved with:
For a food gift company, he repositioned the product from the broad category of fruitcake to a Native Texas Pecan Cake. Sales increased 60 percent with this repositioned USP.
For an insurance company, repositioning a modified benefit life insurance product, using an analysis of data, increased sales 35 percent. In this case, the product message was shifted to getting insurance for a spouse to having it for grandchildren, or to leave as a legacy for a charity.
A strong USP boosts the brain’s ability to absorb a new memory because you’ll be seen as distinct from competitors. That’s why Native Texas Pecan Cakes worked better than fruitcake, and why buying life insurance for a grandchild was more memorable than a generic message.
Identifying your USP, or positioning or repositioning, is a process.
Bottom line: Having a strong USP can be the tie-breaker for a prospective buyer.
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