Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition As a Small Business Owner

Knowing that one thing or couple of things that makes your business stand out from the rest of the competition is crucial to business success. To grab the attention of your customers, your business must have a distinctive feature which benefits your customers to avoid being drowned out by the competition. 

The existence of many enterprises in a particular field prior to the inception of a small business can make it very difficult for such businesses to be noticed in the field or make great waves. Consequently, for any small business to gain relevance in an industry, it must have something the others lack which at the same time attracts customers in order to stand out from the crowd.

What is a Unique Selling Proposition?

A unique selling proposition or unique selling point is that one feature or quality of a business that distinguishes it from the others in the industry. It is the special characteristics of a business that makes it peculiar and can be demonstrated in a number of ways including; customer service, pricing, delivery, warranty management to mention a few. 

Most small business owners dive headfirst into the realm of commerce without first pinpointing their unique selling proposition and then create a market around it. It is important for business owners to know their USP before starting up a business so as to give their customers enough reason to leave the competition and patronize them. If a business intends to make waves in its industry, such business must come up with a unique quality, one that has never been experienced from the competition and will be beneficial to the customer.

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The customer is an important factor in coming up with a USP that will be translated into a brands message, branding and marketing. Why the customer must be placed at the centre of a unique selling proposition is because the goal of a unique selling proposition is to attract the customer and to do this, research must be carried out on the customer's demographics as well as psychographics in order to determine consumer behavior and what influences their purchasing decisions.

How to Come up with a Unique Selling Proposition

Customer Research

Since it is apparent that a unique selling proposition must be customer centric, it becomes mandatory that a detailed study of a business's ideal customer be carried out in order to discover their interests. Research of this nature will source information on the ideal customer's age, gender, marital status, economic status, social status, values and beliefs among others. You could hand out surveys to your customers in order to know what their interests are like why they patronize you, what could make them leave your business, things they value to mention a few. You would look into the interests and hobbies of your ideal customer taking note of activities and subcultures that resonate well with them in order to formulate a USP.
Taking into consideration, the factors that influence your ideal customers purchasing  decisions such as colour, shape, beliefs, shared experiences, values, etc., go a long way in helping businesses craft a unique selling proposition that aligns with the interests of their ideal customers and speaks to them in a clear and concise manner that they can relate with.

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Competitors Research

It is always important to get oneself acquainted with the modus operandi of any field in which one is new. Knowing how things are done in your industry and how your competitors get by will be beneficial in helping you craft your unique selling proposition. This is because they have been in the industry long before you and their experiences with the customers would have influenced their choices in terms of customer service, pricing, delivery among others. 

You can spy on your competitors' advertising, taking note of keywords they use in marketing, describing products as well as how they present themselves to their customers in the About us section of their websites. This will better inform you on steps to take to determine your unique selling proposition.

Business Strength Research

This is where you look inwards in order to determine what is special and unique about your brand that you need to communicate to your ideal customers. You have to evaluate your business looking keenly for qualities your business possesses that can be beneficial to your customers and more importantly, that your competitors lack.

When you uncover those qualities or features, you can then draw a brand message from it which would form your business's slogan. It is important that you make this message as clear and concise as possible because it is your business's chance at instilling a sense of common interest in your customers letting them know that your business understands their pain point and is willing to help them out.

Evaluating Your Weaknesses

Coming to terms with one's weaknesses is important in making such strategic decisions as this. Knowing the limits beyond which you cannot go will guide your choices in formulating a USP because then you would know what you cannot provide for your customers in contrast with what you can provide for them. At this point, what you need to do as a small business owner is to creatively look for a way to turn your weaknesses into your strength.

One way to do this is to let your customers know your limitation while stressing the benefits you can offer them which they cannot get elsewhere. This will purport your brand as sincere to your customers as well as win their admiration thereby attracting them to your business.

Why you need a USP as a Small Business Owner

  • Stand out: Like it was stated earlier, any new enterprise that wishes to survive in the ever competitive world of commerce must endeavour to stand our from the crowd. Small businesses must be very innovative and think up new ways to distinguish themselves from the competition such that will attract customers to them. Coming up with a unique selling proposition is the best way to stand out.
  • Improved Marketing System: Another important reason for small businesses to have a unique selling proposition is to be able to improve their marketing system. It helps them formulate a more targeted advertising mechanism that is sure to connect with their ideal customers and produce desired results. Knowing the preferences and interests of your ideal customers will guide your decision making in terms of structuring your ads and putting in the right words that resonate with them as well as creating an atmosphere that they are receptive to.
  • To Form an Appropriate Brand Message: Coming to terms with the interests and preferences of your ideal customers which is sure to influence your USP has a way of influencing a brand's message. A brand's message is simply a brand's devotion to its customers and such, knowing the interests of your customers will better inform your choice of words in forming a brand message that resonates with your customers—one that reflects their interests and values.
  • Service Improvement: Finding a unique selling proposition derived from a survey of your customers' interests and behaiviours will help you improve your services as a small business owner. Now that you know what your ideal customers' likes and dislikes are, you will be better informed on how to approach them and how to interact with them in order to win them over.

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Now that you know how to find your business's USP as well as why your business needs one, it is important that you know the various types of USPs.

Types of Unique Selling Propositions

  • Quality Products: Producing only high quality products is a great unique selling proposition for any small or startup business. This is because customers will always go wherever they can get the best of their needs. Consequently, small businesses must buckle down on their production aspects and ensure that only the best equipments and best raw material resources are used in the production of their goods. If they happen to depend on a supplier for their products, they should endeavour to link up with the best or one of the best suppliers in the industry to get the upper hand.
  • Customer Service: After conducting a research on your customer base, you may come to the realization that your competitors are lacking in the area of offering great customer service to customers. This is an area you can afford to capitalize on and invest heavily in. You can decide to dedicate your business to offering the very best customer service in the industry to your customers, this will bring loyal customers to your establishment.
  • Delivery System: If your competitors are already providing great customer service to customers, it could be possible that they are lagging behind in the area of delivery. Hence you can choose to dedicate your business to offering the best deliveries in the industry. That way you can stand out from the competition and gain customers' recognition.
  • Warranty Management: Per chance, it turns out that your competitors already offer great customer service and deliveries, you could still spot an area in which they are lacking such as warranty management. Businesses that offer warrantys to their customers on products purchased have the tendency to not stick to their words. Hence, you could take it upon yourself to make sure that no matter the cost on you, you would ensure you keep your end of the bargain. For instance; if you sell refrigerators and you offer a (5) five years warranty, you should take it upon yourself to see to it that you replace the refrigerator for your customers should they encounter difficulties in the period of the warranty.
  • Pricing: There are innovative ways to set your prices such that they appear to be higher than your competitors' prices yet customers would still prefer to patronize your business. What you need to do is offer immense value to your customers such that while they pay higher for your products than at your competitors' establishments, they would feel they are ripping you off. So how do you go about it? First, you can start by making sure that your environment is conducive for them, next, you ensure that your products are of high quality, offer great customer service, have a good delivery system and customers will come rushing to your establishment.


Examples of Popular Unique Selling Propositions

  • Domino's Pizza: "You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less — or it's free." You would notice that Domino's Pizza is not proposing the best quality of pizza in the world, what they are proposing is the best delivery system. They make such a brilliant offer that puts the customer at a great advantage hence it is a powerful USP.
  • McDonald's: "Food, Folks, and Fun" This USP by McDonald's is as concise as it gets! The message is clear that they offer quality food to persons of various ages and they offer a memorable experience to their customers.
  • Dunkin Donuts: "Serving high-quality food and beverages in a fast, friendly environment at a great value". This USP goes straight to the point without any metaphors clearly stating the business's objectives thus it is a great unique selling proposition.
  • ShopRite: "Lowest possible prices" ShopRite's USP stands out from the aforementioned ones because it stresses affordability of its products more than any other thing hence it is a wonderful USP.

As a small business owner, it is crucial that your business gets a unique selling proposition if it ever wants to make its mark in the industry. This is because there is a high rate of competition in every industry and for any business to be successful or survive, it must do something differently from the way others in the competition do it.

Whatever a business chooses to do differently from the competition must put a premium on the customer, placing them at the center of their uniqueness. Having a unique selling proposition will tilt customers attention in favour of a business and this will help such a business to attain greater heights in its industry.

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