A good USP (Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point) is one of the keys to your success
Nowadays, it becomes increasingly important for producers and service providers to efficiently reach their target audience. The market, especially the online market, is expanding and growing like never before, intensifying competition among rivals. A basic static website with some information and a phone number is no longer enough, an average business is insufficient, and being just average is not sufficient. If you want to keep up, evolve, grow, and make money, you must build your presence and marketing much more consciously.
The meaning and introduction of USP
As you already know, in order to run a successful business in today’s world, it is important to build conscious marketing. First and foremost, it is always worth defining your business’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition). USP is an acronym in English, which stands for unique selling proposition. It refers to a unique characteristic of your product or service – and the emphasis here is on the word „unique” – that is capable of providing differentiation from the products of your competitors in almost every aspect.
Throughout my career, I have met and learned about the stories of many entrepreneurs. I have read numerous briefs where the entrepreneurs believed that they had no competitors in the market. However, 99% of these assumptions turned out to be false. Many mistakenly believe that they have no competitors because there is no other company that manufactures or provides exactly the same product or service as they do.
The situation is that for someone to be your competitor, they don't need to manufacture the same thing as you. It's enough if they offer an alternative or substitute for your product. And a business that provides such unique value that it is irreplaceable is one in a thousand.
USP example - showcasing a successful USP
To help you better understand what a USP is and what makes a good USP, I’ll provide you with some examples. These should make it easier for you to start developing your own USP. You can find inspiration and ideas from them. Creating a USP doesn’t require reinventing the wheel or coming up with something incredibly complicated.
Let's take a look at the USP of the American Domino's Pizza
The company’s USP is that they deliver fresh pizza to your door within 30 minutes, and if they fail to do so, you get the pizza for free. The company is not in an easy position, as they are not the only one trying to sell pizza to the American population, and they are not the only ones offering fast delivery and fresh products. However, there is no other company that guarantees free pizza if it doesn’t arrive within 30 minutes. This sets them apart from all other competitors.
The customer will know for sure that their pizza will most likely arrive within 30 minutes, but even if it doesn’t, there’s no problem because at least they have saved the money for the pizza. It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it? We would much prefer to order pizza this way, especially if we know it’s delicious.
My Bulldog Shop
Let’s look at an example from Hungary as well. My Bulldog Shop spoils our four-legged friends with excellent dog grooming products. I consider the example of this shop good and special because it was built with heart and soul by an incredibly likable young couple, driven solely by their love for dogs and not for the sake of getting rich. The way they build a community and brand on social media is exemplary. Their dedication to their mission is exemplary. Their willingness to grow and learn is exemplary. My Bulldog Shop sets an example, so let’s take a look at their USP.
My Bulldog Shop delights our pets with the highest quality and most pet-friendly products. But let them tell you what kind of products they produce:
"Our products were created with the help of experts, and in the process of their development, we paid attention to every little detail. The fundamental requirement was naturalness and being free from chemicals, but we took it a step further by ensuring cruelty-free testing and cruelty-free sourcing of ingredients; and, of course, palm oil was out of the question for our products. With these constraints, it was challenging to create something good. When I say good, I mean it in the fullest sense. You won't find products from us that simply claim to be good by excluding certain ingredients, but in these products, you will find only what a healthy, furry family member truly needs."
I think by now you can already guess what their USP is. As pet owners, they offer validated handmade, high-quality products for household pets, made from 100% natural ingredients that you can use without any worries. I believe you would prefer to give these products to your dog, especially when you become part of the wonderful community that Bernadett and her team have created with passion and dedication on social media.
Helóta Organic Farm
I brought you an example from the heart of Hungary, from Szentes. The former market town has excellent geographical features: fertile soil, access to clean irrigation water, and plenty of sunshine hours throughout the year. Szentes has a tradition of vegetable cultivation dating back over 100 years, and over time, numerous high-quality vegetables have been produced from its lands. However, in the last 10-15 years, large-scale vegetable factories have emerged in Szentes, producing tons of lower-quality products, grown on Dutch peat soil and with Brazilian fertilizers, prioritizing quantity over quality. Just a few kilometers away from these large factories, there is an oasis where vegetables still grow following the traditions of Bulgarian plant growers, and where nature thrives.
The Helóta Organic Farm is a labor of love. It’s not driven by money but by a mindset focused on nature, sustainability, and the future. The owner of the garden, Csaba Szabó, has been involved in vegetable cultivation his whole life and knows every little nuance of his plants. He lives for his garden, and his garden lives for him. During the season, Csaba cultivates over 40 varieties of peppers, tomatoes, and numerous other vegetables (his products are even available in Budapest). In the winter, he sells processed products made from his vegetables, such as barrel-fermented sauerkraut and sourdough bread for his customers to enjoy.
The most important element of the USP is the mindset. Caring for each other, nature, healthy nutrition, and the future.
Sustainable circular biodynamic farming that uses only irrigation water for cultivation, no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. It does not pollute the soil or the environment and renews the cultivated area through crop rotation. It yields a quarter of what a larger vegetable factory produces, but it nurtures healthier and tastier vegetables. The farm can supply its consumers exclusively with its own produce throughout the year, offering fresh products in summer and processed ones in winter. If you travel from afar to visit the farm, Csaba not only gives you a tour and talks about it but also treats you to a meal.
After the examples, it's your turn now!
Creating a good USP - how to be effectively unique in the market.
1st step
Target audience
2nd step
UVP
3rd step
Competitors
4th step
Refinement
1st step: Target audience
To create an effective USP, you first need to examine your target audience.
Everything starts here. How well do you know your customers and their needs? If you don’t have the answer to this question, you need market research. You can do this on your own without a huge capital investment, or you can hire an agency to help you. Find out what problems your customers face when they want to buy the product you offer. What obstacles and difficulties do they encounter, what bothers them, or what do they appreciate the most in the buying process? Are there any unmet needs? What motivates them?
Collect as many of these and similar questions as possible, and then start listing possible solutions. You don’t necessarily have to have immediate solutions to these needs, but it’s essential to recognize them and consider potential solutions.
Our target audience is looking for a sophisticated and reliable website and online store at an affordable price. They usually have limited knowledge about websites and the online world, lacking in-depth expertise in SEO or marketing, which are crucial aspects of website development. They seek affordable, long-term, and dependable solutions.
2nd step: UVP (Unique Value Proposition)
Once you have examined what your target audience needs and identified the arising requirements, as well as explored potential solutions, it’s time to see which of these solutions you can actually implement. If you have done thorough work, I’m sure you have found quite a few possible solutions. Now, review your business’s UVP (unique value proposition), which represents your business’s internal values and building blocks. What motivates your business, what are its foundations, which main channels does it use for operations, what characteristics does it possess, etc.
From the list you’ve created, remove those points that don’t align with your UVP and where your business cannot provide a solution.
Both of us have deep professional knowledge in our respective fields of work. István is a skilled programmer, proficient in various programming languages, and has valuable insights into building efficient websites or online stores. Aaron, on the other hand, has a keen understanding of what makes a website or online store successful. He knows what the target audience needs, which sales channels are worth utilizing, and what impactful visual and creative elements can be used to easily sell a specific product.
3rd step: Competitors
So far, we have looked at what the market wants and how you can help them. Unfortunately, this is not enough, as providing a solution to your target audience’s problem won’t be sufficient if there are 15 other competitors offering similar solutions alongside you. It’s essential, therefore, to know our competitors, and as mentioned earlier, not just the companies doing exactly the same thing as us, but also those aiming to satisfy similar consumer needs. Examine your competitors and eliminate any previously described solution that another competitor is already using. One exception to this is if your competitor is using that advantage poorly, and you can come up with a better implementation format for it.
BE CAREFUL!
Just because you believe you could execute the same thing your competitor is already doing better, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Do some minimal research on this as well and ask the opinion of as many credible people as possible.
On the market, developers with programming expertise work at a high cost, while cheap web developers probably lack programming knowledge and create websites using WordPress and similar systems without underlying technical knowledge. There are very few service providers who can create websites with serious programming knowledge at an affordable price. Moreover, finding one that combines this with comprehensive marketing, SEO, and UX assistance is even rare.
4th step: Refinement
After the previous point, you probably don’t have many solutions left that meet all the criteria. If you are fortunate enough to have found more than one, try to work on determining which one is the most effective. Don’t dwell on the question for months; it’s a typical mistake for small and newly started businesses to struggle with decision-making, constantly reevaluating the possible outcomes. Be thorough and decisive; investigate whether the USP you selected is valid and if you correctly derived it from the previous points. Then, strive to refine and perfect it as much as possible.
SUPER IMPORTANT!
Try to communicate and promote this USP as much as possible through all available channels. Refer to it on your website, mention it in conversations with others. This will set you apart and make you unique compared to your competitors. It will showcase your biggest competitive advantage.
Referring to Németh Zoli (Dr.Prezi), also a former student of Közgáz, the grandmaster of presentations, I suggest that you shorten your USP as much as possible. "The text will be perfect when you can't remove anything from it without changing its meaning." If everything aligns with the previous points, and you adhere to this principle, you have created your final USP.
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