Unique selling proposition, its characteristics and features. Utp in marketing. USP: three quality criteria

It's a paradox, but many marketers don't even know what it is. USP is a kind of unique offer that the company offers to the market and which is fundamentally different from the competition. On the one hand, everything is banal here, on the other hand, many simply turn a blind eye to this and do not work with this important category of marketing and business at the proper level.

Why do you need USP at all?

USP is needed for one important purpose - to make a profit in business. If this is a USP on the site, then getting a high conversion. If a user sees an offer on the site that correlates with the solution of his problems, he will 100% become a buyer, even if the competitor has a lower price. A good USP is effective method get away from price wars. With the current level of competition, the buyer can easily find similar products. But he will stop at where the offer will hook him. It is very important here to offer the client something non-standard that will awaken feelings of excitement, cause certain emotions, something that will make his life easier.

Who first spoke about USP?

The term "unique selling proposition" was first coined by the American advertiser Rosser Reeves. It was he who put forward the hypothesis that the advertised product should be different from others. And the higher the competition, the more urgent is the need to stand out. The advertising guru has formulated three basic postulates of the USP:

What is USP in advertising?

The hottest example that begs for a good USP is Dodo Pizza, who created an offer centered on delivery speed: 60 minutes or pizza for free.

But here it is important to really fulfill the stated promise to customers, otherwise the reputation can be severely damaged.

USP - what is it in marketing?

A Unique Selling Proposition must meet the following marketing criteria:

Be specific. The USP should be clear and understandable. If a client reads the offer and doesn't understand anything, then it's time to work on it more thoroughly.
The USP must be unique. It cannot be replicated by competitors or simply do not.
The USP must deliver real value to customers. For example, offer: the most quality repair in the apartment does not say anything. But the USP: Doing repairs in the apartment? We will remove the wallpaper for free "- this is a completely different matter. Everyone knows that the most disliked occupation during repair is to tear off old wallpaper, therefore such a USP shows as best as possible that the repair company will take over all the routine work. And there you can competently and agree about services for major repairs.

What are the USPs?

A Unique Selling Proposition is true when the company claims real benefits for the client, and false when the offer is based on a fictitious uniqueness or benefit.

An example of a false USP is the following - It's not just cigarettes - it's Davidoff! By and large, this is just a play on words, without much meaning.

It is very difficult to come up with a true USP, in rare cases it is possible to create a masterpiece message that will settle in the mind of the buyer for a long time.

There is a special formula by which the USP is built: Properties + asset

Properties are some promises to the market, they are based on decision factors. For some buyers, low price is important, for others - high quality, for others - a guarantee, for others - fast delivery, for fifths - geographical availability of the place of purchase, etc. There are a lot of such decision-making factors, each customer has their own. An asset is evidence of how we will deliver on these promises. As a rule, there are 4 types of assets - people, material resources, methods and technologies, history. For example,

We have the most qualified experts from the best European companies
Our pastry chefs completed an internship with Belgian chocolatiers
An innovative method allows the production of windows with hidden fittings

How should you look for ideas for USP?

First, you need to create a field of ideas - an intellectual map, where information about the target audience, its needs, the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, and business assets will be posted. You definitely need to know the answers to such important questions as:

Who, why, when buys?

What do they buy, what do they ask before buying?

What is the product?

This is if there is a company already operating on the market and it has information. What to do when there is no such information?

You can walk through the forums, monitor discussions in VK - questions, reviews, track which topics are of the most concern to the audience in social networks, youtube, look at the highest frequency queries on your topic on Wordstat. As far as Wordstat is concerned, your best bet is to install the yandex-wordstat-helper plugin. It is very convenient to work with it and arrange key categories.

Let's say we open a window company and we need to find a USP that would radically distinguish our company from competitors. Windows are a technically complex product, and the market is falling and stagnating. The main positioning is built around the price, so it is almost impossible to find some kind of creative in the field of USP creation in the window market. For buyers, plastic windows from different manufacturers are no different - everywhere a white profile and German quality. And over the past couple - three years window companies in order to save money, they do not pay at all to the competence of their sellers, which ultimately translates into a low quality of window sales and inability to explain to the buyer the most basic characteristics of a window. The market is forced to follow the path of price wars, even at the expense of quality. But let's get back to the USP. There are several large players on the market with a competent approach to marketing.

Window factory became known in the market thanks to the introduction into its work of the philosophy of sincere service, which was offered by its owner Artem Agabekov. A benevolent attitude to the client as to a friend gives rise to positive emotions and encourages to order windows again and recommend them to their family and friends. Another important USP is breathable windows with climate control, which save from drafts and allow you to ventilate the room even when the window is closed. These unique offers are truly examples of good USP.

Plastic windows created USP based on the decision-making factor - efficiency and speed of delivery.

Petersburg company Labrador was the first to offer its customers a unique technology - seamless windows at the profile joints, which can significantly improve appearance windows and make it even more attractive. The company declares: the unique glazing of your cottage or summer house will compare favorably with the standard glazing of your neighbors' houses. It is noteworthy that when the company was just entering the window market, it gave a toy Labrador puppy to each client when buying windows.

Seamless windows from Labrador company - the first windows in Europe WITHOUTwelding seam.

Moscow company Velis Plast made an emphasis on the cleanliness of the windows. There is a special hole in the technological opening of the frame, where dirt is constantly clogged, which makes cleaning windows even more dreary and takes a lot of time for the owners. This process slot can be closed with a conventional sealing plug to prevent dirt, moisture and dust from entering the frame. A trifle, but how much time and effort it takes!

These are perhaps the most interesting USPs, which are based on specific customer benefits. Therefore, for the formation of an interesting unique trade proposal, you can find many more interesting ideas.

For example, you can play with soundproofing. This issue is especially relevant for residents of a large metropolis near busy highways and highways, bus stations and airports. Why not remember Ogilvy's outstanding statement about the ticking of a clock in the Rolls Royce ad campaign?

Windows so quiet that the only noise you might hear is the ticking of a clock.
Add more silence to your window
Silence in the middle of a bustling city
Our windows are able to reduce highway noise to a whisper level

Interior themes in windows are very relevant now. Manufacturers of profiles and fittings are constantly offering innovative solutions that can diversify the interior of an apartment or house, bring there a zest of novelty and charm. These are hidden hinges in the window, various shades of lamination and painting, interior handles. The Moscow windows used to have glass units with Swarovski crystals. In the conditions of a modern metropolis, today more and more people are thinking about technology smart home - so that the windows close and open themselves, the blinds are lowered using the control panel, so that the weather is shown on the windows and you can watch TV. All these technologies are already slowly beginning to come from Europe to Russia. You can have time to take a bite of the tasty pie from the Smart - technologies market and formulate an interesting USP for the category of buyers - innovators who are the first to test a new product and only then tell their friends and acquaintances about it. There are still a lot of free highly specialized niches on the plastic window market where you can find your buyer.

When analyzing competitors, ads in Yandex are a very good source of search. Direct and Google. Adwords - you can also find interesting USPs there:

Colored windows for the price of whites

Windows from 70 profiles at a price of 58

Windows in three days, etc.

What are the most popular mistakes when creating a USP?

The misconception that a low price is a USP. It is not right! Practice shows that competing on the basis of price is a very bad strategy and sooner or later may even lead to bankruptcy. While BM has a different opinion on this matter, it is still better to differentiate itself from the competition based on a different factor in the buying decision.

There is no point in copying a competitor's USP. It will no longer be able to shoot in the same way and attract the same number of buyers. The fact is that many businesses have become successful simply because they occupied a vacant niche in time.

The offer contains a lot of water and common phrases. Statements like "we have the highest quality", "we have the fastest delivery", "we have the most talented employees" - absolutely do not tell customers anything. It is imperative to indicate in the offer a specific benefit and advantage for the buyer.

There is no USP at all! Unfortunately, this also happens.

Mixing planes. For example, mineral water can be sold in different areas: production, distribution in network shops, just retail, water quality research, you can provide water consulting services. And here for each direction you need a separate USP.

How to make a USP - a cheat sheet from Denis Kaplunov

Copywriter Denis Kaplunov suggests using the following guidelines when drawing up a USP:

Strict adherence to your niche. This method consists in finding some narrowly specialized niche and fixing it in it. Next, you need to tell your buyer in the USP that you work in this particular niche:
- Windows with increased security class
- Cafe 100 kinds of cupcakes
- Promotion of online stores
- All the essentials for 50 rubles
- Delicious and healthy food for 100 rubles
- Commission for mink coats
A benchmark based on the uniqueness of a product that others do not have. This is truly a real innovation that is difficult or impossible to copy.
- Extreme driving lessons on mountain slopes
- Exciting Quest: The Fear Room in an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of town
- Excursion in the footsteps of the heroes of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
- Plastic windows as tablet and TV
USP may also include an additional service for the client. It is important that this service is provided to customers only by your company and no one else on the market.
- When buying windows in the first 5 years, the warranty is free
- When creating a website, we give free step by step plan promoting the resource on the Internet
- When buying a car, MTPL as a gift
- When renovating an apartment, we will install an air conditioner for free
Targeting a specific segment of buyers.
- Hand-to-hand combat for girls
- Cocker spaniel hairdresser
- Delicious dinners for truckers
- Bachelor Cooking Courses
Targeting some super unique feature that competitors lack.
- A hotel built of ice and snow
- Only we have the most sober taxi drivers
- Photoshoot with a real crocodile Gena
USP based on leadership.
- The most visited store in the city
- Auto salon of exclusive brands
- Sewing clothes of any size
Outcome-based USP
- 90% of our graduates immediately get a prestigious job
- Less 10 kg of weight in 10 days
- We reduce advertising costs by 100%

In the modern market for goods and services, you will not surprise anyone that you are the best. To compete with other firms, you need to be not only the best, but unique. Only then will it be possible to talk about an increase in the number of clients. Unique selling proposition is something that marketers of many firms and companies are racking their brains over. Today we will consider this concept and learn how to create a USP on our own.

Most importantly

In every business, the USP (or Unique Selling Proposition) is the most important thing. No USP, no sales, no profit, no business. Maybe a little exaggerated, but in general it is so.

A unique selling proposition (also called an offer, USP and USP) is a distinctive characteristic of a business. At the same time, it does not matter what exactly a person does, a distinctive characteristic should be. This term means such a difference that competitors do not have. Special offer gives the client a certain benefit and solves the problem. If the USP does not solve the client's problem, then this is just an extravagant name - it is remembered, sounds beautiful, but does not greatly affect the conversion rate.

A unique selling proposition should be based on the two most important words - "benefit" and "different". This offer should be so radically different from the competitive ones that no matter what the client takes, he will choose the very company that has a worthy USP.

USP and Russia

Before proceeding with the main course, I would like to focus on domestic marketing. In Russia, the problem is immediately apparent - everyone wants to be the best, but no one wants to be unique in their own way. This is where the main problem comes from - companies refuse to create unique selling propositions. When they try to outmaneuver the competitor who created the USP, they end up with a cross between an intricate phrase and a characteristic of a product or service.

Take, for example, the unique selling proposition found in the portfolio of some copywriters:

Best author.
Ideal texts.
Pen and word master, etc.

This is not a USP at all, but rather an example of how you cannot advertise yourself. Everyone has their own concept of an ideal text, the word “best” can be used if it is confirmed by numerical data and actual characteristics, and “the master of the pen and the word” seems to have been one, in Bulgakov. Working USPs look completely different:

Fast copywriting - any text 3 hours after payment.
Free consultation on improvement for each client (fill in as required).
Free images for the article from commercial photo stocks, etc.

Here, behind each proposal is the benefit that the client acquires together with the author. The customer is guided by what he needs in addition to the article: images, consultation or high-quality and fast execution. But it is not known what to expect from the "best author". Everything works the same in business.

Varieties

For the first time, the American advertiser Rosser Reeves spoke about the creation of a unique selling proposition. He introduced the concept of USP and noted this concept as more effective than advertising odes, where there was no specifics.

He said that a strong selling proposition helps:

Disengage from competitors.
Stand out among similar services and products.
Build the loyalty of your target audience.
Increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns by generating effective messages.

It is customary to distinguish between 2 types of trade offers: true and false. The first is based on actual product characteristics that competitors cannot boast of. A false selling proposition is an invented uniqueness. For example, a customer is told unusual information about a product or presented from a different angle obvious advantages... It's kind of a play on words.

Today, it is difficult to endow a product with some unique characteristics, therefore, a false USP is used more and more often.

High quality selling proposition. Main criteria

According to R. Reeves' concept, the criteria for a high-quality trade offer are:

A message about the specific benefit that a person will receive by purchasing a product from a firm.
The offer is different from all available in this market segment.
The message is compelling and easy for target audiences to remember.

In advertising, a unique selling proposition is the basis, so it must fully meet the needs of customers. Each message should contain benefit, value and benefit, but, in addition, clear reasoning is needed so that the client clearly understands why he should buy the product he is interested in here, and not somewhere else.

Stages

So how do you create a Unique Selling Proposition? If you don't think too much, then this task seems creative and exciting, and also quite easy. But as practice has shown, USP is an example of an extremely rational and analytical work... Coming up with something fancy and passing it off as a unique proposition is like looking for a black cat in a dark room. It is impossible to guess which concept will work.

To get a worthy example of a unique selling proposition, you need to conduct a lot of research: in addition to the market, niche and competitors, study the product itself - from the production technology to the watermark on the package. Development consists of several stages:

Break up target audience into subgroups according to certain parameters.
Determine the needs of each of these groups.
Highlight the attributes of positioning, that is, determine what exactly in the promoted product will help solve the problems of the target audience.
Describe the benefits of the product. What will the consumer get if they buy it?
Create a USP based on the input data received.

Scripts

As you can see, this is a rather painstaking process, where it is necessary to use all analytical skills. Only after a complete analysis is completed, you can start looking for a key idea and only after that start creating a sales proposal.

This task can be simplified by using scenarios that have already been tested by time and experience:

Emphasis on a unique characteristic.
New solution, innovation.
Additional services.
Turn disadvantages into advantages.
Solve the problem of

Uniqueness + innovation

Now a little more about scripts. As for the first scenario "Uniqueness", it will only work for those products or services that are truly unique and have no competitors. As a last resort, this feature can be created artificially. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) option can be completely unexpected. For example, a company that produces stockings and socks entered the market with an interesting offer - they were selling a set of three socks, and the USP promised to solve the age-old problem of the missing sock.

When it comes to innovation, it’s worth talking about solving a problem in a new way. For example, "The innovative formula of the air freshener will kill 99% of germs and fill the room with a fresh scent."

"Goodies" and disadvantages

The third scenario focuses on additional privileges. If all the products on the market are the same and have almost identical characteristics, then you need to pay attention to additional bonuses that will attract visitors. For example, a pet store may offer customers to take kittens or puppies for 2 days to make sure they settle into the family.

The disadvantages of the product can also be turned to your advantage. If milk is stored for only 3 days, then from a practical point of view, this is not profitable, and the buyer is unlikely to pay attention to it. With this in mind, it can be reported that it is kept so little due to its 100% naturalness. The influx of customers is guaranteed.

Solution to the problem

But the easiest option is to solve the problems of potential consumers. This can be done using the formula (yes, like in math):

The need of the target audience + Result + Guarantee. In an advertisement, an example of a unique selling proposition might sound like this: "3000 subscribers in 1 month or we will refund".
Target audience + Problem + Solution. “We help novice copywriters to find customers with the help of proven marketing strategies».
Unique characteristic + Need. "Exclusive jewelry will highlight the exclusivity of style."
Product + Target audience + Problem + Benefit. “With the Polyglot audio lessons you can learn any language at a conversational level in a month and without a doubt leave for the country of your dreams.”

Unspecified moments

For the USP to work, you need to pay attention to a few more nuances during its creation. Firstly, the problem that the product solves should be recognized by the client and he should want to solve it. Of course, you can offer a spray from "brain sniffers" (why not a problem ?!), but the buyer will spend much more actively on a regular cream for mosquitoes and ticks.

Second, the proposed solution should be better than thatthat the target audience used before. And thirdly, each client must measure, feel and evaluate the result.

When creating a USP, it is most rational to use Ogilvy's advice. He has worked in advertising for many years and knows exactly how to look for USP. In his book On Advertising, he mentioned the following: great ideas come from the subconscious, so it must be filled with information. To hammer the brain to the limit with everything that can touch the product and turn off for a while. A brilliant idea will come at the most unexpected moment.

Of course, the article has already mentioned analytics, but this advice does not contradict what has already been proposed. It often happens that after hundreds of analytical processes, the marketer cannot find the only and unique link that will promote the product on the market. It is at such moments when the brain processes information that you need to move away from reality. As practice shows, very soon a person will see that elusive USP that was on the very surface.

It is also very important to pay attention to those small nuances that competitors are missing. At one time, Claude Hopkins drew attention to the fact that toothpaste not only cleans teeth, but also removes plaque. This is how the first slogan appeared in the advertising community that toothpaste removes plaque.

And you don't need to be afraid to take non-standard approaches to solving the problem. Marketers of TM "Twix" simply divided the chocolate bar into two sticks and, as they say, it started.

Idea protection

A unique selling proposition does not appear out of the blue in the minds of marketers. This is the result of long, purposeful and hard work, which, by the way, can be used by competitors.

Several decades ago, intellectual property was inextricably linked to its bearer. That is, if one company implemented a successful USP, the other did not even look towards this advertisement. Today, things have changed somewhat: leaders can simply use the idea of \u200b\u200bcompetitors for their own purposes.

Therefore, it became necessary to create patents. These are documents that confirm the owner's right to the exclusive use of the results of his activities. Inventions are used herein to mean products or methods that solve a specific problem. In turn, the Unique Selling Proposition is itself a powerful incentive for innovation. The subject of advertising here is an advantage that is unnoticed by competitors, but perceived by buyers. Patent protection for unique trade offers in our country is practically not developed, but in more developed societies, each advertising campaign is protected from plagiarism.

Thus, in order to achieve success, you need to be a unique, one-of-a-kind supplier of in-demand products that are in every store, but the best in this particular company.

Marketer Andrey Zinkevich - how to effectively differentiate yourself from competitors

If you open any good book on marketing or attend the appropriate training, then with a 99% probability you will come across the term "unique selling proposition". Why do all marketers talk about the importance of USP? It would seem that the answer is obvious: show a potential customer the differences between the product and the benefits of using it, and he will make a purchase. But here is the main pitfall: how to define those unique differences and how to present them in the form of benefits? What if your product or service is no different from the competition? Well-known marketer Andrey Zinkevich told about how to formulate the USP.

Andrey Zinkevich, entrepreneur, marketing consultant. Founder of the project ... The geography of clients includes 9 countries of the world. More than eight years of sales and marketing experience with Kimberly Clark and Biosphere Corporation. Author of books "Customer conveyor », « Secrets of customer focus "And" Profitable internet projects ».

History of the issue

Reeves was one of the brightest students of the famous Claude Hopkins and was an adherent of the "selling" style. He believed that advertising can only have one purpose - sales. Not loyalty, not recognition, not popularization and other terms so beloved by advertisers, but sales!

In his book, Reeves emphasized that the effectiveness of advertising (read, sales) depends on one factor: advertising must instantly grab the attention of a potential client with one, but very strong offer that competitors cannot make; a proposal that will induce the advertising recipient to perform the targeted action.

This idea formed the concept that Reeves called "unique selling proposition." True, today Reeves' concept is overgrown with implausible myths; one of them - now the competition is much stronger and it is almost impossible to find differences between competitive products.

Is it really? Of course not. Look at most of the famous trade marks or companies, they all have a unique selling proposition and are distinguished by it.

Let's try to figure out how to highlight the distinctive qualities of your products and services and turn them into USP.

Step by step instructions, create a unique selling proposition

The first step is to define the characteristics that are most important for customers in our products.

The first step in preparing a unique selling proposition is the selection of product characteristics or criteria that influence the customer's decision.

This step is the most important (although it is often simply skipped), since the fate of the USP depends on the characteristics chosen: will it really show the benefits of your product or will equal you “with the rest”.

Therefore, our task at the first stage is to analyze our products or services and determine the ten most important characteristics for customers for each of them. The best way to do this is to interview existing customers what product characteristics are most important to them and what criteria / factors influence their purchasing decision.

If the customer base is too large, then it is advisable to sample the most loyal or most profitable customers and interview them.

If you are launching a new product and there are no customers yet, then you can brainstorm and independently determine the characteristics that are most important for the client. Or interview those who are most likely to buy your product.

After real customers appear, you can repeat the analysis and select characteristics based on real data.

All received answers from respondents you need to enter in a separate file.

Step two - we filter and rank the received data.

After receiving feedback from customers or brainstorming, our task is to select the 10 most important characteristics for the client and rank them in order of importance.

This is not difficult to do. Among all the answers received, we need to select the most recurring ones. The characteristic with the most repetitions will top your list, the rest will be positioned below it in the same way. As a result, we should get something like the following table (for example, we will mean a hypothetical online store):

Why do I recommend sticking to 10 stats? More can simply confuse you and make analysis difficult. In most cases, you will notice that the most important characteristics for the client will be no more than 5-7.

Step Three - Compare yourself to your three main competitors.

The next step is to compare the obtained characteristics of your product with three competitors. Conducting such an analysis, you should be as objective as possible: if you are inferior in something to a competitor, be sure to note it.

I recommend that you rate each feature or criterion you select on a 10-point scale for your product and for each of your competitors. For example, in the previous table, we determined that the most important factor for a customer is delivery within a day. If we can deliver the product within a few hours after ordering, we can give a rating of 10, if not, we lower the rating. Next, we analyze competitors and note how quickly they are able to arrange delivery. The longer the delivery time, the worse the score for this criterion will be.

Step 4 - choose the criteria for the USP: where are we stronger.

Having carried out such an analysis, we get a clear picture: by what characteristics or criteria that are important for the client we are superior to competitors, and in what we are objectively inferior. The criteria by which we dominate and should form the basis of our USP.

Key rule: a separate unique selling proposition is created for each service, product or company as a whole!

Auxiliary formulas for creating USP

Now let's see how you can formulate a unique selling proposition based on the selected characteristics. I suggest using one of three formulas.

Formula one: need + result + guarantees.Using this formula, we guarantee the potential client that we can better than others satisfy his need. Here's an example of a USP based on this formula for our hypothetical online store: "We will deliver your order within a day or get your money back!"

This formula is used by my partner Ilya Rabchenok, general director studio SMOpro, to create a USP at its service. This is how the unique selling proposition for the service “Attracting subscribers to the group on Vkontakte” and “Odnoklassniki” looks like: "We are guaranteed to attract 1000 target subscribers within the first month according to the parameters you specified, or we will return the money!"

Formula two: important criterion / characteristic + need.The second formula is based on a combination of characteristics that are important for a potential client and his needs. Good example some banks use for such USP:

"We will issue a loan in 5 minutes without a certificate of income." Loan processing is a need of the target audience. The absence of the need to provide a certificate of income and the speed of issuing a loan are important criteria for a potential client that influence his decision.

Formula three: target audience + need + solution... Well-known business coach Alex Levitas likes to use this formula. For himself as a consultant, he uses the following unique selling proposition: “I am Alexander Levitas - I help small and medium-sized business owners to increase their net profit through low-budget and free marketing moves” ... In the USP of Alex, the target audience is the owners of small and medium-sized businesses. Their need is to increase net profit. Alex's solution is to use low-budget and free marketing tools (read, using guerrilla marketing tools).

False unique selling points

I would also like to mention false USPs. This, unfortunately, is the fault of many entrepreneurs and marketers.

What is a fake USP? This is a proposal based on twisting facts or using criteria in the USP that a potential client expects by default.

For example, a dental clinic cannot use the characteristic “professionalism of doctors” as a USP. Why? Because the potential client expects by default that you have professional doctors. Otherwise, why would he even contact you?

Second example: using a 14-day money back guarantee as a USP. According to the law "On the protection of consumer rights" the buyer already has the full right to return the product within 14 days from the date of purchase. Therefore, there is a distortion of facts.

Test questions for checking the USP

After you have worked with the comparative characteristics template and created a unique selling proposition, one question remains: how “working” is it? Isn't it false?

You can check yourself with the help of a question (your USP should answer it): "Why should I choose your product or service among all the offers available to me?"

The second option is to formulate your USP in the form of a phrase: "Unlike others, we ...".

If there are good answers to both security questions, then you have truly created a unique selling proposition.

Do you want to make a killer USP and give acceleration to your business?

As of 2013, there are about 10 billion brands registered in the world. And each of them wants you to be their client. Everyone is trying to sell something. How to remember them, how to tell them apart?

Each of your potential customers faces this problem. In every niche, whatever it is: the sale of car parts; production of building materials; beauty salons and hairdressing salons; private hospitals and so on, so on, many different companies operate. And each offers identical or nearly identical products or services. How to choose? How to tell? Who to contact? How to remember if you have already almost decided?

Every company, no matter whether it is large or small (all the more so!), Needs to stand out from its competitors. The logo is only half the battle. You need to come up with some unique, special offer that will set you apart from the general background, and help you shout to the client in the general noise.

Here's how to come up with and create your own unique selling proposition, or USP, and will be discussed in this article.

What is USP and how is it used in marketing and sales

USP is a unique selling proposition. It implies some special characteristic of a brand or product, which is presented as an advantage or additional benefit for the client. It is used by USP marketers when working out an advertising campaign - often it is based on this particular feature in order to distinguish a company from its own kind on the market.

This concept was introduced as such by the American advertising specialist Rosser Reeves. He developed this concept as an alternative to the praise in advertising that consumers simply stopped believing. According to his concept, the USP should:

broadcast real benefits for the client;
increase the loyalty of the target audience to;
to be unique, special, one of a kind on the market.

If you look for a feature from a competitor and present it with your own sauce, it will not be a strong USP. It will be just a stolen idea, an imitation.

It seems to have a unique selling proposition, but 9 out of 10 competitors have the same

USP is the reason consumers should choose you. And every company needs it. Only one who launches a new, innovative, revolutionary product, which simply has no analogues, can do without USP. In this case, this very product is a unique offer.

In all other cases - detach or die, to paraphrase the classic.

Why does business need USP?

to differentiate yourself from competitors;
to win the appreciation of the target audience;
to create strong promotional materials () and work out a marketing strategy;
to distinguish your product among many similar ones.

Distinguish between true and false USP. True is the real unique characteristics of a product that no one else on the market in this niche has anymore. This is what the product itself contains. False benefits are fictitious benefits without true distinction. This is what and how it is said about this product. And in most cases, entrepreneurs resort to just such USP. But what if you offer the same product and service as others? If you have not invented something unique, some kind of exclusive product, you have to turn on your head and think well about how you can hook customers.

Detachment from competitors is the key to the success of an advertising campaign. A unique offer should clearly indicate the benefits for customers, on which the message will be built, which will subsequently be broadcast in advertising, on, social networks and other promotional materials.

How to create a unique selling proposition

Many business owners think it's easy to write a USP. The two obvious paths they take are:

"We have the lowest prices!"

The price race is a dubious advantage for two reasons. First, there will always be someone who is cheaper. The second - by low prices, you attract a corresponding contingent of clients - insolvent and too economical, not to put it another way.

"We have quality service!"

In fact, the concept of quality is completely different for everyone. And you can not always guarantee this very service - the human factor plays a lot. But even so, you really work conscientiously, it is this phrase "quality services", " best service»Set the teeth on edge so that they just fly past the ears.

If you are just starting out - yes, for quick sales, you can somehow beat these two trump cards within the framework of some kind of promotion. For example, the lowest price. But if you want to build a strong brand for a long time, you need to take the USP development seriously.

In general, any unique selling proposition is built on three fundamental principles.

1. Promotional message should broadcast a specific benefit to the consumer. That's right, you need to submit USP not in the light of your advantages, but in particular the benefits for the client. He is not as interested in the Italian wallpaper in itself as in the look of his room covered with this wallpaper. So sell him a beautiful repair, easy care for wallpaper that is washed and does not fade, and not the wallpaper itself. But this is all of the above, he can get only by buying these same wallpapers from you.

Only if it is profitable to work with you, customers will choose your company.

2. Customer benefit must be unique against the background of other products similar to yours. Everything is clear here - this principle is embedded in the definition itself. Want to be different? Come up with something that your competitors don't have. Only by being different, only by offering something that no one else offers, you can be different. As a result, your product will be chosen (if the benefit is well described) and remembered.

3. The benefits must be meaningful, that is, attractive enough so that the client can make a choice in favor of your products without further hesitation. Benefit should be reasoned, and not fictional or sucked out of thin air. That is why you should perfectly study your target audience, know your customers, their pains and on the basis of this.

When you know what problems your customers are concerned about, you can offer them a solution in the form of this unique benefit.

Examples of USP compilation

You can often find USPs that absolutely do not play into the hands of business: they are too general and do not attract attention.

How do you create a proposal that will become the heart and engine of your business success?

1. Tell something about which your competitors are silent.

If there are hundreds of businesses like yours, it is very difficult to find something truly unique. But maybe there is something that your customers are simply silent about?

This was the case in my practice. The company is engaged in the production of granite monuments. Customers are offered a "default" service - the development of a 3D model of the future product, and free of charge. Other firms provide this service, but they are modestly silent about it. We did not become silent. The benefit of seeing a full-fledged three-dimensional image of the future monument works well for many of the company's clients.

And chewing gum, Orbit, which is sugar free? Read the composition of other similar rubber bands - it is identical. And without sugar too. But Orbit presents it as a USP.

2. Indicate novelty or innovativeness

If you have invented a new way to solve a customer problem, or have updated your product, or added some new ingredient to it, don't be silent. It is necessary to do your USP, and quickly, until someone did it before you.

Think of an ad for any new shampoo or cream. First they came up with a new formula, then they added keratin, then some l-lipids that no one has heard of, but if you believe the advertisements, shampoo makes hair stronger. And the cream just smoothes wrinkles for one or two. All thanks to an INNOVATIVE formula. Take on arms.

3. John Carlton's formula

This formula is very easy to draw up a USP, especially if you provide services. The formula is built by the type:

Product ___ helps ___ tsa ___ solve the problem ___ indicate the benefit.

For example:

The new cream will help women overcome the first wrinkles and look younger.

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