How to create a unique selling proposition. How do I create a Unique Selling Proposition? Unique Selling Proposition Types: True and False

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: selling 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 to 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. Used by USP marketers when developing 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 the concept as an alternative to the accolades 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 the 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, paraphrasing 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 is in the product itself. 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 the 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 success advertising company. Special offer must clearly indicate the benefits for customers, on which the message will be built, which will be broadcast in the future in advertising, on, social networks and other advertising materials.

How to create a unique selling proposition

Many business owners think that writing a USP is as easy as shelling pears. 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 has a cheaper price. 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 still somehow beat these two trump cards within the framework of some kind of promotion. For example, the most low 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 a USP not in the light of your advantages, but specifically the benefits for the client. He is not as interested in the Italian wallpaper in itself as the sight of his room covered with this wallpaper. So sell him a beautiful repair, easy care of 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 cooperate 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 benefits are well described) and remembered.

3. Benefit must be meaningful, that is, attractive enough so that the client can make a choice in favor of your products without further hesitation. Benefits should be reasoned, and not fictional or sucked out of thin air. That is why you must study your target audience, know your clients, their pain and based on 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 that your competitors are silent about.

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. For customers, a "default" service is offered - 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 remain silent. The benefit - to see a full three-dimensional image of the future monument - works well for many of the company's clients.

A 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, do not 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. Either 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 your hair stronger. And the cream just smoothes wrinkles for one or two times. All thanks to an INNOVATIVE formula. Take on arms.

3. John Carlton's formula

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

The product ___ helps ___ tsa ___ to solve the problem ___ indicate the benefit.

For example:

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

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

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

Therefore, our task at the first stage is to analyze our products or services and determine the 10 most important characteristics of each of them for customers. The best way to do this - select the top 10 customers that bring your company the greatest profit, and ask which product characteristics are most important to them and which criteria / factors influence the buying decision.

If you are introducing a new product to the market and there are no customers yet, you can brainstorm and determine the most important characteristics... 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 responses received from respondents should be recorded in a separate file.

2. Filtering and ranking data

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

This is easy to do. Among the answers we received, we select the options that are repeated more often than others. The characteristic with the most repetitions will be at the top of the list, the rest will be placed under it according to the same principle.

Starting a business in any area, it is important to find and formulate the benefits that the client will receive by contacting you (this will be the USP - a unique selling proposition). If not, you are no different from other companies. In this case, you will have to compete on price - dumping, losing profits.

Surprisingly, this simple and free promotion tool is not used by most business people. There is a chance to bypass them already at the start! To inspire you, we have selected 13 examples of USP Russian and foreign companies who were able to stand out from the crowd and succeed.

And how are they? Top 5 Western USPs

Avis car rental service

“We are # 2. We're working harder "

("We’re number two. We try harder").

A great example of how you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage. For many years, Avis worked in the shadow of a more successful competitor - Hertz, which positioned itself as the number 1 on the market.

FedEx delivery service

"When it should absolutely be delivered tomorrow morning."

("When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight").

This slogan is no longer used by the company, but it is still cited as an example of the correct USP. FedEx assures customers that their shipment will arrive safe and on time.

This phrase combines two advantages: the promise of cargo safety and high speed delivery (overnight). Unfortunately, the company's management subsequently abandoned this slogan, replacing it with a less “strong” one that did not contain competitive advantages.

M & Ms

"Melts in the mouth, not in the hands"

("The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand").

Original: Flickr

An example of how a fancy USP can attract customers. Thinking about how important it is not to get dirty when you eat chocolate, M & Ms has created candy in a special dense shell.

Conclusion - if this or that characteristic is important for your customers, feel free to use it as competitive advantage... No matter how silly or insignificant it may seem.

DeBeers Corporation

"Diamonds Are Forever"

("A diamond is forever").

This slogan has been used since 1948 to the present day, and was recognized by Advertising Age magazine as the best slogan of the twentieth century. The idea is that diamonds, over which time has no power, are the perfect symbol of eternal love (not without reason they are the ones that adorn many wedding rings).

Domino's Pizza chain

"You will get fresh hot pizza in 30 minutes or for free"

("You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it's free").

This is a rather long slogan, but it can serve as an example of a good USP, because contains a guarantee. The conditions are described very clearly, customers understand what to expect from the company.

Unfortunately, Domino's stopped using this slogan, because drivers who tried to meet the allotted delivery time violated the rules road traffic and provoked accidents with a tragic outcome.

How are things going with USP in Russia?

We are in Directors Club For example, we don't just sell ads. We guarantee getting potential customers through the use of native advertising. This USP contains two killer arguments at once: a guarantee of the result and an explanation of how it will be achieved.

Taxi service

A Moscow-based company increased sales by 380% by hiring female drivers. Many ladies would prefer to get into a car driven by a woman; they would rather decide to send a child to class with her. In addition, women are less likely to smoke and violate traffic rules, which turned out to be of fundamental importance for many clients.

Carrier

Stating "We always have sober movers"(and in line with this slogan), the company has dramatically increased its customer flow. Those who used to be afraid to entrust fragile or valuable things to the drunk "Uncle Vasya" happily dialed the number of responsible workers. It was in the early 90s, since then this "trick" has been adopted by many companies, but the pioneers managed to profit from their idea.

Bar

One of the drinking establishments in St. Petersburg has increased the number of visitors from minimal cost... A screen was hung in the hall, on which they began to broadcast sports matches, and for each goal scored by the Russian national team or Zenit, a glass of vodka was poured for free to all those present.

As a result, those who used to root for their favorite team at home started going to the bar and bringing their friends with them. The cost of buying vodka and a screen has paid off many times over.

Laundry

The management of the laundry found a seamstress who needed custom tailoring orders. Returning clean clothes to the client, the administrator pointed out the shortcomings (a zipper opens, a button comes off, etc.) and offered to fix them free of charge.

The majority, of course, agreed. After repair, things were returned in a package containing a seamstress's business card and a catalog of clothes that can be ordered from her. The cooperation turned out to be beneficial for both parties: clients passed information about bonus laundry services to each other, and the seamstress provided herself with orders.

Construction company

One of the brigades that started at competitive market without a budget, came up with an excellent USP. An ad was placed on advertising sites: "Remove old wallpapers for free!"... 80% of customers who ordered this service subsequently invited builders to repair their apartment. These people have already demonstrated their accuracy, accuracy and reliability - why waste time looking for someone else?

Examples of USP from the B2B sphere

Printing house

A company from Nizhny Novgorod opened in its office business card museum famous people ... Businessmen played on the public interest in the lives of the rich and famous. As soon as the information about the exposition was disseminated, the order flow increased 5 times!

The media became interested in the museum, they began to publish reports about it, and the need for paid advertising disappeared.

Recruiting company

The management thought about how to stand out from the background of numerous competitors. And suggested unique service - rent of employees. Need a courier for a few months? No problem! A designer for a couple of weeks? Let's pick it up!

As a result, appeals from businessmen who do not want to waste time looking for freelancers or registration / subsequent dismissal of a specialist who are needed for a short time have started pouring in.

And one more recruiting company

Let's talk about the hidden needs of the client. The recruiting businessman wondered that some male executives need a secretary for more than weeding out unnecessary phone calls and serving coffee on time. He made a bet on finding girls of "easy virtue" for whom an intimate relationship with a boss was not something out of the ordinary.

In front of you are two of the casket of the same face and each of them vying with each other offers to buy an identical product. Which of them will you give the money to? You pose a similar dilemma to potential clients if your firm and its competitors look like identical twins: identical assortment, equal prices and unremarkable service. Unique selling proposition - marketing strategy, able to distinguish you from the crowd, like a ray of light in a dark kingdom.

What is USP and how to come up with it?

The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) concept was developed by Rosser Reeves, a hard-sell proponent who believed that the only purpose of advertising was to sell. This is why the USP concept is so good for small and medium businesses:

It does not require global advertising costs that do not require quick response. It is worth recognizing that branding and its expensive paraphernalia are the lot of large corporations that can channel multimillion-dollar budgets into marketing;
USP allows you to separate yourself from competitors without making significant changes to the work of the company;
Its implementation is often not even required - the uniqueness of the offer already exists, but simply is not formed by the advertising message.

A unique selling proposition is the basis of an advertising message to a potential client, telling him about the benefits that he will receive when working with your company. Therefore, its development is relevant, both for and for manufacturing enterprises, B2B and services.

USP: Three Quality Criteria

According to Rosser Reeves' concept, a selling proposition will only become strong when it combines three important components:

Specificity of the proposal;
Benefit for the client;
Uniqueness.

Unlike many other strategies, USP does not flirt with the client, but directly offers to buy a product, try a new product or use a service. "Buy an elephant!" - such a call would seem overly impudent to the buyer if it were not for the benefit that he will receive as a result of the purchase: "Buy an ultra fast elephant carrier." In modern formulas, profit is often replaced by a guarantee: "If the elephant is slow, we will refund your money."

And, if it is possible to formulate a proposal without difficulty, and the benefit for the client is the way, then in order to search for uniqueness, you often have to apply the entire creative mind of your team.

USP development stages

The short formulation of the Unique Selling Proposition is a serious analytical work of experienced marketers:

To create an effective USP, you need to address not just the benefits, but the true needs of your customers, their "pains" and desires. The founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, explains how analytical method helped him solve the problem of declining demand. After making sure that customers were tired of monotonous furniture, he proposed to implement their ideas using modular systems. Thus was born “Have an idea? There is IKEA! "
It is important to make sure that your hypothesis is not already being used by competitors. At the same time, you often have to immerse yourself in technological process, study in detail the technologies of storage and marketing in order to reveal an invisible feature. Thus, the famous Pepsi drink entered the market in an era when CocaCola had already captured almost the entire market. The sale of the drink in metal cans allowed Pepsi to win almost a third of its customers from the powerful corporation.
USP is formulated in the form of a short and capacious advertising message that is remembered by customers. The most striking example of this is "Melts in the mouth, not in the hands", created by Rosser Reeves to advertise popular sweets.

Information collection and analytics

Therefore, in order to compose a really strong USP, you need to consistently go through a number of stages, the first of which is to identify the merits of a company or product that are of fundamental importance to the client. Most effective ways collection of information become:

Understanding your own. Consumer survey. To do this, you need to assemble a focus group consisting of people who look like your ideal customer avatar and ask them to prioritize the choice of goods and services, aspects that are important for your business.
Brainstorm. If your product is innovative and completely unfamiliar to potential client, brainstorming will help in the search for its merits.
Revealing all the advantages of the main competitors. This technique is great when launching a new model or starting a business in an already filled niche.

Once you've listed all the benefits, you should prioritize a few characteristics that matter most to consumers, and then make sure they aren't already being exploited by your competitors.

After that, you just have to dress your USP in the form of an advertising message that will arouse in your customers, if not a desire to contact them, then at least interest, surprise, curiosity.

10 examples of effective USP

Unique Selling Proposition is a kind of core of your marketing, around which the whole strategy is built. Therefore, if it turned out to be boring, gray and everyday, you should go all the way of its development again, and for inspiration to spy on the work of brands with world popularity. Then you will definitely find your "very" feature on which you can play perfectly.

# 1. Property not talked about

One unremarkable Australian pillow firm has set itself the goal of increasing turnover by 30% with USP. The positioning was based on the presence of a stamp with an expiration date on the pillows.

In the morning and evening, local television advertisements ran about the microflora and microscopic insects that live in old feather pillows. At the same time, the manufacturer not only clearly identified the problem, but also demonstrated a practical solution.

The statement "Your pillows don't last forever" earned Tontine a 345% increase in annual turnover.

No. 2. What your customers haven't thought about at all

HoReCa is one of the most competitive niches. Customers will no longer be surprised either by the designer interior of the cafe, or by the impressive menu of delicious dishes. Therefore, a cafe in St. Petersburg offered customers not only a tasty snack, but also to communicate with the most popular animals in social networks - cats.

The entrance to the cafe with cats is paid - from 400 rubles, but the crowd of visitors does not stop appearing at their doors.

No. 3. USP with a bow

One of the most popular scenarios used by modern firms, both commodity and service industries. Surely, you have repeatedly met such proposals as:

Buy for an amount from XX rubles and get it as a gift ...;
Two packs for the price of one;
Order an audit and get a 30% discount on a training seminar.

And, despite the boring and monotony, these offers work: everyone wants to get a nice bonus on their purchase or at least save money.

No. 4. A sore spot in your field

Most niches have certain “problem areas” that your client would hate to face. The real "bearded" legend of the USP of this format is the freight forwarding company, which in the 90s put forward the wording "Our loaders are always sober!", Which brought a significant increase in the flow of orders.

And, a drunken and unkempt loader is not the only thing the client is afraid to face. So, in dentistry, such USPs as "We treat without pain" and "We insert with a guarantee" were successful, and there is no need to talk about how the sales of Domestos, which intimidate everyone with microbes under the rim of the toilet bowl, have progressed.

No. 5. Make you doubt

When Huggies entered the market, Pampers had already gained a significant share of the market. But, unlike the popular brand, the "cowboy" diapers were equipped with stretching belts and elastic bands, which provided not only dryness, but also the comfort of movement for the baby.

Parents wanting the best for their kids questioned the quality of the previously used brand and were delighted to start buying Huggies, giving the company 350% growth in its first year of market launch.

No. 6. Innovation

The easiest way to develop a USP is if your product really has some fundamental innovations, problem solvers of people. A typical example of this is the excitement generated by the exit mobile phones for 2 SIM cards, the appearance of stretch ceilings, which eliminate the need for a lengthy alignment process, rough and fine finishing.

No. 7. Let the customer have more

Amsterdam has become the most popular tourist city in the world, not because of tulips and cheese. Permissiveness, sex, drugs and rock and roll bring thousands of tourists here every year.

In an unremarkable cafe or pub format, even allowing smoking at the table can attract customers. An alternative to such a bold decision is allowing customers, for example, to take off their shoes and sit on a cozy sofa.

No. 8. Show care

In the European food and household goods chain Tesco, buyers are offered electric scooters that can reach up to 4 km / h for moving around the store. This is an extremely comfortable solution for young mothers with children, the elderly and the disabled. Therefore, the volume of sales in the network with the innovation increased by 47%.

# 9 Show enthusiasm

One construction company from St. Petersburg offered its clients free measurements and the development of three options for interior design in the apartment. At the same time, not a word was said about the obligations of customers in the advertisement. But guess who they turned to to renovate their home?

It might be helpful to read: