value proposition & usp

Value Proposition & USP

USP

• A unique selling proposition (USP) is adescription of the qualities that areunique to a particular product or serviceand that differentiate it in a way whichwill make customers purchase it ratherthan its rivals.

USP

Unique - It clearly sets you apart from yourcompetition, positioning you the more logicalchoice.

Selling - It persuades another to exchangemoney for a product or service.

Proposition - It is a proposal or offersuggested for acceptance.

The Value Proposition

Your Prospect


Tailored

Features

& Benefits


Tailored

Features

& Benefits

Proof


Tailored

Features

& Benefits

Proof

You

(as the

solutions

provider)

• The Unique Selling Proposition (also Unique SellingPoint) is a marketing concept that was first proposedas a theory to explain a pattern among successfuladvertising campaigns of the early 1940s.

• It states that such campaigns made uniquepropositions to the customer and that this convincedthem to switch brands.

• The term was invented by Rosser Reeves.

• Today the term is used in other fields or just casuallyto refer to any aspect of an object thatdifferentiates it from similar objects.

• A unique selling proposition (USP) defines yourcompetitive advantage Your must identify whatmakes you different from your competitors andemphasize these advantages in your marketing.

3 parts of the definition• Each advertisement must make a proposition to

the consumer. Not just words, not justproduct puffery, not just show-window advertising.Each advertisement must say to each reader: "Buythis product, and you will get this specific benefit."

• The proposition must be one that the competitioneither cannot, or does not, offer. It must beunique—either a uniqueness of the brand or aclaim not otherwise made in that particular field ofadvertising.

• The proposition must be so strong that it can movethe mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers toyour product.

• Communicating a Specific Benefit to the Customer• As many products are identical in offering the main

benefit, you must identify the main advantage yourproduct offers over the competition.

• In order to make your advertisingmessage attractive, you must find an importantbenefit unique to your product or service in one ofthree ways.

• Product feature. This USP may be based onproduct features associated with the product,ranging from what it does to the quality of yoursupport services.

• Emotion. The USP may be based of an emotionalappeal, such as love, humor, or fear.

• Association. The USP may be communicated byassociation with a well-known personality.

Identifying Your USP

• Five Question You Should Ask Yourself:

• Will my perspective customers perceive this asan advantage?

• Is it significantly different from what mycompetitors are offering?

• Why my prospective customers actuallybelieve in this USP?

• How will my customers benefit from this USP?

• Will this USP motivate customers sufficientlyto actually make a purchase?

• Before you can begin to sell your product or serviceto anyone else, you have to sell yourself on it.

• This is especially important when your product orservice is similar to those around you.

• Just look around you: How many clothing retailers,hardware stores, air conditioning installers andelectricians are truly unique?

• The key to effective selling in this situation is whatadvertising and marketing professionals call a"unique selling proposition" (USP).

• Unless you can pinpoint what makes your businessunique in a world of homogeneous competitors, youcannot target your sales efforts successfully.

• Pinpointing your USP requires some hard soul-searching and creativity.

• One way to start is to analyze how othercompanies use their USPs to their advantage.

• This requires careful analysis of othercompanies' ads and marketing messages.

• If you analyze what they say they sell, not justtheir product or service characteristics, youcan learn a great deal about how companiesdistinguish themselves from competitors.

• For example, Charles Revson, founder ofRevlon, always used to say he sold hope, notmakeup.

• Some airlines sell friendly service, while otherssell on-time service.

• Each of these is an example of a company thathas found a USP on which to hang itsmarketing strategy.

• A business can base its USP on productcharacteristics, price structure, placementstrategy (location and distribution) orpromotional strategy.

• These are what marketers call the "four P's"of marketing.

Steps to develop the USP for a brand• Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Too often,

entrepreneurs fall in love with their product orservice and forget that it is the customer's needs,not their own, that they must satisfy.

• Step back from your daily operations and carefullyscrutinize what your customers really want.

• Suppose you own a pizza parlor. Sure, customerscome into your pizza place for food.

• But is food all they want?• What could make them come back again and again

and ignore your competition?• The answer might be quality, convenience, reliability,

friendliness, cleanliness, courtesy or customerservice.

Steps to develop the USP for a brand

• Remember, price is never the only reasonpeople buy.

• If your competition is beating you onpricing because they are larger, you haveto find another sales feature thataddresses the customer's needs and thenbuild your sales and promotional effortsaround that feature.

• Know what motivates your customers'behavior and buying decisions.

• Effective marketing requires you to be apsychologist.

• You need to know what drives and motivatescustomers.

• Go beyond the traditional customerdemographics, such as age, gender, race,income and geographic location, that mostbusinesses collect to analyze their salestrends.


• For our pizza shop example, it is not enoughto know that 75 percent of your customersare in the 18-to-25 age range.

• You need to look at their motives for buyingpizza-taste, peer pressure, convenience andso on.

• Cosmetics and liquor companies are greatexamples of industries that know the valueof psychologically oriented promotion.

• People buy these products based on theirdesires (for pretty women, luxury, glamourand so on), not on their needs.


• Uncover the real reasons customers buy yourproduct instead of a competitor's.

• As your business grows, you'll be able to askyour best source of information: yourcustomers.

• For example, the pizza entrepreneur could askthem why they like his pizza over others, plusask them to rate the importance of thefeatures he offers, such as taste, size,ingredients, atmosphere and service.

• You will be surprised how honest people arewhen you ask how you can improve yourservice.


value proposition & usp

Marketing