Why do people do business with you? It’s your unique value proposition also referred to as a unique selling proposition. It’s the core of your marketing message as a business owner. It’s why someone is drawn to your brand. It’s what determines whether people will bother reading your website to learn more about your products and services or hit the back button to move on. Your unique value proposition is your company’s brand promise. It’s also essential to keep your value message consistent across every aspect of your social footprint. The best value propositions are those that are brief, share quantifiable results for a specific target customer and differentiation over the competition.
When developing your distinct value proposition consider these questions:
What is your target customer’s pain-point?
What are you best at?
What is your signature solution? How to position yourself against the competitors?
1. What are your target customer’s pain points
All marketing starts with identifying your best target customer. In order to close a sale, you need to develop a detailed customer profile. To do that you must know your customer’s needs and how you can solve their problems. Focus on learning what keeps them up at night. You must be able to sell your product or service to a specific target, otherwise no one will use your product or service.
2.What are you best at?
What Is your signature service in your small business? What do you do better than your top competitors? Being able to identify what your company does, and how you're different from the competition gives you the foundation to develop your unique value proposition. it’s not a simple a tagline in the header of your website. What you claim is your brand promise. Also everyone in your company should know what it is and pull their customer service attitude from it.
3. What is your signature solution set?
It’s not about what you sell, it’s about delivery. how long, how quickly or how cheaply can you solve the problem for your target customer. As you think about what you sell, never to lead with facts and figures about your product or service. No one cares about that. But if you are marketing with benefits and stories, that could will business, many folks love a good story. But if you want your products to sell themselves talk about benefits, results, and stories. That’s when your value proposition is so compelling that your target audience will not ask about price instead they will focus on availability. Design a selling proposition around your customers' needs and focus on your key benefits on whether your USP is cheaper, better or faster.
4. How to position yourself against the competition?
In order you really have a strong value proposition, you must know your top competitors and what their USP is so that you can position your business against it. No one is looking for a copycat brand, so do something different. Differentiation is one or more factors that make your business unique in your industry. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, it's simple to understand, but difficult to execute. In short, it's the answer to why do people do business with you. You must know your unique factors to stand out in the marketplace. You need to be able to describe your target customer, the problem you solve, and why you’re distinctly better than the competition. Once you're known for a particular value, consumers will grow to know you by it. You essentially become synonymous with the differentiating factor, which means that your competition will quickly fall behind.
The most important factor in your value proposition is You! Do not lose site of the fact that you are your business’s secret sauce. Don’t chase the competition, think outside the box so that you can lead in the marketplace. Stick to your core principles, train your employees to keep your brand promise and your business will grow.
Take the time to work on your value proposition as you start your business. You must build it, nurture it, and make it the mantra of your company to reap the benefits. For more insights into small business marketing, sign up for my weekly newsletter. and use my experience to grow your business.
This article was originally published as What is Your Unique Selling Proposition in Your Small Business? on www.succeedasyourownboss.com