Unique Selling Point: Does Your Business Possess it?

Let's face the facts, developing a business is a tough task to manage. Between operating, managing and promoting your business; at times it seems like there is absolutely no time to think in a calm manner.
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Let's face the facts, developing a business is a tough task to manage. Between operating, managing and promoting your business; at times it seems like there is absolutely no time to think in a calm manner. While the hustle and bustle mentality is pretty mandatory to remain in operations as a small business owner; the frantic pace can deceive your eyesight and make you delusional to your business's actual health.

What I mean simply is that things in your reality are not as they appear in actual reality. For example, your business may proclaim to "educate while doing business" or "exceed the customer's expectations". In reality though, your business does not deliver the experience it proclaims to be an expert within. You desperately try to communicate to the consumer your unique selling point but your business fails to achieve what you promise to be deliver.

As entrepreneurs and business owners we all try to differentiate ourselves from the competition as much as possible. When similarities can be found in multiple areas of competing businesses, marketing and sales tactics become increasingly important. Many businesses like to develop a unique selling point as an incentive for consumers to interact with and purchase from their organization. The common problem that is found though, is that many businesses do not uphold what is stated as their differentiation from the competition. This inevitably puts a bad taste in the consumer's mouths and encourages them to mobilize away from your business due to unrealized expectations. This can lead to serious damage being inflicted towards your business's reputation as your organization would be perceived as unreliable and inconsistent.

When pinning your unique selling point make it enticing but also something which you can achieve. Your unique selling point is your potential advantage over the competition but it can also prove to backfire if not done correctly.

Let's identify 3 steps on how to create a proper unique selling point.

I. What Problems Exist?
What problems and issues seem to be frustrating the consumers that have them venting constantly? Identify those problems and analyze how the problems were created. You must understand what the consumers are expecting from the current business providers and where the shortfall within the experience occurs. By doing the proper research and analysis of the consumer's needs and wants; you enable yourself to effectively position your business for greater results with its developed unique selling point.

II. What Can You Offer?
Now that you have identified the problems consumers are having with the competing businesses, you must create the solutions to their problems. This is the time were you analyze your own business and customize it to satisfy an underserved market segmentation. During this process make sure what you propose to be offered can be administered effectively. Do not pull people in with a ploy by claiming you can provide something you cannot. Build your unique selling point around the concept of satisfying the consumers and giving them an excellent experience. Do not try to go overboard and offer the world, instead aim to make their existing problems nonexistent.

III. How is Your UPS Beneficial?
This is the time to show and prove. By stating you have the answer to the consumer's problems, you are self targeting your business for potential praise or potential scrutiny. Whatever you proclaim to be offering to the consumer try to make the benefits exceed the cost. When people can place value and benefits over cost then you have achieved your goal with your unique selling point. Concentrate on satisfying the consumers with real value and not pissing them off with over exaggerated marketing ploys.

With entrepreneurship and business ownership you have to identify how to separate yourself from the competition. Creating an unique selling point helps as long as it can be upheld and verified as true. In business, remember to keep your customer first by focusing on satisfying their needs and wants in order to gain and keep their loyalty.

This post originally appeared on Entrepreneurial Ambitions.

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