Does Your USP--Unique Selling Point--Have Meaning In Your Market?

by Bonnie Boots

When big companies like Sara Lee or Starbucks or Levis call in an advertising agency, the first thing they all do is sit down together and map out what the company's USP is.

A USP is a "unique selling point," the distinctive and matchless quality that sets a company or product apart from its competition. A USP is one of the cornerstones of marketing, something that lies at the foundation of any successful advertising campaign.

And make no mistake about it, if you're engaged in any form of internet marketing, you are running an ad campaign. Virtually everything you do, from chatting in forums to sending out emails to putting up Squidoo lenses, is a part of your own advertising campaign.

That means you need a USP.

And above all, you need a USP that speaks to your target market in a meaningful way. It must say something that your target will embrace as something they desire.

A good USP says to your target, "I understand your needs and I alone can fulfill them."

A bad USP says, "Understand you? I barely understand myself."

The perfect example of a bad USP, in fact the worst USP ever, has been staring me in the face for the last month.

A shoe store recently opened next to my favorite grocery store, and each time I go out to get a few things I'm faced with the sign you see below.

 

This sign sends me into hysterics. Every time I see it I laugh so hard my head hurts. It's so completely off-target, so totally thoughtless and stupid that I can't help but love it!

"Thousands of shoes you can bring home soon!"

The owners of this new shoes store have one small sign--and about 2 seconds--to say something meaningful to the thousands of drivers that pass by each day. They have one tiny window of opportunity to grab attention and drill a message home that says, "STOP! Come in! We have exactly what you want!"

And this is what they waste it on. "Thousands of shoes you can bring home soon!"

They start off well with" Women's shoes from $3.99." That's a brief, easy-to-understand message aimed at bargain-conscious shoppers--a pretty good target in this bad economy.

But they save the big space, the large letters, for the most important part of their message, their USP, the thing that sets them apart from every other store selling cheap shoes.

This place has shoes you can bring home soon!

Gadzooks. While I've been slaving away at my keyboard, have I missed something important? Are shoes now sold like guns--with a waiting period before you can bring them home?

I had no idea.

And I suspect no one else driving by this shoe store has any idea, either. This USP has no meaning to them, and so it will fail to motivate them to stop, park, come in and buy.

Every business needs to identify a USP, a unique selling point that sets it apart from its competition. When you set to work sorting out your own ISP, make sure you keep your target market in mind. Look for the unique aspects of your business, your product or yourself that THEY will find meaningful.

Remember, a well-crafted USP can capture people's attention and turn them into buyers.

A bad USP may still capture their attention, but it will only turn them into laughers.
 

 
About the Author

To republish this article in your newsletter, you must agree to reprint the article in its entirety and include the author's information box. If you have questions or comments, contact the author here.