Matt Kelly on Digital Strategy

A USP (Unique Selling/Service Proposition) is the energy that develops the foundations of a businesses focus and ultimately the success it achieves. The ultimate goal of any USP is to have potential consumers relate to the product and create brand recognition.

In order to create your USP it’s important to break down what this actually means…

1. Unique - It clearly sets you apart from all other players in the market, positioning your business as the BETTER option.
2. Selling - It persuades others to actively seek out your services in order to give you business.
3. Proposition – The proposal or offer you promise to consumers.

Your USP can’t simply be centred around being reactive to competition, many organisations (or disorganisations) know what they sell, but don’t know how to add additional value to the client. If as an organisation you can’t develop your value adding experience, you will eventually be left behind. Being simply reactive often results in too little change, too late in the game.

It is also important to develop your USP based on industry developments, this should be revisited quarterly at the very least to ensure that regulatory or competitive influences are not ignored. Staying ahead of the game will always give you a competitive edge, it’s that simple.

Developing your USP ultimately comes down to knowing what you sell, and how you do it better than your competitors. This key focus will give you the foundations you need to specifically target marketing initiatives.