When clearly defined, a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) can help you not only increase sales but also improve profitability. However, uncovering your USP can be both a rewarding and humbling process. It requires a deep and raw look at your organization and how others view it.  

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Defining your USP comes down to 3 simple questions:

1. What do I offer?

While this seems like a simple question, often it is the hardest question to answer.  Why? First, uncovering your USP requires honesty and self-awareness. Second, your USP can shift and expand over time with organizational changes. And third, it can be because it's too close to home. Sometimes it takes 3rd parties to provide the insight you need.

What you are looking for are benefit statements. Things like "We've been in business for over 50 years." or "Our products are made out of 314 stainless steel." are not benefits. It's a symptom and proof of benefits, but not a benefit itself. Being in business for a long time can mean financial stability, industry expertise, and/or exceptional customer service. 314 stainless steel might mean product capability or might be a statement of quality and longevity. Without defining the benefit statement, the message is left up to interpretation.

Involve customers and 3rd parties to get honest feedback.  Ask customers, new employees, vendors, and other industry players what they see as the main benefits of your company, divisions/brands, and solutions. To get a benefit statement, it's often easier to ask questions like, "What was your experience going through the process of ____?" than simply asking, "What's the best part about doing business with us?" Sometimes this involves extrapolating benefits and asking customers for confirmation.

2. What does the market value?

After uncovering what you bring to the table, it's important to align what you offer with what the market values. 

Making the statement "We've been in business for over 50 years." may not be a good statement to make if the industry values innovation. Instead a statement such as "For over 50 years we've been at the forefront of ___ development." is much more effective. Knowing which statement to make depends on a solid understanding of the market and its trajectory.

Using what you've learned about your company and its benefits, examine your offerings in terms of what the market desires. Here are some questions to help you flush out what the market values.

• Does what my company thinks the market should value align with what they actually value?
  In companies that are either at the forefront of innovation or lagging behind, there can be a disconnect between what they think the company thinks the market should value and what the market actually values. In either case, a lot of sales effort is spent arguing one way or the other. The market isn't a single unit, there are many groups with various concerns, but in general, as long as your company is trending in the same direction as the industry, this gap will eventually close.
  
  Sometimes the market will never see value in something, or at least not if it isn't accompanied by something else. Before putting a lot of sales, marketing, and R&D effort into something, make sure there is a demand for it.
  
  
• Is what the market values starting to shift at all? In what way?
  There are many factors that affect what a market values: Younger generations taking on decision-making roles. Urbanization. Technology advancements. Economic fluctuations Governmental regulations.
  
  On a surface level it's easy to see how these trends might affect what the market values; however, they can have more subtle, but equally powerful implications. One Stratimar client commented during a USP conversation, "Customers used to care about equipment first, and automation was an afterthought. Now it's automation first, and equipment is the afterthought." In other words, the market used to value quality first. Today they're more concerned with efficiency and accuracy. 
  
  
• Do different groups value separate things? What distinguishes those groups?
  No market is truly homogeneous. Different crosssections will have varying values. Even if the entire market doesn't (yet) value something, it is still possible to find a subsection that does. It's just important to make sure that the group is growing or at least maintaining size. The smaller the group, the more important a clear and direct USP becomes. 

3. What is unique to me?

After analyzing what you offer and which of those things the market values, now it's important to identify what is unique to your company or what you do better than your competitors. This order is key. Don't make the mistake of honing in on what makes you most unique before examining the market.  There might be something that makes you only somewhat unique, but on which the market places a much higher value. 

It is important to do this at the company, brand/division, product/service, and feature levels because it may be that you may not offer a USP at a product or service level, but you do at a company level or vice versa. For example, two companies can offer comparable products. One could be known for expertise, the other for innovation. How well this is communicated and how much of the market this aligns with will determine market share.

How can Stratimar Help?

Need help examining your USP? Do you want to make sure you aren't losing customers or undercutting yourself because your value is understated? Contact Stratimar today. We have 10+ years experience helping customers increase profitability through proven, effective marketing strategies.