What is a USP and How to Craft One That Will Make Your Business Stand Out

Your USP is your secret weapon for attracting customers, exciting investors, and shaping your company culture. But what is it? Our team at Your Company Formations have created this guide to explain USPs in plain English and show you how to craft your own.

What Does USP Stand For?

What does USP stand for? It is short for Unique Selling Point, but some call it Unique Selling Proposition. Either way, it's vital to your business's marketing strategy.

Why is it essential for a business to have a USP?

You have got a fantastic business idea. You have researched and know you can carve out a competitive niche in your chosen marketplace. You are ready to form your limited company and launch your business. However, are you sure you have covered everything? Do you have a USP for the products or services you want to sell?

A business needs to have a USP because it helps to differentiate the business from its competitors and communicate its unique value point to potential customers. In today's competitive marketplace, it is more important than ever for businesses to clearly articulate what makes them different and why customers should choose them over their competitors.

A strong USP can help businesses to:

• Attract new customers: A clear, concise, and benefit-oriented USP can help attract new customers by communicating the business's unique value proposition in a way that is easy to understand and remember.
• Increase sales: Once businesses have attracted new customers, a strong USP can help to increase sales by convincing customers that the business's product or service is the best option for their needs.
• Build a strong brand: A unique and memorable USP can help businesses build a strong brand by positioning them as the go-to business in their industry.
• Charge premium prices: A business with a strong USP can often charge premium prices for its products or services. This is because customers are willing to pay more for a product or service that they believe is unique and valuable.

Overall, a USP is an essential element of any successful business strategy. It can help businesses to achieve their goals and grow their business.

Your USP is your way to stand out from the competition. You may not be the only business selling your product or service, but you can be the only one offering it in a unique and valuable way.

For example, you may provide garden maintenance services but offer a unique 'quiet' option that your competitors don't deliver, where your gardening team avoid using noisy garden machinery such as petrol mowers, strimmers and hedge clippers. This is an ideal service for customers with sensitive hearing, reactive pets, or autistic family members who don't cope well with noise.

Examples of Successful USPs

Here are a few inspiring USPs to help you craft your own:

• Apple: "Think different."
• Nike: "Just do it."
• Coca-Cola: "The taste of happiness."
• M&M's: "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands."
• Domino's Pizza: "Pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, or it's free!"
• Tesla: "Electric cars for the masses."
• HelloFresh: "Meal delivery service that makes cooking easy."
• Stripe: "Online payment processing for businesses."
• Shopify: "E-commerce platform that makes it easy to start and run an online store."

These USPs are all effective because they communicate the unique value point of the business in a way that is easy to understand. They focus on the benefits the business offers its customers, which are easy to remember and stick in the customer's mind.

Many successful companies focus their USP on the positive lifestyle aspect of the product, and using it makes life easier for users. Others will create a USP around scarcity or the uniqueness of the product. Coca-Cola's USP is as simple as it is effective: a delicious, one-of-a-kind product. Thanks to their secret recipe, Coca-Cola has created a scarcity that keeps customers returning for more.

Your USP doesn't have to be complicated. It could be as simple as offering a streamlined service, a cheaper option than your expensive competitors, or a unique product or feature that no one else has.

For example, if you are opening a restaurant, your USP could be that you offer locally sourced ingredients or that you are the only restaurant in town that serves a specific dish. If you are a product manufacturer, your USP could be that your product is easy to use or offers a unique feature that similar products don't have.

The key is considering what makes your business unique and valuable to your customers. What problem do you solve for them? What need do you meet? What makes your product or service better than the competition? Once you know what makes you unique, you can start to craft a USP that communicates that value to potential customers.

Tips for creating your USP

You need to start by understanding your business and your customers to craft an engaging USP.

• Who are your ideal customers?
• What are their biggest needs and pain points?
• What makes your business unique and better equipped to solve their problems than your competitors?
• Why should they choose you over your competitors?

Once you understand your business and your customers well, you can start to brainstorm USP ideas.

• What specific benefits does your business offer that your competitors don't?
• What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your business or product?
• What makes your business so special that people will pay a premium for your products or services?

Be bold, think outside the box, and come up with a USP that is truly unique and memorable.

How to Use Your USP to Create an Attention-Grabbing Elevator Pitch

You now have a lot of information about your business, but too much information can be overwhelming and off-putting to customers.

That is why you must refine your USP into a sharp, easy-to-digest message. Think of it as an elevator pitch: you have 20 seconds to convince someone to use your business.

Your elevator pitch or message should have a beginning, middle, and end, all tied up in a neat little package. Don't worry about explaining how or why you started your business or who it's made for. Just focus on the key details that will attract and interest customers.

Refine and perfect your USP

To create a compelling USP, it is essential to refine and perfect it until it is clear, concise, unique, benefit-oriented, and memorable. Once you have considered all of the elements of your USP, you can start to put it together in a creative way that is unique to your business.

Here are some tips:

• Use your own writing and language: Don't try to force your USP into a template or use generic language. Instead, use your own words and style to communicate your unique value proposition in a way that is authentic to your brand.
• Be specific: Don't just say you are the "best" or the "cheapest." Instead, be clear about what makes your business unique and valuable to your customers. For example, instead of saying, "We offer the best coffee in town," you could say, "We offer freshly roasted coffee beans from all over the world, brewed to perfection by our expert baristas."
• Use strong verbs and active voice: Instead of saying, "We offer a variety of services," you could say, "We provide comprehensive marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes." This makes your USP more dynamic and engaging.
• Focus on the benefits to the customer: Your USP should focus on the benefits your business offers. For example, instead of saying, "We offer a wide range of products," you could say ", We offer products that help you to save time and money."
• Make it memorable: Your USP should be easy to remember and repeat. For example, Nike's "just do it" USP is simple, memorable, and effective.

Once you have taken the time to refine and perfect your USP, you will have a powerful tool that you can use to attract new customers, increase sales, and build a strong brand. So, take your time with this process. Take the time to get it right, and you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Remember to review your USP regularly to keep your marketing fresh and relevant. The marketplace constantly changes, so you may need to adapt your USP to stay ahead. This could be due to changes in your competitors' approach, customer needs, or the market itself.

If you are thinking about setting up a limited company but are unsure how you go about it, our guide, How To Set Up a Limited Company in the UK, will be an excellent start.

If this will be your first business, our post about Navigating the Duties of a Company Director will help you understand your new role and responsibilities.