I am assuming you are a savvy business owner (you’re reading this, right?).
If that is the case, you probably have an idea of what your business’ unique selling points (USPs) are. These are the key things that make your business special and unique. If so, you are ahead of many other small businesses that are simply focused on doing everything ‘better’ than their competitors.
One of the keys to making your business attractive, appealing and compelling to customers and prospects is to have clearly-defined USPs. That means you need to take your list of unique selling points/propositions and then narrow them down to 3-5 USPs that are marketable.
Get your pen and paper (or iPad or PC!) ready and answer these questions to better define your USP:
1. What things on your list are unique versus your direct competitors.
2. Which of these benefits is most important to your clients?
3. Which of these would be difficult for others in your industry to copy?
4. Which of these can be easily communicated?
Feel free to share your USPs in the comments section below to receive feedback and an independent perspective on what makes your business so special.
1.
a. I focus on new managers, first time managers, frontline managers and middle managers. I do not promote myself as being a solution for everyone in an organisation. I purposefully not target Exec’s, Snr Managers C-suite (although they may be the decision-makers to buying my services and products).
b. I offer a choice of online and face-to-face (1-1, group) formats for solutions.
c. I am certified in the solutions I provide, particularly in an industry where many are not.
d. I have cross-cultural experience, in the very real sense, as I’ve lived in Europe and the Middle East, I’ve lived in rural and remote Australia and in the ‘bog smoke’.
e. While I am a solo practitioner I have strong collaborative connections ranging across skill areas in order to meet the capacity requirements that some solutions may call for.
f. My experience extends beyond the cube farm of some corporates – I’ve been in the ship yard, at the power plant, etc.
2. I’d like to say all of them.
3. c (to an extent), d, e (to some extent), f
4. Again, I believe all of them.
Great post to get me thinking (and boosting ego) about what I do offer… might sound a bit ‘puffy-chested’ yet this exercise has shown me that I have some excellent unique qualities on offer.