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When you try to be known for everything, you end up being known for nothing!
That’s the problem most small businesses face. They try to sail many boats in order to build the best brand and become just another company in their niche!
While large companies can be known for offering many services and still making their mark, it’s significantly difficult for small businesses to do that. This is why, it’s better for them to focus on a specific problem that they can solve with their product / service and get known for that thing, rather than trying to do everything.
In a crowded space, a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or a differentiator is the most crucial thing to gain business. It is what helps a customer choose a product or service that’s catering to their needs.
Apart from cost being a deciding factor, a brand’s USP makes a customer incline towards a product or service and choose them over others in the market. If there is no differentiator between the options available out there, then the decision is solely based on cost, which doesn’t say so much about the business. Does it?
Why do you need a USP?
If you don’t have a defined USP, you’ll have a hard time convincing your ideal customers as to why should be buying your product.
Here’s how having a USP can help your business.
Targetting a specific audience
When you’re trying to solve a specific problem of a specific audience, you MUST know what makes your business unique. Make it a point to understand your target audience and why they buy from the market you’re operating in.
Positioning your brand better
Innovating your marketing strategy to represent the value system of your brand helps to connect with like-minded people. And the more these like-minded people a.k.a your ideal customers relate to what your brand represents, the more they’re likely to buy from you.
Defining a clear brand messaging
Having a clear, defined USP also helps you put across the content and messaging that hits the right spot and your audience finds engaging. You gain the control to make a great first impression on your prospective customers by sending out the right word!
Example of Starbucks
Let’s look at an example of a brand that aced their game by having a strong USP up their sleeves!
Did you know, the founders of Starbucks first started selling coffee beans roasted by Peet's, a gourmet coffee company in Berkeley, California, and then began roasting their own? They went from being a small coffee shop to one of the most recognized brands in America!
You know, what their USP has been?
They don’t offer premium coffee AND the lowest prices. Their USP is premium coffee which helps them stand out from the corner gas stations coffee shops that sell coffee for $0.99.
Yes, they serve more products in the line of sandwiches, dessert, but their brand messaging still conveys “Premium Coffee Brand”, which is what it’s best known for!
Case Study from a Client
So, how can Entrepreneurs ensure that their prospective customers choose their products over a big brand?
This is where the entrepreneurial mindset comes into practice!
An entrepreneur is living and breathing their company's mission all the time. This seeps into their networking activities, customer interactions, and even personal exchanges.
When the entrepreneur is a unique individual, you don’t need to look far for a company's USP.
A health coach client of mine has found success with this mindset.
As part of her social media strategy, she focuses on being the face of the brand by showcasing her personal efforts to stay healthy. Her daily posts are a kaleidoscope of how she eats locally grown and in-season food, her early morning exercise regime, and how she balances her time between family and her work. She shares her success and failures often, which makes her relatable.
As a result, her audience is able to relate with her more closely, especially those who have been following her journey all this time. And since her audience knows her well, interacts with her on a regular basis, they naturally trust her enough to buy from her.
This is why she doesn't have to sell her workshops very aggressively; people sign up because they have confidence in her abilities and are willing to learn from her!
Sounds like the dream life of every Entrepreneur! Doesn’t it?
Hope this helped you understand why defining USP is important for an Entrepreneur and what they need to keep in mind.
Stay tuned for more blogs coming your way in this series!
If you liked this post and would like more tips on other tools, then read more articles like this here or you can listen to the podcast.
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