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To attract customers you must show them you have a competitive advantage.
No matter what the competitive advantage is, the customer must believe you to be different in some way compared to your competitors and/or have the solution they seek.
Otherwise, why would they do business with you? It is your job to communicate the difference to your customers and potential customers. It is important for them to know the difference.
Note: In some cases you may need to hire a market assessment expert to gather this information. However, for most solopreneurs, surveying the market, examining your competition and reading the latest trends can give you what you need.
Identify your expertise and USP
The best way to influence people’s buying choices is offer something people can get only if they work with you or buy your products and services or those you recommend.
What is your expertise; what sets you apart from others and why would prospects choose you over your competition? This is defining your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Here are some questions to ask: • What makes you unique? • What do you do that others don’t? • What experience and results do you have that others don’t? • Do you have specialized training or certification that sets you apart from your competition? • As you identify what sets you apart, be thinking in terms of a short USP statement. • Your USP is a strong, concise, simple statement about your business or brand that tells prospective customers why you are the best choice for them. • Your USP very clearly answers the question, "Why should people do business with me and/or my company?"
Why Do You Need A USP?
Having a clear USP makes it easier to focus on both your products and services and the needs of your clients. If you have business partners, employees, subcontractors or virtual assistants, a clearly defined USP makes it easier to get your team on board with your vision when you have a clear USP. They will understand your vision and be able to focus their energy on reaching company goals.
Whenever a customer needs the type of product or service you sell, your USP should bring your company immediately to mind.
Finding Your USP
The whole idea of a Unique Selling Proposition is to focus on what specific product or service your company provides. Find a niche or specialty that you can - or do - fill.
It’s difficult to operate a business without a clearly defined USP. Many companies flounder as a result of not having a clear message to convey. Their product or service stays in a state of ambiguity.
Begin by writing down every reason you can think of as to why people would want to do business with you. Include others within your company in this exercise.
You can have a high-energy brainstorming session that will give you input from a cross-section of people in your organization. You never know where some of the best ideas will come from within your group.
If you are a solopreneur but belong to a mastermind group, you can brainstorm with those in your group. Mastermind groups are great for more than ideas. Often you can find business partners, vendors, customers, joint venture and affiliate partners.
When developing your USP, keep your customers in mind. Are they upscale, where money is not an issue? Or are they bargain hunters, where the best value for their money is most important to them?
If you have a market where money is not an issue and you are constantly offering sales and discounts, this could actually be counterproductive. If, on the other hand, you have a very price-conscious market, ignoring pricing issues will again be counterproductive.
Whatever answers you come up with regarding what makes you unique, follow up with another question. For example, if you say great service is what makes you unique, the question you need to ask is, “What makes our service so great compared to our competitor's?”
The more specific you can be, the better. For example, I work with speakers, authors, coaches and consultants teaching them how to build successful online businesses. A few things that differentiate me from my competitors would be longevity of my business (more than 18 years), award-winning professional speaker, Amazon.com bestselling author, a highly successful track record with the very things I teach my clients. These are only a handful of distinctions, but you get the idea.
Some ways to differentiate your product or service from others are: • Price • Convenience • 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee • Awesome Customer Service • One-of-a-kind • Longevity • Expertise • Track record
Whatever USP you adopt, make sure you have the resources to fulfill it. Nothing will hurt a company’s credibility more than not being able to back up an offer or promise or statement of fact.