What is a unique selling point?

Put simply, your USP, the unique selling proposition, distinguishes your company, product or service from everyone else in your market. The unique selling point helps to attract and retain customers. Many companies find it difficult to formulate this unique position or point to customers in a comprehensible way. Therefore, it makes sense to approach this from the perspective of your customer.

The unique selling point from the customer’s point of view

Too often, entrepreneurs fall in love with their product or service, forgetting that they need to satisfy their needs, not their own. The point is that you understand as early as possible, which affects the buying decision and the behavior of your customers, almost like a psychologist. In this context, find out why customers are buying your product rather than a competitor’s. You can do this very early through customer development interviews and already sold products, you talk to the existing customers in a very targeted manner with the aim of getting better through feedback.

Demonstrate how your company solves the problems of ideal customers

Customers do not want to buy products – they want to solve their problems. To create a strong unique selling proposition, examine the profile of your perfect customer and gather the needs he or she most wants to satisfy. If your future customers choose products or services from you, how is their life improved? What makes your company, product or service so different that potential customers should choose your products or services?
The answers to these questions should form the foundation of your USP. If you want to delve deeper into the thoughts of your customers, then you will find in our article “what customers want” (still in German, soon in English available) valuable impulses.

Now that you know who your ideal customer or customer is, what your needs are, it’s time to formulate the value proposition so that it becomes irresistible to your customers. An example of this has been used for years in different industries and you probably already know it. The warranty. Companies give a “money back guarantee”, “cleanliness guarantee”, “profit guarantee” and so on, in order to break the last resistance with the customer.

5 steps to an awesome unique selling proposition

In the following, we have briefly and succinctly put together the five essential steps for formulating an outstanding USP.

• Step 1: Describe your target group
• Step 2: Explain the problem you solve for your ideal customer
• Step 3: List the most important distinguishing criteria (in your scale)
• Step 4: Define your promise (eg your guarantee)
• Step 5: Combine the previous content, smooth it and reduce it

Example of a very good and customer-focused unique selling proposition

There are plenty of examples, slogans, claims and so on. A customer-centric, unique selling proposition that is understandable and inspiring to other companies, is Domino’s Pizza:

You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.