Hands down, the question I get most from readers of Think Traffic is “how do I make my business or website unique?” I’ve talked to at least 10 of you over the past couple of months about that very topic.
In marketing speak, this is known as the unique selling proposition, or USP.
Note: as a follow-up to this original post, you might also want to check out these 10 killer unique selling proposition examples from around the web.
And it’s a fantastic question because deciding on a USP is possibly the most important decision you can make about your business.
If you make your business stand apart from the crowd, everything you do will be easier. Customers will be easier to come by. Adoring fans will gladly spread the word about what you do because they love it.
On the other hand, if you don’t develop an effective USP, building an audience or getting any customers to pay attention to you will be a constant struggle.
Your USP can mean the difference between success and failure.
Update: We’ve specifically created a 13-week course for people trying to successfully launch or re-launch their own blog and refine their own unique selling proposition. How to Start a Blog That Matters can help you create a blog that will change your life and the lives of your readers.
-> Check out the course here to see if it’s a good fit for you.
And every time I have that discussion with one of you, you say “you should really write a blog post about this.” That’s a great idea, so here we go.
What is a Unique Selling Proposition?
First off, if the word “selling” turns you off, you can think of it as the “unique market proposition” if you’d like. It’s not about selling, it’s simply about differentiation.
Your unique selling proposition is what makes your business stand out. It’s what makes you different and earns you a special place in the minds of your potential customers.
Now, before any of you marketing geeks out there get on my case about the definition of USP, hold on. I know there’s another concept known as the Point of Difference (POD), and that there are probably a dozen of other different academic marketing terms with nuances they taught you in grad school.
Whatever you want to call it, that’s fine with me. The point is, differentiating your business is a Good Thing, whether you’re talking about the business itself, your products or your marketing.
I like to think of your overall USP as your reason for being. Think about it from your customer’s point of view. With tens or hundreds of potential options out there, you have to answer the question, “why should I buy from you?” Or, “why should I read your blog, when there are millions of other blogs I could be reading?”
If you don’t answer that question quickly, your potential customers or readers will move on. It’s really pretty simple.
It’s Not About Being the Best
Having a great product or superb content is probably not enough of a difference to make your business stand out. In most markets, having a great product is just the price of admission.
When you’re small, it’s hard to compete on product or content quality alone. You need to change the conversation. Instead of screaming “hey, look at me, I have great stuff too,” you want to confidently say, “hey, I’m all about X, we do things differently. If you’re into X, we’re the only place you can get it.”
Cal Newport wrote recently about what he calls The Superstar Effect over at the 4-Hour Workweek blog recently. Cal showed why it’s a losing game to try to win by being the best at something everyone else is also trying to be the best at. Think about getting into an Ivy League school, for example. Virtually everyone who gets in is a valedictorian with perfect SAT scores. How do you compete against that?
The answer is that you don’t compete at all. Instead, you become the best at something no one else is attempting.
That’s how Michael Silverman got accepted to Stanford, despite his middling SAT scores and G.P.A. Michael focused his energies on a series of environmental sustainability projects, and earned a reputation and press coverage for his accomplishments. He became the best at what he did, and stood out amongst 32,000 applicants to Stanford earning a unique place amongst the 7.2% who were accepted.
Instead of playing a game he couldn’t win, he changed the game.
That’s the power of a unique selling proposition. You want to be the best at something, but you can make it far easier if you define your competitors yourself.
Promotion is Only a Small Part of Marketing
When I started planning to create this blog, it struck me that most people get traffic building all wrong. At its essence, “building traffic” is really synonymous with marketing. Only, I knew that the world needed another boring marketing blog like it needed a hole in the ozone layer.
I decided to use the word “traffic” in the site’s name because I knew that’s what every website owner craves. You want more traffic. The trouble is, getting traffic isn’t about what you think it is. Most people think getting traffic is about promotion, but it’s really about holistic marketing.
Promotion is an important part of building a big audience, there’s no question. But promotion alone can’t entirely make up for a crappy product, mediocre content or the lack of a unique selling proposition. That would be like putting lipstick on a pig, as one of my old bosses used to love to say.
Building a high-traffic website or successful business starts with your point of view. It begins with your thesis, how do you see the world, how you care for and help your customers, and extends through to your content, products, customer interactions and then finally to your promotion.
Attracting customers isn’t something you “bolt on” in the end. It’s something you work on at every stage of your business, and your unique selling proposition is the first stage.
How to Find Your Unique Selling Proposition
So, you’ve bought into the idea that a unique selling proposition is important, but how do you define yours?
There are a lot of different approaches you can take. Your USP might end up being a combination of things. There’s no one right answer. And depending on what business you’re in, even a small amount of differentiation could lead to a much greater shot at success.
Here are a few simple ways to differentiate your business. These aren’t the only ways, but it’s a starting point to get you thinking.
Use Your Personality
If you’re running a very small business (like I do), or are are the primary owner of your business, sometimes your personality alone can be a powerful difference.
You have to have a personality that resonates with some people to pull this off, but by putting your personal stamp on many aspects of your business, you create something no one can directly compete with (there is only one you, after all). Gary Vaynerchuk is a great example of this approach.
Explore the Intersection of Ideas
Interesting things happen at the intersection of ideas, as Adam Singer likes to say, and plenty of ideas haven’t been combined before. Merge Manhattan-bred customs with African-inspired music and you get the band Vampire Weekend. Mix collective buying power with the social web and you get Groupon.
Think about the topic your business is about, and what you could add to the mix to make it more interesting and unique. It doesn’t require inventing something new, just combine two things you already know about.
Narrow Your Target Audience
Here’s another technique that’s pretty easy to pull off. You can choose a narrow target audience who has never had a business like yours cater specifically to it. For example, become a web designer for plumbers, or a plumber for recreational vehicles, or write about online marketing for dentists.
Think about this from the customer’s standpoint. If you were a dentist and needed help with online marketing, wouldn’t you be inclined to choose the business that specializes in dentists?
The other benefit of specializing in a narrow market segment is that promotion becomes much easier. You know where to find dentists together at conferences and where they hang out online, so you know how to target them.
Narrow Your Topic
Finally, you can also specialize narrowly in one particular aspect of your topic. Instead of being a web developer, become a web developer who translates visual designs into working WordPress websites. Instead of being an auto mechanic, become an auto mechanic who specializes in American-made electric vehicles.
Remember, You’re Not Trying to Appeal to Everyone
When starting out, creating a USP might seem like you’ll be leaving out some potential customers. It’s a natural tendency to want to please everybody.
But when you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing no one. The goal of your USP will be to connect more strongly with some people, and not so much with others. This is what you want because when you connect strongly with a smaller audience, your influence can spread much more quickly.
Have you heard the tale of the old man, boy and donkey? I read this in Michael Port’s excellent Book Yourself Solid. This might help:
An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.
Later, they passed some people that remarked: “What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.” They then decided they both would walk!
Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.
Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.
The moral of the story? In Marketing, if you try to please everyone, you might as well… Kiss your ass good-bye.
Branding, Design and Messaging
Once you’ve developed a unique selling proposition, your job is to communicate it clearly and often.
That’s the role of branding, design and messaging. A great name, tagline and design can really tie this whole concept of uniqueness together.
And remember that the USP isn’t a one-time decision. You have to constantly remind people of what you stand for. Tell them in no uncertain terms on a regular basis why your business is different.
Be Unique, But Not For Its Own Sake
Being unique is an important marketing strategy, but beware of being unique for its own sake. Being the only business who sells waterskis in the desert makes you unique, but it doesn’t mean there’s a market for your product.
Your unique selling proposition only works when you’re addressing some demand. It’s not necessarily about defining an entirely new market with unproven demand.
Being unique also requires clarity. If the unique selling proposition you come up with takes someone minutes or hours to understand, it probably won’t be effective. Being clear is another essential aspect of building a successful business or popular website.
Can you succeed without a dynamite USP?
Yes, of course it’s possible to succeed without a great unique selling proposition. It’s possible, but definitely not as easy. And success without a good USP requires better product development and promotion, along with some outside factors (maybe a little luck).
Sometimes there is so much demand in a market that multiple (virtually identical) businesses can succeed without working hard to differentiate themselves. In these cases, as long as you have a great product and a way to reach the market, you might be able to break through.
Look at the WordPress themes market, for example. There are lots of successful players in that market, and not too much difference between them.
Another example is the tech news + social media blog space. Back in 2005, Mashable, Read Write Web and TechCrunch all became giants, and did so by focusing on content and promotion more than starting with a unique angle. Of course, Mashable had Pete Cashmore and TechCrunch had Mike Arrington. Remember that a strong personality can be a USP in itself.
In terms of audience building, a USP is really the foundation of your efforts and will have a multiplier effect on your product and marketing.
You can always create a great product and rely on good old fashioned hard work to grow your business, but by adding a solid unique selling proposition you’ll reach your goals faster.
What if your business doesn’t have much of a USP?
So, you have a website or business, and now you’re thinking, shit, I didn’t really think about this USP stuff before I started. What do I do now?
Don’t do anything rash, first of all. You can refine your unique selling proposition without scrapping your entire business, and still make a big difference. The important thing is that you now understand how to use uniqueness to your advantage.
And here’s a word of caution. All of this can seem a little daunting at first. I’ve seen plenty of people get hung up on the concept of the USP for weeks or months. But remember that research and planning with no action won’t get you anywhere. It’s better to start working on your idea and refine it as you go along than it is to get stuck contemplating the perfect USP without doing anything.
What’s your unique selling proposition? Have any great examples of dynamite USPs? Share in the comments!
And coming next week, I’ll have a post with some great examples of websites with kick ass USPs. Stay tuned for that.
photo by nickwheeleroz
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58 comments add your own
Great stuff (as usual!). This is something important that I’ve been focusing on lately, especially since I’ve made the transition from consulting in person to being an online consultant. I’ve found it increasingly more difficult to convey exactly what I do, how I do it — and how to share that with my audience. Thanks for this post, it’s given me a lot to think about.
Hey Brooke, it’s great when you can get “what you do” down into an easy-to-say couple of sentences. “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port is a really great resource for that.
That is some essential magic, right there, Corbett !
I agree that having a USP is very important – the blogs that I visit all have one. The story with the man, boy and donkey also makes a point – many people try to cater to everyone, and it’s breaking their digital neck.
For my blog, my personality is my biggest USP – the way I use words and making videos – it’s all 100% flavored by Mars Dorian.
It seems very overwhelming, but it’s not. It always starts with a honest clarification: What do I stand for ? What is my purpose in the (online) world ? Answer that question and think of ways to make the message as unique as possible.
I luv this kind of stuff.
Shine on
Mars
Awesome, Mars, I thought you might like this discussion. And I agree, personality can be a strong USP, as long as you know what you stand for, and deliver it well. Congrats on that.
Great post here, thanks Corbett. I had a light bulb moment this week. My USP is the nicheless niche:) I cover travel, writing, blogging, Internet marketing and business because I’m passionate about all those things and some other people are too.
Plus the biggest USP of all is that I write about boring topics like Internet marketing and business in a fun way. Who said they have to be approached in a boring, serious way?
I’m giving up following the rules, it didn’t get me very far and I’m having more fun living and blogging according to my own rules: mix it up and make it fun!
That’s the best part, Annabel. You don’t have to follow the rules. There are so many different ways to stand out and make things work for you. For every “rule” of online business and blogging you can always find someone who broke it and became a big success. I find that inspiring.
Thats one of the things that I’ve always struggled with. Thanks for written about it Corbett. Once you find that USP you can just run with it, but what I’m finding is that it does take time to find your unique voice and you can’t force it. I write about a number of topics on that i’m passionate about and slowly I’m building a usp so I can rebrand the blog (have it less about my name) and go full steam with that.
It’s true, I’ve found that refining your unique voice is difficult and takes time. That’s why I encourage people to get started and develop your unique message along the way. Good luck.
Great post. Since launching my business I’ve been trying to decide just how small of a niche I want to focus on. Right now I’m small businesses who know nothing about social media. Then I was considering scaling it smaller to small businesses in Chicago who know nothing about social media. And then perhaps even smaller. But I have yet to make that decision. Thanks for giving me something to chew on while I attempt to figure it all out.
Cool, Rebecca, glad to help. Let me know how it goes for you. Geography is definitely something you can play with.
Well said Corbett. I think that one thing I would add in addition to personality is understanding what your greatest strengths are. I realized mine was actually talking to people which is why my personal development blog will probably always be a hobby, and BlogcastFM is the one I will turn into a real business. I think your point about getting hung up on this is an important one too. Often, when people get too hung up it causes them not start at all which is worse. Sometimes it takes a while to discover your own USP and by just getting started you’ll get there.
Ah, great point Srini. Knowing what you’re good at is definitely key.
Hi Corbett,
Some great points you mention here…it’s clear to me that you’ve found your USP.
When you are in a competitive market, it’s definitely a challenge finding your USP. Information and products are so readily available, that what’s going to make you stand out in the crowd become increasingly difficult?
I think two things: your voice and your ability to make them listen. Getting in touch with how you authentically express yourself and your ability to communicate that expression, whether is be through a product, service or sharing of information is going to be what allows you to stand out in the crowd.
You ask the question, what’s my USP? Well, it’s my ability to express my self in my own voice, like it or not, and my desire to coach and even “push” people to reach the level of success they want in their business (and in life).
I too am on this journey and push myself every day, so I make sure I practice what I preach.
Thanks so much for sharing this Corbett!
That’s great that you’ve found self expression to be a point of difference for you. Not everyone feels comfortable enough to do that, but it definitely comes through as a strength when you can pull it off. Cheers.
Not a big fan of Vampire Weekend, thankyouverymuch. They managed to outrank me in SERPs for my domain. =) And that was a simple landing page! WTF?
Anyway, timely article, as I’m dropping nearly all of my promotional efforts for a couple of months to tighten my focus on current products. My natural inclination is to be “The Best” at something; I really should follow that wherever it takes me.
Whoa, sorry Vampire Weekend is such a touchy subject Dave
It sucks when you get out ranked unintentionally. It would suck if a film came out with the same title as your blog, not yours specifically, but just anyone’s blog.
Let me know where your focused efforts take you over the next couple of months. Should be interesting.
Wow, not only have you brought balance to a complicated subject, but that balance includes reasonableness like “don’t do anything rash!” Lot of good solid advice here.
Thanks Richard.
Hi Corbett. FNG here.
As much as I despise using affiliate-marketing, web-based-business, marketing hack-abused jargon like “niche,” I think I’ve got mine soundly nailed down, thanks, in part, to this post.
All I need to do is figure out what the hell I’m going to do with it. Almost a year of triple digit growth month over month and I’ve not made a red cent. I don’t do ads, I don’t do affiliate nonsense, I don’t sell a damn thing on the site. I don’t even ask for donations! All the same, I know I will have to implement some kind of monetization (ugh, jargon) if I’m going to jump the USS Corporate America and get the time to better serve my community.
This post triggered the firing of some dusty synapses and I had to spin around in my chair to find my little black notebook so I could write a couple ideas down before I continued on.
Not that these ideas were in any way Earth-shattering, but I figure if your post can trigger that kind of neurological lightning strike, the least I could do is leave a comment saying thank you and confirming my recent subscription (I think Glen linked to you recently).
Cheers.
Hey Brian, I had to look up FNG. Thanks for introducing me to a new acronym
Thanks for the comment, and I’m glad to have dusted off some synapses for you. Hopefully it will lead somewhere worthwhile. I recently released a product and highly recommend it. The whole process was an awesome experience.
Brian,
Looked at your website, its very cool. Why dont you setup an internal affiliate program so that your readers can write modification how-tos for their favorite cars and you sell them through the site for a split of the profit. I am assuming that the web-site in your link is the one that you are referring to.
Best of luck.
Thanks for the USP post Corbett! Awesome stuff.
I also appreciate the USP advice you shared last week. Really helpful stuff!
Cheers Sean!
A USP is very important for any business — whether that business is online or offline. And sometimes all it requires to find this is to realize that do you already have a USP.
For example, I spoke to a real estate agent this week who told me she didn’t have a niche. In the next sentence she said, “I do short sales.”
That’s a niche — or a USP — I replied. It is a subset of real estate sales in her area and, if she thought some more, she probably serves a specialized sub-niche of the short sales niche.
Bottom line? An effective USP doesn’t have to be something so novel that, as Corbett says, “people get hung up on …. for weeks or months.” It simply has to be that unique philosophy or customer service or whatever that you offer to a specialized group of your potential target market.
Phyllis Zimbler Miller
http://twitter.com/ZimblerMiller
Hey Phyllis, thanks for the thoughts and example (and the link from your related post). Great tips.
Hi Corbett, I don’t have much to add except to let you know I really enjoyed the post. This is a topic that I’ve been thinking off lately and it came at a great time. Cheers
Thanks, David!
Corbett, this is an anchor post that should be read by anyone with a product, idea, or personality to promote. I’ve invested over half a century in sales and marketing communications and have seen and worked with and for so many folks who just can’t grasp the importance of what you so eloquently explain.
Congratulations on a job well done.
Jack
Hey Jack, thanks so much for the validation. It really means a lot. I’m glad you agree with my explanation of the concepts here. Cheers!
What a great post with tons of ideas! It’s something that we all know, we must be unique in order to stand out among our competition. But how many of us are actually applying it and using it for our business? Thanks for the post, it’s given me an inspirational boost and a place to start thinking. Cheers!
Not enough people are applying it, so Kudos for starting to think about your USP, Shannon. Good luck.
Once we’re all unique, what will everyone else do?
It’ll be business as usual for everyone else, I’m afraid
Super timely! I need to apply this to a project! Thanks, Corbett.
It is truly amazing how many businesses out there don’t have their own USP. Just by coming up with your USP you are actually carving a little micro-niche out for yourself that nobody else is competing for. It eliminates some of the competition because you are no longer trying to be everything to everyone. There aren’t enough people talking about how important this really is.
Agreed, Kathy. Let’s talk about it more. Thanks for the comment!
Wow, this is some good stuff. This is the first time I’ve actually heard it articulated like this, though I’ve seen it in action, I couldn’t place my finger on exactly what it was. Now, I have lots of thinking to do. Thanks for the practical inspiration & tips!
Great article – One of the first ones I’ve read here, but it definitely won’t be the last.
I’ve been working on my USP (without actually recognizing it as a USP) for a couple of months now, which included new sales brochures, business cards, post cards, website redesign, etc. and I’m starting to see the effects already.
I’ve been doing research here and there, but mainly just continuing to work on it as the business grows, but I’m glad I found this article to have something to relate it to!
Already in rediscovery mode, targeting key points I missed when I first began, and found you! Your easy to read and profound explanation add a much-needed missing piece to my mind-map. Your words have much value and wisdom, thanks!
Hi Corbett-
Great post! Thanks! I especially love your donkey anecdote.
I have lived most of my life breathing USP working for cosmetics and now, for my own blog, I used what I know to expose the more unsavory side of marketing.
In my blog- I am a tongue lashing anti-hero who finally serves the consumer by exposing her past sins- and critique has been great (and finally great to work for myself!) Do not wanna name my blog here unless you will think it relevant to topic.
So yes, USP works whether you think of it, against it or ignore it.
Cheers- Rowena
This is a great post Corbett. I had an idea for my USP as I was reading and first thought – no too narrow – but then I realized – that is exactly what you are talking about. Break it down and focus on that one aspect. Carrie Wilkerson always says “Focus on one thing until it is wildly successful – then beak out” (basically that’s it
Anyway – the combination of those two things makes for a great heading to follow. Thanks for the help.
Chris
Thanks for putting a new “spin” on how to get your USP right! Even seasoned bloggers can gain from this post.
I am a firm believer in both establishing a “VPP” (Valuable Pre-Selling Proposition” as well as a Unique Selling Position.
These tips are just what we need to easily be able to set our sites / blogs apart from the crowd and stand out.
Smiles,
Betty Ziegler
To people who want to learn more about USP, study Claude Hopkins and Jay Abraham concepts, works (books) and methods.
Google the guys, they rock
Incredibly comprehensive article on developing a USP.
Referring to it as a “unique market proposition” as an option is a nice way to make it a little easier to swallow for those not wanting to be too “sales-y”. LOL.
The last part part about, “What if your business doesn’t have much of a USP?” was really good. This isn’t the easiest exercise to do, but it sure helps you define what your product can do for your target market.
Thank you – Theresa
Hey Theresa, glad you liked the article, thanks for the feedback!
Isn’t it awesome how people get turned off by the word “selling”?
Yet they do it ALL DAY LONG. You sell your kids on cleaning up after themselves. You sell yourself on what you’re going to eat for lunch. You sell your partner on what movie you’d like to see.
“Selling” is nothing but influence in my book. You influence either get results you want or not. And in the context of USP, your influence either makes it clear that your perfect prospect should hand you money or it makes you interchangeable or invisible to your perfect prospect.
Thanks Corbett for shedding your perspective on this term and doing what you can to address this issue. As you mentioned, it’s something a ton of people stumble over and need help overcoming!
Corbett, I heard you on the Smart Passive Income podcast and came here to your site. My site, The Professor Is In, offers “BS-free advising for graduate school, the job market, and tenure.” Listening to you, I realized that my USP is, vis-a-vis my grad student and junior faculty clients, “I tell you the truth.” So I started rewriting my copy to make that totally clear.
I’m still just starting out—the site is 5 days old—but I’m excited to have reached this clarity! thanks! Karen
Awesome, Karen! The thing I love the most about your comment is that you took immediate action to change things. I’m always happy to have that effect on people
Good luck, and please let me know how it goes. If you have a blog, try writing posts that are related to your new USP, and gauge the reaction from your visitors.
I will try that! Nobody has yet commented on my blog, though…. I’m not quite sure how to make that start happening. Any advice?
BTW, pardon me for asking you this question, but how do I get the little photo to show up on my comments? thanks, Karen
Hi Karen, to get more comments on your blog, you should start by writing posts that are open-ended. Talk about something that has multiple possible points of view, and then ask your readers for their opinion at the end of the post. If your audience is very small, it may take a few tries to “prime the pump” and get comments flowing.
To get your picture to show up, register with gravatar.com for a free account using the email address that you enter when leaving comments.
-Corbett
I can do that! I will try this Friday!
And as you can see, I now have my very own Gravatar image! Thanks for the tip. Karen
I am in the planning stages of a self-improvement blog, and this post was exactly what I needed to read!
Once I started thinking about what my USP should be, everything seemed to come together. Determining my USP helped me narrow my focus, and come up with good ideas for a tagline and URL. Most importantly, it helped me to realize that I truly can add something to the self-improvement niche and help people out. That is a great feeling!
Thank you!
Excellent post.
I love how you go deeper into the topic rather than using the same old song and dance.
And regarding USPs and small businesses, I agree – I’ve found that showcasing your personality works better than trying to execute a ‘faceless corporation’ type of approach.
Hi Corbett
I just discovered and I’m amazed by the quality of the information you post. You just got a fan!
The topic you talk about is really interesting to me since I’m rethinking my mission in blogging.
Thanks from Barcelona!
Hey Laura, thanks for commenting. Good luck with your new blogging mission!
Corbett,
I was really struggling on a USP for my new blog but after reading through your site. (wandered over from Patt Flynns site) I think I have it mostly nailed down. You have some great content here or should I say EPIC content and can’t wait to join in on your Million Dollar Blog challenge and learn more from you. Thanks from the trenches!
Corbett,
Thanks for the good advice. It actually made me notice that I don’t have any USP at all! At least now I’m aware of what do I have to focus on.
I guess I’m a little late here, but just linked to this post from one of your others. Thanks for all the valuable info! I read and took notes on all of this and will implement it now and throughout the next week to re-brand and re-launch my humble blog. Thanks Corbett!