The Importance of a Unique Selling Proposition

When it comes to getting your message across clearly and succinctly, having a truly unique selling proposition (USP) is critical to your success. Printers absolutely need a USP that lets them stand out from the crowd, differentiate from the competition, and position their company as the go-to resource for the services they offer. Here are some suggestions for articulating your USP:1. Identify what makes your company unique - Just as the name suggests, a "unique" selling proposition must explain what distinguishes your company or offer. It's easy if you have a product that's new to the marketplace, but for most printing companies that isn't the case. Hence, the first thing to do is define the particular advantages your company has over the competition.2. Be specific - Generic-sounding claims about customer service or simply being the best are not effective. Start by creating a list of each specific benefit that your company provides. As you review it, one or more unique aspects should emerge and provide the basis for writing a strong, descriptive, specific USP.3. Keep it short - USPs are not introductory paragraphs. They are generally a phrase or sentence. Don't ramble. The more concise you are, the better your results will be.Effective USPs identify the most important benefits of using your services, solve an industry pain point, and (of course) are unique. Once you've determined yours, the final step is to integrate the USP(s) into all your marketing collateral and customer communication tools, such as email signatures, social media sites, invoices, etc.As always, I'm happy to discuss any of the above. Feel free to contact me any time.Patrick Whelanpat@greatreachinc.com978.332.5555