Got one? Two? Three?

If you have competitors, then you should have at least one \rUnique Selling Proposition (USP). The more REAL ones you \rhave, the better - for your Branding, your business \rrecognition, and your sales!

We all have competitors, and the more you have, the more \rimportant it is that you have a Unique Selling Proposition \r(at least one).

Allow me to explain. Let's use a recent example of a company \rthat sells laser toner cartridges... Do you think they have \rcompetition online? You bet they do, another category that \ris swamped with resellers. Sound like yours?

The task of coming up with a USP can sometimes be tough. \rBut every company needs this, it sets you apart from your \rcompetitors. Let me stress this again, it is one or more \rreasons why prospects should work with you, or buy from you, \ror do business with you, instead of your competitors, period.

Let me narrow this a little further, it used to be if you \rhad the best price, - you got the business. Although still \ra minor USP, price alone should not be the only consideration, \rit's not really that unique... Yes, you still need to be \rcompetitive, but I don't want to be the cheapest guy... \rwe're in this to make a profit, right? So don't make price \ryour 'only' USP. Combine it with more value, something \ryour competition doesn't do, or doesn't offer.

O.K., back to our example. This company needed more than \rprice, their product pricing is right inline with everyone \relse, so now what?

First of all, you need to know what your competitors do offer.

This is not a new concept. You can't compete if you don't \rknow what you're up against. So take a little time and \rcheck out what they have. Do some research, you'd be surprised \rwhat you might find - or not. Special offers, free shipping, \ra contest, great customer support?

Take a step back, imagine you are the customer and you do buy \rtoner from someone a few times a year. If they do not get great \rservice or it's just average, then chances are you can sway them \ryour way. This references "customer loyalty" another chapter, \rbut it follows first getting the customer. So, let's get the \rprospect as a customer first.

Now, what do we do to sway these prospects? We offer them what \rthe competition doesn't. This can be discovered with your \rcompetitive research. Oh, and if you still haven't found a \rUSP or a few - then Hyperformance Media can help you with \rthis as well.

Write down every idea that you and your team come up with. \rPlease don't worry about how silly they might seem (at the time), \rjust brainstorm with the data you have gained. The reason I say \rto include the silly ones, and others is because sometimes those \rlittle ideas that you laughed at can actually be morphed to \rcreate your USP. No idea is too far fetched at this point, and \rusually the ideas you laughed at are, in fact, some things your \rcompetitors don't offer. That's where we go next.

On the toner company we came up with all kinds, some were already \roffered by competitors, some were not. The idea is to initially \rcome up with as many as possible. Here are some of what we \rnarrowed the field to (we started with about two dozen);

* Price (of course)\r* Free Shipping (varied by quantity/price)\r* Great Customer Service (so everyone says)\r* A Contest / Promotion (a what?)\r* Free Gifts (vary)\r* Referral Savings (with parameters)\r* Reminders? (to buy)

The next step is again to nail down our list, get creative, really \rthink here. This alone still makes us more competitive \r(once implemented), even if others use the same approach. Why? \rBecause before we did this, there was a ton of competition, and \ras we add these USP's we now narrow the list of our 'real' \rcompetitors. We are now more competitive within our industry, \rbecause we now offer things that (most) of our competitors do not!

We are getting more competitive immediately by implementing some \rsimple offerings. Let's take each one in this example and see \rhow we can use it or discard it to our advantage.

* Price - Still very important in any market, but very tied to \rcustomer value (or perceived value). If your product or service \ris not competing here - it does not necessarily rule you out, \rmore on this later. However, this is usually where a shopper \rstarts (because it's easy), and you want to be considered with \rthis group. In this example, we agreed that (based on our research) \rwe were in the market on price. So our price is competitive and \rthat's great, but not unique enough to get the business.

* Free Shipping - In our research, we found that most of the \rcompany's who were offering this service were just a couple \rdollars higher in price (covering their "free" offer). \rSo while it may have some perceived value, it was not enough \rfor this company to offer that, so we discarded this one. \rIf however, your costs are such that you can ship for free \rand still be competitive and profitable, this is a worthwhile USP.

* Great Customer Service - This is stated everywhere, making it \rtough for the consumer to know what is reality. It is hard to \rjudge until you are a customer. It would be more valuable to \roffer testimonials of Great Customer Satisfaction. Not Customer \rService, but Customer Satisfaction. There is a big difference \rhere. So we DO want to take some of our really satisfied \rcustomers and put together, or request their testimonials. \rThis is much more powerful than the words or promise of \r"Great Customer Service". So we will use this, but focusing \ron satisfaction with testimonials in our advertising pieces \rand website, etc.

* A Contest/Promotion - This covers a broad area, but can be \rextremely successful when implemented and marketed properly, \rso be creative and if possible, develop one for your business, \rproduct or service. After our discussions, and research, \rwe have begun developing this idea. Example: Every time you \rbuy from us, you get another chance at winning "Free Toner \rfor a Year". I know you're saying... free toner for a year \r- what are you crazy? Bear with me on this... first of all, \rmost of their customers use 4 to 6 toners in normal use in \rone year (In our contest, we can actually cap that in our \rrules, i.e., "Not to exceed 6 cartridges". So we associate \rour costs to that, which does not make this a cost prohibitive \rprogram at all, depending upon the program success. \rAgain, the mileage and customers we gain from our contest is \rpotentially huge, and if it works well, we continue it... at \ra maximum cost of 6 toners per year for a Grand Prize.

* Free Gifts - Don't discount this one, many people grab hold \rof these 'offers' to feel like they are making out. All else \rbeing the same, the customer does get something for nothing. \rNow, if the item truly has no value, then the customer has \rlittle to no interest. And, it actually 'cheapens' the image

of your firm (be careful). We decided with our products and \rbusiness customer profile, this would not work for this business. \rBut it could work for you or your products.

* Referral Programs - Another potential attraction (savings) for \ryour customer. I say potential because this type of referral \rprogram, like price, should not be the only USP. When used in \rconjunction with others, this can steadily grow your business \r(sales) as well. You need to develop a program that somehow \rrewards referrals. For example, it can be something simple like \r"Refer a customer to our business and when we ship their order \ryou will receive or accrue credits, dollars, points, or 5% off \ryour next order". Get the idea? The key is to make it of value, \rand still keep it cost effective.

* Reminders - This was it! The big one, it was unique, it has \rgreat value to the customer, and it reinforces our Customer \rSatisfaction! This was also laughed at when first mentioned.

So? What was the plan? We acquire a software program that can \rbe set to automatically e-mail each customer based on their own \rusage when their toner and supplies were potentially running low \r(i.e., 30 or 90 days or any date we choose. Once set-up it is \rall automated (cost effective)! It also gave us their e-mail \raddress (important anytime) and with our reminders we could include \rany special or seasonal offers that might further attract more sales.

So, what did this company find?

In a nutshell - Their products are priced well to compete. In this \rcase, we discarded free shipping as not really cost effective. \rWe stressed Satisfied Customers in all of our marketing materials \rwith testimonials and real-life examples. We are also developing \ra contest to further set us apart from our competitors. We could \rnot find a free gift we thought would add any value to the customer \r(but continue to look). They are considering a Referral Program as well.

The real USP in combination with the others was our unique E-mail \rReminder System. At that time, no other competitor was offering \ranything like this! This IS a Unique Selling Proposition and was \rperfect for our example. Put all these together, and this company \rhas numerous 'edges' on their competition. Once customers are aware \rof these differences that set you apart from all the rest - growth \ris almost certain! That company is in a much better position to 'own' \rtheir market online, or at a minimum increase their market share.

The more you get the word out, the more you're sure to benefit from \rthese type ideas.

I understand this was a pretty broad example but you should get the idea.

You won't always come up with an idea that no competitor has or offers, \rbut if only 3-6 competitors offer that same USP, you are still in \rthe top tier of your competition instead of lost somewhere un-noticed \rwhile buyers continue to purchase through your competition. You decide.

Use this article for your training, website, or newsletter by simply \radding the following footer;

Written by and Copyright ? Scott Sedwick \rhttp://www.hyperformancemedia.com\rss@hyperformancemedia.com

About The Author

Scott is the Founder and Sr. Project Manager for \rHyperformance Media, Inc. a website marketing company\rsince 1996. His 24+ years experience in the computer \rindustry can help your business succeed online!

Copyright SS\rss@hyperformancemedia.com\rhttp://www.hyperformancemedia.com