Your USP: Unique Selling Proposition

Look for the “______” below to find templates you can borrow and apply to your ads or landing page.

There is something you’re not promising,
something you’re not guaranteeing,
or not promising/guaranteeing specifically enough,
that’s keeping you from being unique,
and keeping you from making more sales.

What things can you “make” unique about you?

(1) Your service is unique
guaranteed friendliness
guaranteed delivery
guaranteed live person on the phone.
etc.
(2) The market you serve is unique
e.g., your focus is businesses with 10 employees or less, etc.
(3) Your product is unique:
It has a guaranteed result
It’s tailor-made for X kind of person
Using it is a guaranteed “experience”
(4) Your whole “experience” is unique:
E.g., a cab/limo driver promises hot Starbucks coffee & a morning newspaper
waiting for you, and he’ll have you to the airport on time, or you don’t
pay
(5) Your price is unique:
It may be a low price (“We’ll beat anyone’s advertised price or your mattress is free!”)
It may be premium price (see the “Expensive … by Design” ad in Cialdini’s book on “Influence)
There are guaranteed add-ons that other competitors don’t offer at your price (or which let you ask a higher price)

The best statement of USP I’ve personally ever seen – running in National Enquirer for decades:

“Corns gone in 5 days or money back.”

1. A crystal-clear solution to a problem
2. A Specific amount of time
3. An “or else” statement.

The most gutsy industrial guarantee we’ve seen:

ASEPCO’s valve guarantee (www.Asepco.com), earned them a huge market share of 70%+:

“If it is proven that a properly assembled ASEPCO valve is not CIP/SIP in use:
a) We’ll buy back our valve for a full refund
b) We’ll buy you the replacement valve of your choice
c) AND we will pay the cost of replacing it in your ASME tank!”

Promises & Guarantees you can mimic:

A certain clear, tangible, desirable result will happen in X amount of time, or you’ll get a refund:

• Paul the pronunciation coach guarantees that someone will compliment
your improved pronunciation within 7 days, or he will refund your
initial $9.95 payment. Plus he promises that the pronunciation
exercises will be incredibly easy and lots of fun.
• Your taxes will be handled and filed on time, or you don’t pay us a thing.
• Etc.

You will have _____ happen to you within ______ amount of time, or I will ____.

There’s 2-way power in a conditional guarantee, where the buyer also has to meet certain conditions to qualify:

• If you ___, then we promise ___, or else ___.
• We will provide you _____, or else we’ll pay for _____.
• You will get ____, or else we’ll pay you ______.
(See our example at www.BobsledRun.com.)

If you can’t guarantee X, then what can you guarantee?

If you can guarantee absolutely nothing (with money), then what can you promise?

- If you can’t guarantee the product, then guarantee the service.
- If you can’t guarantee the service, then guarantee the product.
- If you can’t guarantee either, then guarantee the price.
. www.SitNSleep.com: “We’ll beat anyone’s advertised price or your mattress is free!”
- If you can’t guarantee the results, then guarantee an unforgettable experience.
. A free ____ with every order/visit.
. Someone will ____ within ____ amount of time, or you don’t pay.
. We will answer within ____ rings or else ____.
- If you *can* guarantee all of the above, you’re unstoppable. Triple threat.
Guarantee the product, guarantee the service, guarantee the results.

One of the best-known USPs ever:

- Domino’s: A fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.
Borrow this, as:
. A ______ ________, done in ____ amount of time or less, guaranteed.
. Your _______, done on time, or you don’t pay.

4 Questions your USP can & should answer:

(1) Why should I listen to you?
(2) Why should I do business with you instead of anybody and everybody else?
. We are the only ____ who offers ____ especially for _____.
(We are the only hospital in the midwest that offers XYZ heart surgery.)
(We are the only company that provides health insurance to XYZ professionals.)
(I offer the nation’s best healthcare coverage to businesses with 10 employees or less.)
(3) What can your product do for me that no other product can do?
. Ours is the only product on the market that will completely ______.
. We are the only ____ who does ____ using the “_____ Method.”
(I’m the only violin teacher in the region who incorporates the Alexander Technique.)
(I’m the only chiropractor in Rhode Island who is licensed in the ____ Method.)
(4) What can you guarantee me that nobody else can guarantee?
. We are the only ____ in _____ who guarantees _____.
(Lee Iacocca turned Chrysler around with their 5/50 warranty. Unheard of in 1980.)
(Swifter Sweeper: a floor sweeper you buy at the grocery store
that has a money-back guarantee. Take it back & get a refund if it
doesn’t beat your old mop.)