USP is Core of Web Site Design

The USP - The Key to Internet Marketing

There are millions of websites on the internet, but very few of them enjoy any significant traffic.

Why is this so? Because most websites are put together as free standing exercises without any thought to their place in an internet marketing strategy and no real planning as to how they might achieve worthwhile objectives through web site design.

The Unique Selling Proposition is the core of your internet marketing effort - it clearly adresses the customer's question, "Why should I buy from you instead of your competitors?"

The question is answered by describing a unique benefit you offer that is different from your competitors - if the unique benefit is important to the consumer then it may be the deciding factor in their choice to buy from you - so your USP is your essential marketing message.

The idea is the consumer is bombarded with so much advertising that it is difficult to remember the details. If you can't cut through this advertising noise and grab the customer's attention - if you can't communicate immediately that you offer value that your competitor's don't have - then the visitor is gone to someone who can.

The reasoning is that a visitor comes to your shop (on or off line) to find out if what you do fits what they want. If not they lose interest and leave immediately. So you have a very short time to tell visitors how your product can benefit them and how your product is better than your competitor's offerings.

The idea of the Unique Selling Proposition came out of Madison Avenue in the 50's - the idea was for a catchy statement to describe your product and identify clearly what is unique about it - and motivate your customer to do something about it. It's all about the customer and not at all about you or your business - don't tell them what you can do, tell them what you can do for them.

Your USP has to be a strong, concise summary of your product that tells your customer why you are the best alternative for them. It's purpose is definitely to move product. It is brief - two or three sentences at most - but it isn't an advertising slogan.

If you have thought of an internet business that can solve a specific problem, then your chances of success are pretty good. But even if your business idea is brilliant you still need to think about the most important step in the marketing process, which is targeting your market.

In times past somebody could select a business to establish on the basis that there wasn't one in town already, so therefore it would be successful - and it probably would be. The problem now is that there's already at least one of everything "in town". So to survive in such a competitive environment the uniqueness of a business becomes a very important factor in determining success.

Likewise many people establishing a new website want to address as broad a market as possible - so they are aiming to widen their appeal as much as possible - not narrow it. So what may happen is that the offering fails to catch the attention of their real market because of the vague nature of the marketing.

Identify your competitors - find out what they are doing - evaluate their USPs - position yours so it fits in their gaps or weak spots.

To successfully market your business you need to focus on what's special and different about your product. The best way to communicate this is to express the uniqueness in a single statement. If you can't concisely describe the uniqueness of your idea then you may not have the basis for a successful business.

The fundamental need is to observe the business from a customer's perspective – to answer the customer’s primary questions - what is the unique advantage that your product offers to me that your competitors don’t? Why should I buy from you? Do you offer me something I really want?

A good way to approach this problem is by using a brainstorming approach - preferably with a small group who understands the product - write down:

every reason a customer would want to do business with you
how you can help customers in unique, valuable ways?
the key benefits of your product?
what is unique about the product compared to your competitors?
product characteristics that are difficult for competitors to offer?
unique product benefits from your customer’s point of view?
the most important thing from your customer’s point of view?
product benefits that can be understood easily by your customers?
what do my customers say they like about your business?
what are you proud of about your business?
the key benefits of your competitor’s products?
what can you add to the product that your competitors don't have?

Then ruthlessly select the statements that:

are outward looking and focus on the needs of the customer
target a specific niche market, not just anybody
are easily understood and remembered
state an obvious benefit
tell the customer how you can satisfy his need
are free of jargon or buzz words

Then edit the list eliminating anything that is also true of your competitors. If a competitor has it, then it's not unique.

Now use these unique qualities to create a memorable message. We are looking for a statement that addresses the need of your prospective customers - there shouldn't be anything in there about you - nothing about your good service or your low prices - because these are things your customers already expect and they are not unique.

Just keep at it until the statement is down to 2 or 3 concise sentences.

You want to answer the question - "What's in it for the customer" - the customer only cares about the benefits resulting from buying your product rather than your competitor's. They don’t care about you or your business. It’s up to you to give the customer a compelling reason to buy from you. You need a crisp, powerful statement that answers your customer's implicit questions and engages their imagination and emotion.

Your USP describes the nucleus of your business – if you are having trouble stating it then probably your customers are not going to see it. The simple test of a good USP is whether it sells product!