WTF is a ‘Unique Selling Point’ and do you need one?

If you’ve been promoting your product or service everywhere and to everyone but still not getting the sales you’re after, this is for you. If you’re wondering, ‘WTF is a Unique Selling Point’ Let’s talk about it. Your Unique Selling Point (USP), also known as ‘Unique Positioning Statement’ (UPS) is a sentence that defines exactly what you do, who you do it for, and how you do it. Not to be confused with your Value Statement, which you can learn about here.

One of the biggest challenges I see small businesses facing today is struggling to hit monthly sales targets. When you’re kakking and desperate for clients, it’s easy for your brain to seize and think that “The more people I appeal to, the higher my chances of making a sale”, then when sales don’t happen, blame the product or the market.

But neither of those is usually the problem.

The problem is you’re trying to appeal to everyone. And when you try to appeal to everyone, you end up reaching no one because your message is too fkn vague.

Consider this …

‘We sell shoes’

What does that tell you? Not a lot.

How about …

‘We sell Italian leather shoes to successful businessmen’.

Add 5 extra words and buyers will know exactly what the product is, how much it’ll likely cost, and who it’s for.

The key is to leverage your uniqueness so you stand out and attract buyers who actually connect with you. Not to shoot so wide that you miss the mark. You need to shift your mindset from ‘Who can I sell to?’ to ‘Who am I the perfect fit for?’

We’ll get to that shortly but first, a sidenote:

 

What does this have to do with graphic design?

Defining your exact buying audience so you can connect with them effectively is the foundation of visual communication, which is literally what graphic design is. Any designer who is not asking you relevant questions about who you’re selling to shouldn’t be designing for you.

In order to create brand visuals that appeal to your buyers, we MUST know who they are. An advert graphic designed to attract a corporate executive looking for luxury leather loafers is going to look vastly different from an advert designed for a working mother of three who needs affordable, durable school shoes.

Different fonts, different colours, different layout, all the things.

 

How do you know who your ideal buyers are?

Sometimes it’s blatantly obvious, e.g. if you’re selling expensive Italian leather shoes, you KNOW your buyer profile.  But a lot of the time, you’re so close to your product that you don’t see the wood for the trees. You’re so focused on the selling hustle that you’re missing the strategy. Sometimes you need someone with a spaceship to show you a bird’s eye view. This is your spaceship.

Let’s take a trip and do some data mining

1. Invoice Audit
Look at your past 6-12 months of invoices. Who were your highest-paying clients? Who were the easiest to work with? What industry are they in?

2. E-commerce and Analytics stats
Dig into your Shopify, WooCommerce, or Google Analytics. Where do they live? What devices do they use? Which products have the highest repeat-purchase rate?

3. Email survey
Send a quick and super-simple survey email to your list. Ask them: “What is the biggest challenge you were facing before you bought our product/service?”, or if your product is a ‘want’ not a ‘need’ ask “What made you choose us?”

4. Social observance
Check your DMs and comment sections. What specific words or phrases do your followers use when they praise you or ask questions? Use their exact vocab in your copy.

 

Get Familiar With the Why

Every single purchase is driven by either emotion or a solution (sometimes both).

Ask yourself: “Why do clients buy from me and not from my competitors?”

Some examples:

• Is it because you save them time?
• Is it because you make them look professional?
• Is it the peace of mind that you won’t ghost them?

Once you align your WHO (data) with your WHY (trigger), then you have the ingredients to write a killer USP.

 

Let’s Write Your USP!

Crafting an effective USP enables you to streamline your marketing content.
Once it’s written, slap it everywhere from your social bios and email signature to your website and business profile.

Use the template below to write yours.

“We help [Specific Target Audience] who are struggling with [Main Pain Point] to achieve [Desired Outcome/Result] through our [Your Unique Method/Flavour].”

The more specific you are, the better.

Bad example:
“I am a graphic designer who offers high-quality logos for all businesses.” (Yawn).

Good example:
“I am a functional graphic designer helping South African fempreneurs who are struggling with overwhelm and analysis paralysis to achieve clarity and visual direction using a fun, educational and strategic workflow.” (Aha!)

 

Get my feedback

Once you have your USP done and dusted, crafting visuals and messaging that speak directly to your target market becomes a piece of cake.

I’d love to see what you constructed. Write yours out and shoot it over to me here for my honest feedback on whether it’s ‘the one’ or if it needs a bit more pizazz.