Most business owners have been asked at one time or another to describe their USP (Unique Selling Proposition), so it’s not uncommon to learn that they’ve already created and memorized their USPs and are able to recite their 30-second elevator pitches without any thought. If that sounds like you, great, and if not, you should probably start working on that. But I’m not really here to prompt you to define your company’s USP or develop an elevator pitch for your business. Instead, I want to encourage you to take that same mindset, scale it down, and apply it to every important page of your website.
USP – Real or Perceived Benefit
Let’s start by recalling the definition of a USP. BusinessDictionary.com defines a USP as:
“Real or perceived benefit of a good or service that differentiates it from the competing brands and gives its buyer a logical reason to prefer it over other brands. USP is often a critical component of a promotional theme around which an advertising campaign is built.“
Start With The Obvious
Obviously, since the definition specifically mentions goods and services, it’s easy to imagine how one might apply a USP to a product page on a website. Of course, just because it’s easy to imagine it, doesn’t mean everyone actually applies it! So, the first step is to recognize that you should be determining what the USP of each of your products or services might be. If you have a huge catalog of products, this task will be a daunting one, so begin with the most important ones first, and work your way through as time allows. And of course, once you determine the USP of each product, make sure the product’s web page prominently focuses on that USP. Don’t make visitors guess. Tell them right up front what makes this product or service better than anything else in its class.
Consider All Important Pages
Don’t stop with products and services, however. Analyze each of the other important pages on your site as well. Even your “about” page and “testimonials” page can be put through the USP challenge. The key is to think about each main page of your site as though it needs to outperform similar pages on your top competitors’ sites. What makes your page more interesting, more informative, or better in some way than a similar page on a competitor’s site? If the answer isn’t obvious, then it’s time to examine what needs to be done to make it better.
Don't throw bling on a page, just for bling's sake.
In some cases, the unique “draw” for the page might be as simple as including a video to bring life to a page full of text. In others, perhaps bringing some interactive elements onto the page that engages the user will differentiate your page from the competitions’. Don’t throw bling on a page, just for bling’s sake, of course. It’s not about “bling”; it’s about differentiation; it’s about engagement; it’s about standing out and drawing in. That “about” page I mentioned? Maybe the touch it needs is simply to help visitors truly “know” you by being insanely transparent. Only you can determine what the USP of each page should be. I challenge you to find it.
The next time someone asks for your USP, ask them which one they’d like to know more about! Let them know that you’ve considered every aspect of your company, your service, your products, and your website, noting what is truly unique and worthy of capturing and holding your customers’ attention for each.
My momma always said, “If you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right“. She was right much more often than she was wrong, so I try to follow her advice. I think she’d say something like, “Don’t take the easy route by just creating one overall business USP and elevator pitch, and then call it a day. Dig down deep and apply the USP mindset to each important aspect of your business.” I think you’ll be surprised at the amazing ROI you’ll receive from implementing that process. (Don’t forget to set specific goals, and track conversions when you implement this!)
Need help getting that message across to visitors on each of your website’s pages? Da Li Social is happy to help make it happen. Just ask.
When it comes to social media and integrated marketing, unless you have a plan to measure what your are doing how will you know? There’s a lot to be said about knowing where your audience is, understanding how they talk about you, planning your social media strategy, getting something to go “viral”, accepting the negative with the positive, throwing up social media tactics like spaghetti against the wall. It’s subjects we’ve talked about here at Da Li Social Integrated Marketing, but unless you have a plan to measure what you are attempting to do, you’ll never know if what you are doing is worth the investment you are putting into it.
