Episode 6 - Your Unique Selling Propositions or USP Why This is Important to Have!

Updated: Dec 11, 2019


This is Episode Six of stand out and grow.


Giddy up. We are


all in a very competitive space. So we have to do things and put things in place for our company that helps us stand out. What makes you different from your competitors? What unique benefits do you bring to the table? Tune into this episode so you can learn about what a USP is unique selling proposition and how it can help you stand out and grow your business today. I'm Kat Ramirez, your host of stand out and grow. I want to help your business stand out, survive, succeed and grow. building your business isn't really really hard and knowing what marketing and advertising tools you need. To help you become successful is extremely confusing. After 30 years of working with thousands of businesses, I am here to help you make good business decisions. I want to help you understand the programs that are available to you so that you can stand out, survive, succeed and grow. So let's get started. Hi, this is Kat Ramirez, CEO of advertise. Today I am talking to you about unique selling proposition otherwise known as your UPU. I'm sorry, USB. And forgive me if I somehow In this segment, revert back to ups because sometimes I do that but it's USP unique selling proposition. So this is a really good thing. To have as part of your business. And it's really great to identify what your USP is, if you're starting a business, this is a great time to think about it and to understand what it is and how to create your unique selling proposition. If you're already in business, and you don't have one, it doesn't matter, you can still create your unique selling proposition. And this is what's going to set you apart. So there actually is a definition and I want to give you a little history of how the unique selling proposition came about. This was back in the early 1940s. And two gentlemen The term was developed by television advertising pioneer Rosser Reeves of Ted Bates and company and Theodore a love it a perfect Or at Harvard Business School. Both of them suggested that in order for a business to stand out, they had to differentiation, differentiation eight, sorry, that's a really hard word for me. what it was that was unique about their individual company or brand, in order to strategically and tactically set that company apart, to get people to engage with them. So that this is where the unique selling proposition came about. It was so far back in the 1940s. And so this term is still very true for today. And you will notice and I'm going to give you examples of how personal brands in our marketplace, use their unique selling proposition to really set themselves apart. And they use it as a way in order for people and consumers and whoever else to identify with these companies and brands and products or services because a UPS can actually be it for represent many things. It can represent your brand, it can represent a company, it can represent something unique that you do, it can represent a unique quality that you have. So there's so many ways to identify and have a memorable, unique selling proposition. It's just identifying what it is and putting it out there and using it on everything that you do. So that you start branding yourself with this unique self sells proposition or selling proposition however you want to say it there's several different ways to say the USP. Yeah, I said it right.


Okay, in order to be remembered in a crowded marketplace, because let's, let's all just agree that in today's business world is extremely competitive, I don't care what industry you're in, there is lots of competition. And if your business has a specific trait, that it can hang his hat on, and it's worth being memorable, then this is part of your unique selling proposition. And you should identify it and you should use it and it should be a part of your brand, your company, your product, your service, whatever it is that you represent. Okay, so, everybody has competitors. So the question is, what makes you different from your competitors


and why?


Why are you different from your competitors So and we can go through a drill of some things for you to think about in order for you to understand a note. So, first, let me clarify that, you know, you being different, it's not about being the best,


because I know I hear a lot of companies that say, Hey, Kat, my up USP, I almost said it, they're my USP is we are the best


at doing what we do.


So I sit here and I think about it, I look at them and I say, Okay, how do you know they're not saying they're the best? You know? That's an opinion like who validates that you're the best that's a judgment call. So you saying you're the boss is not a unique selling proposition. So just keep that in mind. Okay. I also have a companies that say their award winning


Okay, and so you really need to put yourself


in the customers shoes, you know, what's in it for them, you know? What is it that you have the benefit that you have that's going to benefit them that's really going to relate to them and gravitate them to doing something with your business. Okay? So keep that in mind and, and always keep, you know their perspective in mind and put yourself in their shoes. Okay. I do have some companies that have told me that they their unique selling proposition is they have the most revenue. Okay? I have a lot of problems with that. Because when a company is touting and spouting everywhere that they have the most revenue or you know, they have more billing than anyone else, and so forth and so on.


You're just


bragging, there's no benefit to me, it just says that you have a lot of business and you have a big ego and you're really proud of it. And you might be a little narcissistic or something, I don't know. But you know what I mean? So saying you have the most revenue is not really going to benefit me, per se. So keep that in mind if, if that's your thing, and and that's what you're saying, because you might want to change that. It just doesn't spin very well. The other thing that you don't want to make the mistake of saying is you don't want to compare yourself to something and say you're better than something that really creates a negative environment and it's not healthy and it just doesn't work today. I mean, in the old days, you know, the bashing and saying, you know one was better than the other or what have you. You know, maybe it worked them but today You don't need to go in that direction. And you don't need to say that you're better than something instead of that, why don't you and let's say for an instant because I did do a workshop, and I had a lady come up to me and that was her unique selling proposition is she told me that her food truck was better than restaurants, food. And I looked at her and I'm like, do you want to say that because, you know, it just eludes a really negative connotation there. And so I said, Let's, let's look


deep, dig a little deeper. Let's look at your,


your model. Let's look at some of the things that you have, you know,


and so we talked about it and


you know, I said what are some of the things you do tell me some of the best selling things that you have? And she said, she told me she said, Well, you know, we do make fresh tacos, like the meat is fresh that day. She goes to the butcher every The produce that she you know, she uses the lettuce is fresh that day the tomatoes are fresh, nothing is kept overnight. She buys fresh food every day for her tacos. So if you were to go to her food truck and get a taco, you are hands down, I'm going to get a fresh, homemade taco that day.


So I was like, Okay,


awesome. Let's use


that as your unique selling proposition. Let's use that because you can hang your hat on that and you don't need to say anything negative about anyone else or you know, your, your competitors or anything. So, really, pinpointing your unique selling proposition requires you


to do a little bit of soul searching and to be a little creative,


you know, and to really like brainstorm and pull out the post it notes and, you know, work with


your team. on


it because this there should be buy in from the people that are within your organization. This should not be like a solo thing. If you have a team in place, you guys should probably get a couple of beers and have some posted notes and just think about it and do some brainstorming. Because it should be a team effort. And you know, how fun would that be, you know, to come up with some hot keywords and, you know, put these posts and notes all over the place. And then, you know, eventually it drills down to your unique selling proposition, you know, and then, you know, everyone has buy in and they're so proud of it because they all came to the conclusion together as a team. And I've come to that party, you know, you can invite me I'm happy to help out. Okay, I do have some examples of unique selling proposition because I do know that when I meet with business owners, and I asked them, you know, especially in workshops, I say, Hey, give me an example of your unique selling proposition. Tell me what it is you're saying, and what are you telling people? And, you know, some of the responses I get are like people's mission statement. It's not your mission statement. Let me just tell you that your mission statement is your mission statement. Your unique selling proposition is a benefit that you provide that sets you apart from your competition. So keep that in mind. It is something that helps you stand out and identifies how different you are from your competition, so that you can hang your hat on and you can be so proud of this. So keep that in mind when you're thinking about creating an understanding or redefining your unique selling proposition, your USP. So FedEx for example, okay, their unique selling proposition is when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. Right You know, in that one line Exactly what they're trying to do you you know what you're going to get from FedEx, right? How powerful is that? How very cool and how awesome


Eminem I love this.


So we all I don't know if you guys like m&ms I don't eat candy much anymore because it goes right to the hips but you know the milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands, right?




I love that one because you're like Ooh, that means that you just eat it up so fast that it doesn't melt in your hands. You know, it just goes right into your tummy really quick. And say De Beers two beers is about diamonds. And so they have a very cool and unique selling proposition. And so you know if you guys know have two beers they their tagline is a diamond is forever and a diamond is forever. Marriage could be temporary. And engagement could be temporary. A friendship. You know, I don't know back in the day do you used to get the friendship rings from your boyfriend? I don't know if people still do that but if it had a diamond that diamonds forever so you know for a female it gives you kind of like an illusion that your marriage or this white wedding might be forever. But in reality the diamond is forever and so you're selling that idea that concept that illusion, right? How cool is that? You know when they came up with their unique selling proposition so I love diamonds. If anybody has a few hanging around extra diamonds that you know and you want to get rid of them. I'll take them. I love diamonds. I think Diamonds Are Forever to their beautiful I don't have enough of them. Maybe I should think about that for a while. Okay. Domino's Pizza, that's, you know, everyone probably knows this one, you know, you get it fresh hot pizza delivered to your door and 30 minutes or less, right or it's free. And I know this created some chaos for them because drivers were kind of having racks and stuff because they were being held bent to this 30 minutes or less, it's free and people were like, Hey, I timed you. You weren't here for 30 minutes. And so that really caused caused a little chaos. So sometimes your unique selling proposition might need to change or you really need to think it and again, this is where being creative and thinking it through because that 30 minutes or less or it's free, you know, probably initially was a great idea. But then when you got traffic and you got you got circumstances you can't control. So when you have circumstances you can't control, you can't really have this 30 minutes or less or it's free. Cuz you're going to be backed in a corner, right? And nobody wants to be backed in a corner and nobody wants to give away a bunch of free pizza. So, I don't know if they still use that tagline, if you know that they do if you're working at a Domino's Pizza, drop me a line let me know leave a comment. I would love to know if they're still using that and then Neiman Marcus sells luxury. That's their little tagline while McDonald's sells bargains and McDonald's also has the red tag I said the red bright tag




something like that. I know it has to do with read. I don't shop at McDonald's or Walmart. It's not so my favorite place to go. Sorry Walmart. I do love target though.


Anyway, this I'm not trying to plug Walmart or Target. This is just back to unique, unique selling proposition. I do know I you know when I was younger in the kitchen, Mark days I had the blue light special, you guys get it, I hope your understanding where I'm going with this is you really need to create a unique selling proposition. And it could be based on on a product characteristic, a price structure like the Walmart and Kmart placement strategy, you know, either location or distribution or it can just be a promotional strategy, you know, that you come up with but what you want to do is, again, you want to think it through and you want to be creative and you've really got, you know, to really put some soul searching thought into it so that it does set you apart and it doesn't hurt you. You don't want it to hurt you. You don't want it to compromise your brand, your product, your service, or whatever it is that it's representing. So just keep that in mind because you do want to keep you know your value and your brand. And still up and respected and you know where it's still identifiable by your future customers, your consumers, your current customers, you know, you don't want to confuse them. That's what you don't want to do. Okay, so let me give you some examples of product. unique selling proposition so this one is a classic one and I don't know if anybody's familiar with this the hangs


of that back the


hosiery, the Hanes l legs history, they were packaged in an egg shaped packaging. So that really stood out because all the other hosiery we're just in normal packaging that was all similar, but with Haines the LA they were in the egg shape packaging. And I remember those because I remember seeing them on the shelf and you know, they did stand out and they were different and they were unique. And, you know, they really did have a unique selling proposition there. And you know, what a great way to get my eyes drawn to that as opposed to the other whole series that look boring in the same and that's the whole point of it. Okay, that's what you want to do. It's the same thing that candy makers do when they create peeps, and they look like peeps, and they look different than the other candy, you know, or the Hershey Kisses, they look different than the other ones. You know, those are all unique selling propositions in regards to packaging. So


just keep that in mind.


Okay, so you really need to understand I'm just trying to wrap this up and bring it back around for you guys is you need to understand the benefits you bring to the table that your competitors don't. So that is a unique selling proposition. So when you can understand the benefits that you bring to the table, that your competitors don't then come up with a line that identifies that and says that okay, If you don't know what makes you different than ask your current customers, ask why did they shop you, they could feed into your unique selling proposition. They love you, and especially the customers that come back to you over and over and over and over. Those are the best ones to ask because they can help you identify that unique selling proposition. And maybe they just say, you know, you know, let's say it's customer service, well, maybe they say, Hey, you know what,




guys are just great. You make me feel like I'm family, you make me feel real. That's going to be the extension of your unique selling proposition. You know, you're going to spin off of that. Let's see. If you can't still can't figure out if you still can't figure out this. No worries. It's not like it's rocket science or you have to have one it's not going to make or break your business. It just helps it helps in regards to help you stand out and Helping you really show that what makes you different, okay? So think about your business. And again, you have to be creative. You've got to do some soul searching and you got to put yourself in the buyer shoes. What are the benefits for me that you're selling to that potential client. That's what you have to identify because it can't be self serving, do not make a unique, unique selling proposition at self serving and the self serving ones are some examples I gave you were the bad ass, you know, blah, blah, blah, we have all these awards, blah, blah, blah, blah. We make the most revenue, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, those are all self serving. Don't do that. Please. Nobody can relate to that. That's not going to help your business. It's not going to help me identify with your business. You really need to have something that the person that you're prospecting identifies with. Oh, so I completely forgot. Got, I can share my unique selling proposition. And I have a couple of them. So one of the lines I say to people all the time, and it's in an all of our marketing and branding is we have affordable advertising options. You know, you you get what I do you get it in just that one couple words there. The other thing we say is, we help businesses with little to no advertising budgets so that they can stand out, survive, succeed and grow with affordable advertising options. That's a little bit of a longer version of what the first line I just said. So you can have a different a bunch of different variations of your unique selling proposition. Just know that and also know you're not married to it. If you come up with something and you figure out later, it doesn't work. You can change it. It's not a big deal. You're not married to it. The only thing that you're married to is if you print it On the everything that you have, so just keep that in mind. But you can test different things. And you can have a short version and a long version. So there are no rules and having your unique selling proposition. The thing that you want to make sure that happens is it sets you apart from your competitors. It's a benefit that you provide. Those are the golden rules right there. And remember, I'm going to say it again it sets you apart from your competitor, and it is a benefit that you provide to your future customers. That way they know and understand you and and who you are. So don't get discouraged. It's not about having a unique product at all not saying that you should have unique product you should I'm not saying you should be the Facebook or the world or the Uber the world or have a unique service. I'm not at all It's about making your product stand out. And so even in a market filled with lots of competitors is so important for you to do everything that you can so that you do stand out and having a unique selling proposition is one of the things that you can do to help your business stand out. So,


again, to recap,


creating your unique selling proposition. What is your unique selling proposition your unique selling proposition is your USP and it is what makes you different. It is the benefits that you bring to the table. And it is a great way for you to leverage yourself and market yourself so that you stand out so that you can grow so that you can have a competitive advantage against your competition. I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on this. I would love to have your feedback. You know, this is a great conversation to have and we could go on and on and on.


But I think


this is enough to get you started and you know, give me some feedback. Let me know if this has helped you. And let me know what your unique selling proposition is. I would love to hear it and I would you know, if you need help with one reach out to me, I am so approachable. And I certainly do console so if you want to console book, some time on my calendar, if you go to the website, stand out in it, that's what the letter in grow.com there is a link to my calendar book a time with me happy to help you out. I'm happy to sit down brainstorm, you know, whatever the case may be, if you're really really challenged with your unique selling proposition. Thank you so much for your time. I really, really appreciate it. I hope that this helps you knock it out of the park and become a rock star.


As I have told you guys before, you know, I know you get this and you can do it.


So have a great night and I will talk to you soon. If you have listened to the standout and grow podcast recently, you have heard that we just launched a marketing consultant certification program. This 12 month program will give you the tools knowledge and confidence you need to run your own marketing consultation business to generate your passive income today, we are excited to offer a 40% discount to the first 25 participants. So go reserve your spot today at www dot Catherine ramirez.net thank you so much for listening to this episode of stand out and grow Check out all the notes and links at WWW dot stand out in grow.com. I am so thankful to you for helping this show continue to grow. I want to keep producing content that you want to hear. So please leave me some feedback. I look forward to bringing you more resources and information to help your business stand out and grow. Please follow us on social media and make sure you follow this podcast so you can learn more about helping your business stand out, survive, succeed and grow.

Until next time, you got this!

adBidtise helping businesses Stand Out, Survive, Succeed & Grow with affordable advertising options.

💥Free advertising consultations - Contact us today!

Contact Kat for a Free Consultation at www.calendly.com/adbidtise Or visit her at www.adbidtise.com


You Got This! 866-607-0767 info@adbidtise.com

0 views0 comments


  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn - Grey Circle

Sign up to be alerted about Stand Out & Grow Podcast updates!


© 2019 Stand Out & Grow. Proudly created by adBidtise