Nigel Wilkinson
Managing Director of Daneswood. Nigel has been in sales and marketing since the 1980's and run digital marketing agencies since 2000.
One of the most common phrases in marketing, particularly when identifying your brand, is to ask, “what is your USP?” Your Unique Selling Point – some people call it the Unique Selling Proposition, but it’s the same thing!
But it’s a really tough question to answer. “We build websites, we make widgets, we sell coffee” none of those are truly unique. They probably aren’t even unique in your town or city!
Even if you have a niche, “we build widgets for the car industry,” the chances you are the only one in the county is quite remote. So, how do you define your USP?
Well, the best answer I’ve found – and believe me, I’ve looked, is found in a book by Gino Wickman, called Traction. In it, he talks of the Three Uniques. That’s identifying three things about the way you do what you do and then combining them to create a single USP that makes you stand out from the crowd.
So, to use the car parts example, you might use traditional craft techniques, you might work on pre-1950’s classic cars, and you might be based in the UK.
None of these are unique in themselves, but combined, they take on an added power…. “Our traditional master craftsmen make parts for pre-1960 classic cars, manufactured in England.”
This is a pretty strong USP, especially in a market with strong overseas, mass-produced competition, that makes you stand out from the crowd.
When we looked at our own Uniques, we came up with
- Deep dive collaboration to map your user journey
- Project-manager-led communication
- Search Engine expertise to protect and build your Google rankings
Which combines to say, “We build high-end websites and eCommerce sites that create a WOW factor with great design. We are renowned for focusing on the User Experience (UX) and Customer Journey to ensure you get great results from your website.”
Getting clear on our USP has made a massive difference to our own branding and marketing.
If you would like to know more, please get in touch or read Gino’s wonderful book “Traction.”