When launching a start-up business, there is a whole host of important things you’ll need to add to your to-do list. There’s recruiting the best staff, finding the right workspace, consolidating your branding and getting a marketing strategy in place…
All of these things however, come secondary to finding and defining your business’ USP because without this, you won’t be able to build your brand or position it competitively within the marketplace.
Worse still, you won’t be able to communicate who you are and what you are offering to your workforce – no matter how large or intimate – and these are the people that need to know the business like the back of their hands.
In this article, we’ll be helping you work out how to find and define the USP of your start-up business but first thing’s first…
What is a USP?
USP stands for Unique Selling Point and well, it’s pretty self-explanatory really. It describes the unique points or characteristics of a business or brand which sets it apart from the rest and makes it unique.
A USP can be defined by a variety of things and can cover a range of different features; a business doesn’t have to have just one unique selling point.
Your USP is what makes your customers want to choose your business over a competitor so it’s essential that you know how to define your unique selling point(s) and effectively capitalise on it.
Here’s our advice…
Work out what the gap in the market is you’re filling
In order to be unique and to stand out in the crowd, you need to be providing something that doesn’t already exist, be this a service or a tangible product.
Of course, not every single business is completely unique and not every single concept can be entirely unprecedented but you need to hone in on the point of difference – no matter how small – that defines your niche.
Ask yourself: what can you provide that others can’t?
Clarify the problem you’re solving for customers
Another great piece of advice when trying to work out what your USP is, is to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about what they really need.
Figure out their issue(s), clarify your solution(s) and then use this to influence your marketing and/or sales tactics. Forget about promoting a product or a service and instead focus on selling the answer to their problem.
Remember the reason you started it all in the first place
You decided to make this idea a reality and start up your own business so their must be some method behind the madness.
Think back to that lightbulb moment where you thought ‘now THAT is what this world needs’ and there you should find your answer.
We have lots of new business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who come to our blog for advice when launching their own ventures. So, if you’ve got any tips on how to find and define the USP of a start-up, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below.
