When it comes to construction and trade there are a lot of businesses out there and it can be hard to stand out. That is why it is so important to think about your USP or unique selling point.
Have you got a unique selling point? Is there something about your company that makes you different? Think about your service, can you say why it’s better than others in the same industry? Can you articulate that to your clients? Can you pitch your product or service and explain it in a confident and convincing way?
If you want to see significant and sustained growth, exceptional service needs to be a core value. The way to show that value is to think about and communicate what makes you unique.
Why worry about your USP?
Most service firms will claim they offer a great service, so if you have nothing unique you will be competing solely on price. We don’t want to rely on that strategy in the construction industry. It may work in the early stages of a start-up, but as your business starts to expand and your overheads increase, prices have to rise to stay afloat. The problem is that your clients don’t care about your overheads, so if they see nothing else of value then you will lose that sale.
Standing out is much easier said than done though, as unless you have a specialist product it can be difficult. But it can be done. Apple phones are a great example, they have a high end product but when you compare solely on features they are similar to their competitors. How do they outsell their rivals every time? It’s not a unique product, but they have worked out a way to stand out with branding and reputation, and offer exceptional service and unique experience in their stores. You may be thinking that your company is nothing like Apple, but the point is you don’t have to be selling a unique product to stand out. The way to do that is focus on what you can offer that is exceptional and different to others, your USP.
How to find your USP?
This is not easy, but worth it. All around us companies struggle to find a unique selling point, you see similar taglines over and over again that are common in the marketplace. So how can you make sure that you are not relying on these stale and repetitive marketing techniques?
The first thing you need to think about is to make sure you can deliver on what you say you can. Actions speak louder than words after all.
And then you need to think about who your client is and who you sell to. What are their problems, fears and needs? What about your ideal client? What is their age? Young? Family? Where do they live? Single? Married? Interests? What magazines? What Facebook groups are they part of? What are their wants? Needs? What problems? What are they frustrated within their industry?
When you answer these questions you can start to create a picture, and it will help you to formulate your USP so that it appeals to and reaches your ideal customer. Make sure this picture isn’t too broad, it’s better to niche down and be specific about your ideal client. If you are finding this difficult you can talk to previous clients and ask them for their feedback, it’s a great way to get into the mind of an ideal client.
When you have an idea of who you want as your customers then you need to think about how your business can help them. What can your company do that is different from your competitors? Are you faster? Better quality? Been established for a long time? When you answer these questions you are starting to get to the core of your USP.
So in five simple steps you can identify your USP:
- Work out your ideal client
- Think of challenges or worries they face
- Explain how you solve the problem in a unique way
- List your distinctive benefits
- Make a promise or guarantee that will encourage potential clients to pick you
Finding your businesses USP can be liberating and give you clarity. It will mean you can finally stop worrying about competing on price and focus on actually solving a problem for your clients and price won’t matter.
What to do with your USP
So now you have done the hard work and identified your USP what can you do with it?
Communicate it to everyone, your staff and your clients, and it also needs to flow consistently through your marketing efforts. It needs to be the core of your business so reinforce it every time you have a staff meeting, make sure they all know what it is and that your sales staff is mentioning it. As soon as someone asks your staff what it is that you do it should roll off their tongue. Any possible clients have to come to see that you are better than anyone else you are competing against.
While it takes time to discover your USP, and may even change over time, the key is to find something unique, never stop talking about it and then deliver on it with exceptional service. If you would like to learn more about how you can implement strategies to grow your business check out the Win Big Clients course from Develop Coaching.
