Just a few years ago, before the revolution of the internet and the huge number of online businesses that have sprung up, and before so many people chose to become self-employed, it was much easier to make your own business stand out. The right logo, the right branding, and the right products meant that you could be seen, and therefore, you could sell.

If you want to stand out from the crowd with your business and have more chance of success, you need to know what your USP—unique selling proposition—is.

Knowing this means that you know what makes you different from your competitors, and you can use that information to show customers why you are the one that they need to buy from.

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How to Find Your USP in 3 Ways:

1. Think Like A Customer

One of the problems that you may face when you are trying to work out what your USP is, is that you are too close to your business to truly be able to look at it objectively. That’s great when you are doing the work and running the business, but it’s less helpful when you are trying to establish what makes you different. You are so close to the action, as it were, that you might not even be able to see the differences, even though others can.

It’s a good idea to take a step back and think objectively about what your business does, and what you want to achieve. Think, in other words, like a customer.

• What do they see?
• How do they think about the business?
• What is it that you do that stands out for them in a positive way?

When you look at it in this way, it will be much easier to see what makes you special.

Related Article: How to Create a Well-Crafted Buyer Persona(S): 80+ Questions to Answer

If you are having trouble considering each feature of your business objectively, why not ask your customers what they like about you, and what makes them choose your business to buy from. This first-hand information can then be used in your marketing; you can create perfect point of purchase signs, logos, banners, brochures, and web content that all revolve around your USP.

2. Know Why People Buy

What motivates your customers? This is another useful point to consider since it will help to point you in the right direction when it comes to marketing. Whatever is the most important feature of your business, be it customer service, price, the quality of your products, the location of your store, the convenience factor, special offers, or anything else; this what you need to think of as your USP.

Again, asking your customers to let you know what they like best is the easiest way to gain this information, and you can do it in a number of ways, including:

• Online surveys
• Competitions
• Social media
• Through your blog

There could be all manner of different answers, of course, because everyone is different. Your job is to find what the majority of people like the best, and that you are sure that you can replicate this for everyone who buys from you.

3. Be Memorable

When you make your business memorable in a positive way, customers are more likely to come back to you time and again, and they will tell others about their positive experiences with you.

Whatever it is that is making people remember you over a competitor will be to do with your USP, and may even be your entire USP. It might be hard to determine exactly what that is, but it is crucial that you do.

End Word

There are so many businesses around today, that this is no longer the case. It’s wonderful that there are hundreds of entrepreneurs starting up each day, but it does mean that it is difficult for each of them to truly make a name for themselves and to make customers aware of who they are and what they can do.

This is why, unfortunately, so many businesses fail. Discovering your unique selling proposition (USP) is vital to the success of your business.