A Unique Trade Offer (USP) refers to a unique advantage that distinguishes a company, service, product or brand from competitors.
A unique trade offer, more often called a USP/Unique Trade Offer, refers to one element that makes your business better than competitors.
This is a special advantage that sets your business apart from other businesses in your market.
Creating a USP through research and knowledge helps you focus your marketing strategy and influences communications, branding, written and oral tone, and other marketing decisions.
In fact, the USP should quickly answer the most pressing question of a potential customer when they encounter your brand:
"How do you differ from your competitors?"
Your USP should focus on your strengths and be based on what makes your brand or product uniquely valuable to your customers.
Being "unique" in itself is rarely a strong USP.
You need to distinguish between some aspects that concern your target audience, otherwise your communication will not be very effective.
A good USP should be:
Ambitious, but justified: a specific position that forces you to make claims against competing products is better remembered than a general position such as "we sell high-quality products".
Focus on what your customers value: "Unique" doesn't really matter if it's not what your target customers really care about.
More than just a slogan: Even though a slogan is a way to communicate your UTP, your UTP should also be something that you can implement in other areas of your business, from return policy to the supply chain.
It's not necessarily the product you're selling that needs to be unique, but the message you've decided to focus on means you have no competitors.
What is not a unique trading offer
Marketing offers such as a 10% discount, free shipping, 24-hour customer service and a strict refund policy are not USP.
Although they are plausible and effective, they are not unique in themselves, and you cannot easily defend against your opponents as they can copy.
How to create a unique sales offer?
Let's see how it works, using the example of our cat food business.
Please note that everything in parentheses can be changed according to the characteristics of your company, and this structure can be applied to both companies and individual products.
Unique trading offer template:
for [cat]
Who [needs top quality cat food]
[Arthur's Cat Food]
[The world's only personalized cat food]
It [produces cat food that matches your cat's DNA].
Unlike [other cat food manufacturers],
[Arthur Cat Foods] is [the only brand you can offer your cats that matches its DNA].
That's it!
If someone asks you about your business, you can use this template as a short way to describe what your company does.
By thinking about your business or products in this way, you can focus on what is really important — your ideal customer — and identify obvious problems with your USP.
Examples of unique trading offers
The desktop PC market is a good example for many manufacturers, as well as for new assemblers.
Apple used the slogan "Beauty on the outside, Monster on the inside" in its Mac Pro campaign to highlight its product as "beautiful" compared to other desktop computers. Buyers of this product were willing to pay a higher price compared to technically comparable desktop computers. Apple stood out by focusing on aesthetics and cutting-edge technology.
In its "Save Money, Live Better," Wal-Mart focused on being the cheapest mall and reminding shoppers that it's not how much they spend on a product that matters. This USP is based on strong, direct and concise messages that give consumers a clear idea of exactly what value they will get by choosing a particular brand or product.
Something simple enough to attract such customers and showcase your business's unique selling proposition is what people are looking for.
M&M's: "Melt in the mouth, not in the hands." 1954 M&Ms used a patented coating for hard candies, which prevented the chocolate from melting in the hand compared to other brands, so that soldiers could wear chocolate.
Head & Shoulders: "Clinically proven to reduce dandruff." 1961 After 10 years of research, it was discovered that pyrithione-zinc is a really effective ingredient for removing dandruff, unlike other products. Adding the name "Shoulders" to the product name was supposed to mean that the product removes white spots on clothes caused by dandruff particles falling from the hair.
Domino's Pizza: "Get a fresh, hot pizza to your door in less than 30 minutes — or for free." 1973-1993 "You Have 30 Minutes" 2007 Domino's uses what it calls a "build system" to make pizza quickly.
FedEx: "Absolutely, when it was necessary to be there for the night." 1978–1983». FedEx was the first to specialize in night air transportation and the first to implement parcel tracking.