What’s Your Yawp? Creating a Killer USP for your Company

Big or small, no matter what the industry, every business needs a USP. If you have a USP, keep reading and make sure it’s as great as it can be. If you don’t have a USP yet, why not? I’m about to show you how some of the biggest brands in the world have taken the time to create a clear USP…why haven’t you?

And if you don’t know what the heck a USP is, this article is specially written for you.

A USP is a “Unique Selling Proposition.” Entrepreneur magazine defines it as “The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.”

In a crowded world of brands and companies competing for your customers’ attention and wallets, a USP is your way of differentiating yourself. When I think about USPs, I always think of the poet Walt Whitman, who wrote the poem “Song of Myself.” It’s a meditation on individuality and is probably best remembered as being quoted by the Robin Williams character in the film Dead Poet’s Society.

In one memorable scene, Williams’ character quotes Whitman’s line of “…I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

You need to know what your company’s own barbaric yawp is. And then you need to sound it over the rooftops of the world.

Important note – don’t confuse a tagline with a USP. A tagline can be any cutesy slogan. A tagline’s designed to simply attract attention. But an effective USP must contain these 3 elements: Problem Solving, Exclusivity and Credibility. We’ll talk more about those later.

But for now, the best way to explain what a USP is to simply show you. Here are some examples of wonderfully engaging and differentiating USPs:

TOMS Shoes

Rather than try to beat the competition by touting low prices or more comfortable shoes, TOMS went back to the passion that started the company in the first place. Or should I say compassion?

TOMS’ founder Blake Mycoskie  began selling shoes to consumers as a way to help put shoes on the feet of underprivileged people in needier parts of the world. This passion-for-compassion soon became a sensation and TOMS footwear’s USP became the beautifully simple: “One for One. With every product you purchase, TOMS will help a person in need.”

IKEA

Another big brand with a killer USP is Ikea. “Affordable solutions for better living.” I mean, how dead on is that? IKEA is undeniably affordable and their products help all aspects of living, from seating to eating to sleeping. It’s a USP that is simple, direct and packs a lot of purpose into 5 words.

NyQuil

This is one of my favorites. Talk about unbeatable! Thousands of cough and cold medicines line the shelves of a million pharmacies worldwide. But few (none?) can convincingly make the claim that NyQuil makes in it’s USP: The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat, best sleep with a cold medicine

Are you starting to better understand what a USP is? And why it’s important to define and refine yours? Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to create a killer USP.

Step One: Review What You Have

You may not have a USP yet but I bet you have a lot of other documentation by now. Marketing plans, mission statements, competitive analysis, etc. Sit down with all of these docs and really review what the guts of your vision and business really are.  Talk them over with key staffers and especially partners.

It’s important to, while you’re in the USP mindset, remove yourself from the day to day grind of your business and instead return to the big picture. Distill it down the very basics: what exactly, precisely do you sell? To whom are you selling? Most crucially – what do you strive to do especially well, that your competition can’t match? These things should all become the core of your USP.

Step Two: How Can You Help Them?

Your customers have myriad problems. Money problems, quality problems, business problems, security problems, appearance problems. Which problem can your company solve for them?

Take the average FedEx customer. Their #1 problem is making sure that the packages they need to be delivered actually get delivered… reliably!

Business deals, contracts, and entire businesses can often hinge on whether or not certain documents get delivered on time. FedEx brilliantly addressed this need/problem/fear head-on with its USP: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” This is a concise, memorable example of a USP that addresses its consumer problem head-on.

Step Three: How Are You Different?

This is the turning point of the USP creation process. (By the way – if you can’t easily figure out what is different about your company, you have bigger problems and you really need to get back to the drawing board.)

Identify what is different or just plain better about your company or product. Think about what you say on the phone when a customer says “Why shouldn’t I buy from your competitor?” Whatever the answer to that casual question is…is what should help define your USP.

Step Four: The Pledge

Your USP must have a ‘promise’ baked right in it. NyQuil’s promises a good night’s sleep. FedEx promises firm delivery times. TOMS promises that your purchase will benefit those in need.

What can you promise your customers? Faster deliveries? Tastier food? Clearer skin? Even if your product or service has multiple benefits, choose the one you think they most desire and lead with that.

Bounty Paper Towels are “The Quicker-Picker Uppers” because, although it might also be affordable, Bounty decided that their customers might actually care more about the speed with which their paper towels absorbed messes.

What can you pledge your customers?

Step Five: Make It Real

Once you think you are close to zeroing in on a USP you need to run it past two tests. The first is, how believable is it? Brands that promise that you’ll “look like you lost 50 pounds” instantly lose all credibility. You must ensure that the promise you make…makes sense. Good, believable horse sense.

Step Six: Make It Specific

Although you need not pack all of the how’s and whys right into the USP itself, you should be prepared to back it up in the fine print. Get specific on exactly how you plan to fulfill this USP’s promise. If you’re promising faster delivery times, tell them its because you own the biggest fleet of delivery trucks in your city.

If you promise the purest ingredients, back it up by telling them that all of your resources must first pass rigorous safety and purity tests. Don’t just tell them what you will do for them. Let them know how.

It’s Challenge o’Clock!

What’s your USP? Don’t have one yet? Get going. Make next week USP week. Sit down with a trusted group of partners and staffers, lock yourselves in a room for a few hours, use the steps listed above and don’t come out until you have a fantastic USP. Email it to me when you are done and I’ll give you my feedback.

If you already have a USP, send that to me now! I’ll pick the best member USPs and feature them in an upcoming blog post.

Get going, get thinking, get USPing!!

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