A USP answers the question, “Why should I choose you over your competition?”

The Dangers Of Not Having A Solid USP
The reason a USP is so important is because if you can’t tell somebody or convince somebody in a short statement why you are better than your competition then they can’t differentiate the two of you, and you become “more of the same”.

When you are the same as your competitor your service becomes a commodity – which is the last thing you want to happen.

Getting Shopped On Price
When your service becomes a commodity you start getting shopped on price. If your marketing, service, and unique selling proposition are all the same, the only thing that makes you different IS your price.  Prospects have to make some kind of decision on whom to go with and if price is the only differentiating factor, that will be the one used to hire you or not. This is a worst case scenario. The last thing you want is for someone NOT to focus on the value you can provide them and instead force you to compete on price and lose profits.

How To Stop Getting Shopped On Price
The quickest way to get someone to not focus on your price is to get them to focus all of their attention on your service, on what makes you unique, and on how you can solve their problems.  Doing all of these things will make people willing to spend more money with you than with your competition because they feel confident that you can give them what they need.

Developing Your USP
An important aspect of a USP is it needs to be easy to understand.  It has to be so obvious that your grandma could read it and know exactly what you do and why that is useful to her.

6 Example USP Categories
Now, I am going to give you a few different topics that you could base your USP around.

1. How you deliver your product.
   Maybe you deliver your service different than your competition. I know of a few companies that only provide remote support. They do 10 to 15 work orders a day specializing in this niche.
2. A different kind of business model.
   You could focus your USP around providing a unique offering like a free computer crisis hotline or a pick-up and drop-off model.
3. Financing you provide
   While other competitor’s in your area are charging full price up front, you may find success offering high-end solutions and putting together financing options to make it easier for clients to spend money with you.
4. A niche market you focus on
   Many tech companies specialize in nice markets like the health industry. If you do work for a law firm or accounting company, you may find that targeting similar companies can provide a profitable marketing solution.
5. Response time
   Think Dominos. They guarantee their pizza within 30 minutes or it’s free.  You too could build your USP around your response time. Determine what response time you can realistically commit to and consider using that to stand out from the crowd.
6. Money back guarantee
   I am a huge, huge, huge fan of money back guarantees, especially in the tech business, and any other business where trust is a big issue.  For example, with my computer consulting business-in-a-box I have a one-year money back guarantee.  I have this because trust is very important; you have to build that with your clients.  When you provide IT services and you offer a money back guarantee, you will find that sales will go up because less people feel there is a risk with hiring you for the first time.

USP In Action
I was just at GNC the other day, buying different supplements, and I wasn’t aware of their return policy. There was a product I wanted to try, but it was expensive and I was afraid of spending the money. Then the clerk told me about their guarantee which states that I can use as much of the product as I want and if I don’t like it, no matter how much is left, I can bring it back for a full refund.

I was blown away, and I bought the product I was considering because there was no risk involved.  Because of their return policy, I knew that GNC was confident in their product and so I ultimately became confident in the product too. Ultimately, that was enough to convince me to buy.

Famous USP’s To Study

1. FedEx – “Overnight delivery guaranteed.”
2. AAA – “24 hour roadside assistance.”
3. Ford – “Built Ford Tough.”
4. Walmart – “Always Low Prices.”

Conclusion
Every major, successful, multi-million dollar business in the world has a unique selling proposition.  That is specifically why they are making a lot of money and outselling their competition. They have a strong brand, and that brand makes them unique.  So, I urge you to start thinking about what your unique selling proposition is, and how it ties into your marketing message.

3 Key Elements Every Marketing Message Must Have:

1. Element #1 – You need a specific target market
   
   It’s important to identify specifically who your ideal client is. Determine the demographics and psychographics of your client-base so you know who you will be targeting your marketing message to.
   
   
2. Element #2 – Identify your target market’s problems and emotions
   
   You can uncover this information by talking to potential clients on the phone and subscribing to the same publications. In doing this, you are going to discover what problems your target market is dealing with, what emotions they experience (e.g. – are they frustrated with slow computers), whether or not they know how to make smart technology decisions, and what problems they have with their business that technology can help them solve.

3. Element #3 – Explain the benefits of your serviceA big mistake that I see IT business owners make all the time in their marketing is they list out what their service IS but they don’t list out what their service DOES.The reality is, people don’t care what your service IS – they hire you for what it DOES. They hire you because they have a problem and they want it fixed, but they don’t care what you do to fix it.The easiest way to determine what the benefits are of your service is to first list out all of the FEATURES that your service provides and then list the BENEFITS of each feature.  For example, if you are marketing a virus removal service, example features might be the amount of time it takes you to do the work, a special technique you use to perform the work, steps you take to remove the virus, and your response time to emergency calls. For each one of these features, you would then list out the benefits they provide your client.  Example benefits might be an end to your client’s frustration or the productivity that your client gains due to their computer running faster and more efficient. Once you discover the benefits of your service, list them in bullet point form in your marketing. Use the benefits of your service as the centerpiece for your marketing, because they will generate the largest emotional response from potential clients.

KEY TIP  - Whenever possible…market to PROBLEMS! Marketing to problems is powerful, especially in the IT industry, because problems are “hot – buttons” that motivate buying behavior.  This is due to the fact that we all endure problems and we are “wired” to want to solve them.  When you talk to someone about problems in your marketing, 2 things happen:

First, you grab their attention by talking about something they truly care about. Second, just the fact that you can identify the problem they are experiencing makes you more credible because they will assume that if you know what their problems are then most likely you know how to FIX their problems.  This will make them much more inclined to hire you.

For a complete “paint by numbers” system to starting up, growing, and running a profitable computer consulting business, consider investing in my Computer Consulting Business In-A-Box.