If You’re in Business You Need a Slogan

When you are just one business among many others who provide the same type of services it is important to be unique. Whether you are a plumber, an accountant, a chiropractor, or a landscaping contractor, giving yourself a unique twist will help distinguish your business from your competitors.

This is what is often called creating a USP – a “Unique Selling Proposition”. Your USP is a feature of your business approach that will set you apart from your competitors, that you can build a service approach around, and that you can use in your marketing so that your brand has a consistent and unique identity.

In many cases your USP can be boiled down to a slogan or catch phrase or tag line. In fact it is often easier to think in these terms. Mass marketers like McDonalds use slogans like “I’m lovin’ it” or “You deserve a break today” to capture some value-added aspect of their service. Or consider this one: “Zero’s Subs. We’re Hot and on a Roll”.

Often your USP will not be a price advantage. Saying “we will beat any competitor’s price” is not particularly unique and it certainly will not usually add to the profitability of your company.

Your USP should add value – a perceived advantage – in the eyes of your prospective customers. It should give your customers and prospects a reason to deal with your business rather than one of your competitors.

An Example – Developing a USP for a Home Renovation Business

Let’s say you run a home renovation service. You have the skills to do virtually any type of home renovation, but there are some aspects that are both more interesting and more profitable. So you decide to focus on providing energy efficiency upgrades.

This can involve everything from recommending and installing new energy efficient heating and cooling systems, to installing higher grade insulation, windows and doors, roofing, to upgrading kitchens and bathrooms and a full range of energy efficient appliances.

Now that you have a rough idea of your proposed area of specialization, you need to crystallize that idea into a short sentence that will serve as your unique selling proposition.

Finding the right way to express your USP is very important and requires some serious thought. You can see how in this example your USP will set the future direction of your business, and will provide you with a focus for every aspect of your marketing.

This is where you may want to consult with a marketing expert. You specialize in home renovations. Marketing people specialize in concepts, words and images. Find someone who can understand your business from the inside out.

Whether you do it yourself or get a marketing expert to help, you should be looking for a short, succinct statement that will summarize your focus and specialization.

It should also be able to serve – perhaps in a shortened form – as a “slogan” or “catch phrase” you can use in your advertising. This should capture the essence of your business in a meaningful and memorable way.

Go ahead and leave a suggestion for a USP for our imaginary home renovation business.

Tagged as: local business, marketing, small business