Using A Unique Selling Proposition To Jumpstart Your Home Based Business!
A business without competition is like a professional sports league with only one competing team – it’s just not realistic. And if you think competition means taking the bull by the horns, then that may just be validating the belief of many that competition is an unsavory part of running a business.
But if you look on the other side of things, you can use competition as a means of leverage, and this would lead us to the juicy part of this short article – a very “unique” way of making your business a big hit!
How Can You Make Your Business Unique
For example, selling home videos. DVD’s, and electronic games is nothing new. Once upon a time, small video store businesses were a part of every American small town and even big cities, but along came Blockbuster, which figuratively dropped an atomic bomb on such business type – KABOOM!
Given that example, why should you even think of selling DVDs and video tapes? Think again.
Opening another video store would probably be difficult – having the ability to order 20-30 copies of all the popular videos would probably be too costly for most people.
However, enter a new challenger, NetFlix, a company that was NOT one of Blockbuster’s direct competitors. The brain trust behind the company did indeed rent the same videos, but introduced a brand new method – through mail and online orders.
Behold, the Unique Selling Proposition as demonstrated by NetFlix!
How can you create a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) for your business?
Answer the following 5 questions
What does your business sell, and who do you sell it to? What are the benefits of your products or services, or your business in general, that your customers find appealing? What does your business specialize in? On the other hand, what are your business’ areas for improvement? What do you offer that you do better -or different – than your competitors?
If you need help coming up with ideas for the last one – which is the most important question to answer – go out and “shop” your competition:
read their ads Are they visible on the phone book? Do a comparison of websites by doing a quick Internet search. Try one of their products out for yourself, or ask family or friends to give them a try. Small business association membership can help.
We don’t need to show you how to do this – the next step is to go lean and mean, make your USP about one or two sentences long, then implement it all throughout, make it your gospel screed, and spread the good word of your Unique Selling Proposition in every customer contact or advertising campaign you employ!
If you can make your business different from the rest – and stand out above the competition – you’ll be well on your way to success!