E-commerce Business: How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition

Published by Color Experts International April 14, 2021

What is a Unique Selling Proposition?

A unique selling proposition is a statement featuring an advantage you offer to your clients you’re your competitors aren’t offering. In other words, it means one feature of your business that makes you stand out from your competitors. There are certain features that you can think of like discounts, free delivery, client service, and refund policy but they aren’t USP. Why? Because these are offered by your competitors too. For a feature to be USP, you have to come up with something unique. Got it?

So, how can you formulate a USP? Well, we will get to it and dilate upon it at length. But before that, let’s take a look at some of the unique selling proposition examples developed by some of the global brands.

Emirates- “Don’t just fly, fly better.”

With this USP, Emirates airline takes pride in offering a luxury flight experience to first-class passengers. They made it possible by investing tons of bucks in the futuristic fleet of Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft to ensure a smooth and comfy experience for passengers from take-off to landing. While most of the airline companies focus more on cost leadership, Emirates Airlines stressed the cozy journey of passengers. And they are performing their business incredibly well!!!

The Economist- “You have seen the news, why not discover the story?”

The Economist has developed their USP around storytelling. If you look at other newspapers, they are focused mainly on delivering news. But “The Economist” has something extra to offer beyond news and this is what they have urged on their USP. Their claim is further consolidated by another phrase- “Enjoy unrivaled analysis of the issues that lie behind the headlines.” This is a strong marketing statement as they are claiming their analysis is unrivaled.

M&Ms- “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your mouth.”

Their USP isn’t just humorous but quirky too, right? Everyone knows that their button-shaped chocolates won’t melt if they are hand-held. But yet M&Ms created a USP out of the fact and got a positive response from prospective clients. Their USP shows you can attract clients even with an uncanny USP as long as it benefits your potential customers. They produce their chocolates with candy shells that prevent inner chocolates from emitting and messing up your hands.

Bellroy- “Slim your wallet without turning your world upside down.”

An outstanding USP Bellroy has come up with to resolve people’s wallet-related pain points. It’s a fact that many a time due to excessive notes and other items, a wallet swells up causing not only tears in places but also giving an odd appearance while placed on the pocket. The company dug it well and put every effort to design and manufacture slim wallets to satisfy their prospects. Then, they formed this USP which no one thought before and attracted considerable buyers.

Hubspot- “There is a better way to grow.”

Hubspot as most of you may be aware is a company that provides marketing and sales solutions. They have developed a USP not only just compelling but also tactical. How? Other companies providing the same service generally promote themselves with a subscription-based plan. But Hubspot thought differently and they circulated themselves a little differently. Their special feature is, they allow you to get started with free tools and then upgrade as you grow. Their idea is, a company will initially make use of their free tools and then go for paid tools when they will expand. The company’s growth will allow them to grow as well. This is exactly what they meant by their USP.

Now, let’s cut to the chase. How can you create a unique selling proposition to multiply your e-commerce sales? We will introduce you to some effective tips that you utilize to formulate a USP for your online business.

Figure out the Current Customer Base:

At the very get-go, you have to identify who your clientele is. That means, to whom you are selling your online products. Because this is the first step to kick off communication with your clients and formulate a USP of your business. How can you do recognize your client base? Well, if you have already established your business, you can check out the reviews of existing clients about your different products and also leverage various types of SEO tools to know audience behavior and track traffic of your website as well as social media channels.

However, if you just started up without driving sufficient sales, you have to figure out your client base from the set of data derived from SEO tools as you won’t have too many reviews initially. This set of data will aid you to know your prospects or customer base.

Get in Touch with your Existing Clients:

Your business exists because of your customers and that’s why it’s very crucial to know their perspectives. What do they find, what do they like, and what do they feel about your business? When you know about their impression concerning your business, it gets easier to develop a USP for your e-commerce business. But the question is, how can you know their perspectives? Very simple and easy!!!

At first, communicate with your clients directly either through e-mails or phone calls. Know their needs and ask them about their experience with your products. Give them the opportunity to leave their feedback about your business. Try to know their pain points and ask them about the areas of your business that you can improve. Secondly, approach your client service team and get to know the queries they receive from the clients. This will surely help you to derive some values. Lastly, data analysis, which is key to know your clients’ behavior and approach. Gather data of your SMM and PPC campaigns and that will provide you perspectives of your clients too.

Identify your Strengths and Weaknesses:

If you are running a business whether online or offline, you have to act upon your strengths. And for that, you have to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Once you are done with the identification of your strengths and weaknesses, you can focus on your strengths to develop a USP and brush aside the weaknesses. You are now fully aware that in which aspect you are better than others and based on that you have to offer something to your clients that nobody else is offering in your industry. For example, your strength can be having an abundance of products in your stock or providing swift and secure shipment service. Whatever may be your strength, it will no doubt assist you to craft a unique selling proposition.

Keep an Eye on your Competitors:

If you think of developing a USP, you can’t defy your rivals. They are the prime reasons that push you to create a unique selling proposition for your online business. Carry out in-depth research of what they are doing and what campaigns they are running. This will facilitate you to come up with your own idea. And these days, knowing about your competitors is a walk in a park due to having access to many analytics. Take advantage of them, turn your strengths into differentiators and unlock your potential.

Question yourself and Share with Stakeholders:

Another effective way that you can go for is to introspect yourself regarding your business. Ask yourself relevant questions about your business and don’t forget to share them with other key members. Let’s give you some examples of questions you can ask yourself underneath-

What’s the reason your business exists today?

How do you fix the customer pain points?

How did your business evolve over time?

What are the effective selling points of your business?

How are you leveraging technology to uplift your business?

These are some of the examples of questions you can query yourself which you can share in the meeting, and get the input of all the stakeholders. In this way, different people will give different views that will assist you to step forward to generate a killer USP.

Time for Integration and Creation:

After doing all the analysis and communication, now it’s time to merge all the above steps and brainstorm some mesmerizing potential unique selling propositions. Examine each of them, discuss with other key members engaged with your business, and pick the best one intellectually and wisely. Bear in mind that the shorter the USP, the better it is. This elevator pitch shouldn’t cross the duration of 5 seconds when read aloud to hook people easily.

Finally, promote the Newly Generated-USP:

You have developed the USP for your potential clients. That means, they have to know about it and for that, you have to circulate it on different platforms. You have your website, social media, e-mail, forum, PPC that you can deploy to communicate with your potential clients and existing clients. Thanks to the Internet technology for creating so many channels for promotion!!! Once your audience knows about your USP and if they find it lucrative for them, your sales will start skyrocketing. That’s a guarantee!!!

Winding up:

The current era is the era of rivalry, isn’t it? And when it comes to the e-commerce business, the rivalry is one step forward. Starting up an online business is a piece of cake for anyone in this age of technology but generating sales is the real challenge for all these entrepreneurs. What you are offering through your business, thousands of other businesses are offering the same things. So, why should people pick up their essential goods from your online store? This is where developing a unique selling proposition helps you as through it you can set yourself apart from your competitors and grip your prospects.

A spellbinding USP can do wonders for your e-commerce business. So, don’t idle away when it comes to creating a unique selling proposition for your online business. That’s all for this write-up. Until we meet next time with another write-up, stay safe, healthy, and just chill!!! Meanwhile, you can visit our Website, Facebook as well as Linkedin pages to learn more about us.