You get one chance at a first impression. That’s why your unique value proposition, more commonly referred to as your UVP, should be front and center: On your website, yes. But also baked throughout your content strategy and woven through every channel and touchpoint. When someone finds their way to your digital front door, you don’t have time to be coy about what it is you can do for them.
What, Exactly, is a UVP?
Your UVP can be thought of as your business’s unique selling point. Or, put another way, what is something you offer that your audience both wants and that your competitors aren’t giving them?
For example, what do RX Bars promise their customers? A whole food with no additives or fillers, unlike many other products on the market. What does Patagonia offer its customers? Long-lasting, tough outdoor gear from a company that is fighting climate change.
Your UVP is not a slogan or a catchphrase. Rather, those are mechanisms for communicating your UVP.
Your UVP Can Be Anything That Resonates with Your Audience
Your UVP isn’t what makes your product or service better than the competition; it’s what makes it unique in the eyes of your audience. It’s something that your market can’t find anywhere else. Whether you have the lowest prices (and will beat any competitor’s price, guaranteed), you offer a unique service (pick up and delivery pet boarding in a region where no other business offers that option), or you just carry a product no one else sells (a homemade soda that you can only buy at your particular store or restaurant), the point is that if your customers want what you’re offering, they can’t go to anyone else.
Or, as Micro Arts puts it, if no one else in the field can attach their name to a statement you’ve made about your product or service, then that’s a good start at finding your UVP.
Be Unique and Useful
Most critical is to make sure that your UVP resonates with your target audience. Because, as the old saying goes, just because you’re unique doesn’t make you useful. Your business may, for example, be the only one out there who takes the rugs outside and beats them the old-fashioned way… but in a world where most houses have carpets instead of rugs (and where we have the technology to get them even cleaner without ever picking them up off the floor), this isn’t a UVP that’s going to get people jumping off their couches to dial your number and make an appointment.
Match What You’re Selling to Your Target Audience
The key to having a successful UVP is to know and understand your audience. Don’t attempt to articulate your UVP until your buyer personas are dialed. In fact, check out this blog we wrote on 15 questions to find your target persona. if your buyer persona is done properly, your UVP will smack you right in the face as you dissect their fears, desires, mindset, and behaviors.
Questions about how to integrate your UVP into your content strategy? Let me know.
In your corner,
