Is Your USP worth Reconsidering?
Recently I saw a question posted on a networking site about a new business start-up. This person had created a B2B membership site but it was very unclear to me what the site was actually offering. This probably occurred because the site was built out of demand from another product he was selling to the same clients. The new membership site was meeting a very real demand but because it was closely linked with the other product, it was seen by existing clients as a bundle rather than solely as a membership site. When demand started to dry up from his existing client base, he started to look at ways to build the membership site as a stand-alone business.
I started off the discussion by asking what was his USP – Unique Service (or Sales) Proposition. This is what distinguishes your product or service from your competitors. It has to be very clear WHAT you are selling and HOW you are different from other similar businesses. The USP is at the very core of your business offering. This is pretty standard marketing analysis that needs to be done for every new business. It also needs to be re-visited regularly as it will evolve as the business grows.
The USP of the membership site as a standalone business had not been considered and going through this exercise can help to identify the main focus of this new business and to target new customers.
