There are loads of things more important to your business than a USP. I’ve written before on why having a USP for your business isn’t that important and how most people get their USP way wrong.
If your customers are looking for a website or WordPress business, does it come down to being unique? Frankly, no.What customers are looking for is dependability, a return on their investment
What customers are looking for is dependability, a return on their investment and the ability to quickly understand what you offer and how you can help.
With that, let’s look at 7 things that are WAY more important to your business than a USP.
(Also, 7 things on the 7th day of the 7th month?! WOOOAAAAHH!!)
True to yourself
More than anything, your business needs to remain true to you and who you are. This sounds like fluffy Instagram wisdom but stick with me.
When you set up your business, you had a set idea of what you wanted to achieve. As time goes on your principles might change, you learn and grow and eventually, you have a confident idea of what you want your business to be.
Above all else, this is the most important thing to your business. Stick to your guns and allow your business to be a reflection of yourself. Being true to yourself is more important than a USP because at its core, you are unique.
Use your language and opinions in your posts. Use your experience and story in your work and build relationships with other people. Show yourself and be proud of who you are, because really that’s all people are buying.
Something to say
Right, soppy stuff out of the way. The easiest thing to have, that’s more important than a USP for your business, is having something to say.
So many businesses rely on boring safe ideas that they don’t appear to have anything to say. They have no opinions, nothing controversial or different. They blend into the wall because they don’t want to offend.
So instead of dividing opinion and finding people who agree with them, they agree with everyone and never really stand out. A single well-written and controversial blog post could do wonders for your business. Something killer that people look to want to comment on and share.
Useful resources
You’re already building this business asset and it’s 100x more powerful than a USP. Resources that are useful might be (in my humble opinion) be the most important aspect to a business model.
What do we mean by resources? Everything from PDF templates, text copy, infographics and images, process documents and how to guides. Your list of dependable suppliers? That’s a useful resource. The guide you give to customers, telling them how to reset their password? That’s a useful resource.
If you can package up all your content and information and teach someone else how to do your job, you’ve got a killer business asset.
I don’t care how unique a business is. If it doesn’t have resources that I can access and use, it isn’t one worth spending time with.
Social proof
Testimonials, comments and visitor data is more important than a USP because it shows proof from other people. It’s all well and good writing about how great you are, but if you’ve got evidence from other people that you’re great – well that’s gold dust.
Make it a habbit to collect social proof. Ask for testimonials and just start posting them on your site. Share user traffic data with other people and prove to them that you know what you’re doing. Better yet, get other people to prove you know what you’re doing.
A marketing funnel/having a process
Automating the process that someone lands on your page and moving them through a marketing and sales process. I can’t tell you how much time and effort this has saved me. As soon as someone signs up, we start a dialogue with them.
Remember you can download my exact marketing funnel plan below, totally for free.
You can see why Troy Dean and the team at WP Elevation hired me – spoiler alert: it’s all about because I’ve got a process. Maybe the process is unique, but what’s more powerful that a unique business is one that knows what’s doing.
Actually doing something
Short one this. Stop spending time thinking of clever USPs and start actually doing something. Coming up with slick marketing slogans or principles is busy work. You’re not helping anyone, you’re just making it look like you’re working.
Find someone that needs your help and help them – I’d rather have a customer than a USP any day.
Being understood
This is the hardest thing to do because it requires some serious thought. You might think people understand your business. You might think that people understand what you do, how yo can help them and how you’ll benefit them. But the truth is that they probably don’t.
Raise your hand if this has ever happened. As soon as you tell people you’re a website designer, they ask you if you fix printers.
Most people are NEVER going to understand what you do. But you need to make sure your audience and customers really do. Tell them how you BENEFIT thier business. How do you make them feel? What’s their status after they work with you? What do they have that they didn’t before?
Takeaway
- Doing something and finding customers is more important than a USP
- The easiest thing is to use the resources you have already
- The hardest thing is to flip a USP into something that people understand
Am I talking bollocks? Do you agree with me? Has your business got a USP that really helps you, or are you going to focus on something else? Let me know in the comments below.
Remember you can get access to the marketing funnel plan I use below, just pop in your email address and I’ll give you something more important than a USP. Your customers will think you’re a goddam genius.
