Crafting Your Business's Point of Difference

If you have any competitors at all in business, you’re almost certainly going to share things in common. After all, if you’re in the same industry and supply the same types of products and services, those similarities alone mean that you and your competition are largely the same. Each of these similarities can be referred to as a point of parity (POP).

Separating Yourself From the Pack

Given that this is true, what do you have to offer that should persuade a potential customer to choose your products and services over those offered by your competition? Is there something about your business that sets it apart from the competition, even if you sell the same products and services?

This is called a point of difference in business, and identifying and highlighting these points can be vital to your success. Also referred to as a unique selling point or proposition (USP), a point of difference in business is either one thing or a collection of things that differentiate your business as a whole from your competition. These points are used to demonstrate why your target market should choose your product or service offerings above those of your competition.

What are the Benefits of Differentiating Your Brand?

When you give it some thought, you’re sure to find points of differentiation between your brand and your competitors, but if you really want to craft a well-defined point of difference in business, you need to also think about why you’re putting together your USPs. To help you better understand your own thinking, below are some benefits of differentiating your brand:

Brand Loyalty

Building branding loyalty is a major benefit of clearly defining a point of difference in business. When customers view your brand positively, they are more likely to stick around, even when the competition changes its strategy. Product differentiations and even brand differentiations can create positive interactions and relationships with customers, thereby leading to affinity and brand loyalty.

Competitive Advantage

Simply put, differentiating your brand can be a competitive advantage. In fact, at its core, that’s what a USP is and does – it shows why your brand is different but also why your brand is better. One single point of differentiation doesn’t have to be the element that tips the scales, but instead, you can look for multiple smaller points that all add up to position your brand as the best option.

How to Craft a USP

If you want to learn how to write a USP, you first need to think about what your customers want. From there, you can compare your company and your competition against your results.

For instance, if your customer base places a strong emphasis on quality customer service, evaluate your own customer service strategy to find items to highlight. From there, compare the results against a similar evaluation completed on a competing brand. This should highlight a few areas where you differ from your competition but also meet customer expectations. These items can be your unique selling propositions.

Create a Spreadsheet or Infographic

Depending on your competitors and industry or the number of points you need to compare and highlight, it may make sense to create a spreadsheet while drafting your USPs. This document can be used as a frame of reference to compare and contrast points of difference between your brand and a competitor, and you can work through this list point by point to find the most important elements to highlight.

You can also create an infographic with this information. The advantage of this approach is that your infographic can be used as a marketing tool when creating bottom-of-funnel offers. Infographics that highlight your USPs can be placed on landing pages or included in email newsletters for warm leads who are very close to the purchasing step of the buyer journey.

Be Honest

When crafting your USPs, it can be tempting to get creative with your wording, but you’re encouraged to be honest. While it’s fine to market the points that make your business different from your competition, honesty will be the best policy. For instance, if your product comes at a higher price, you don’t have to highlight this, but don’t hide your pricing either. Deception can turn potential customers away and keep them away for good.

If you start stretching the truth or making points out to be more than they actually are, your customers will likely be disappointed after doing business with you. To make matters worse, you may open your brand up to criticism from competitors, giving them a competitive advantage in the process.

Contact E-Marketing Associates to Learn More About Differentiating Your Business

If you’re looking for strategies to differentiate your brand from a competing brand, contact the experts at E-Marketing Associates. We help consumers to choose our clients because we craft individualized e-marketing strategies that highlight the unique selling points that persuade customers, generate leads and boost conversions.