As you all know, I’m a regular blogger on the topics that are important to business owners, including business growth, business value, business planning, exit strategies etc. As I work closely with a lot of businesses that complement my offerings I have decided to invite some guest bloggers to talk about other subjects that you as business owners may be interested in.
The first guest blog is from Manpreet Singh from Bobble Digital and he talks about about finding your USP.
Finding Your USP – Dare To Be Different
Here’s an experiment; think of some of your favourite brands. What is it that draws you to them? What makes them stand out? Is it the quality of their products? The experience you have when you work with them? Or is it deeper than that?
Whatever your answer was, part of what you remember about that particular brand is their USP – their unique selling position. Your favourite brands have differentiated themselves from their competitors in a way that makes them memorable.
At Outside In Management, we’ve been talking with Manpreet Singh, founder and CEO of Bobble Digital, a digital marketing agency that helps businesses to deliver results. We asked for his view and expertise around what you need to consider if you want your business to stand out from the crowd.
Here’s what he had to say.
People Buy Values
You know the saying ‘people buy people’? Well it’s true. Continue to peel the onion and you’ll soon realise that people also buy values. This is why it’s a valuable exercise to identify clear, tangible values early on in your business journey. A core set of values that your whole organisation, and your audience, shares. To be clear, we’re not talking about ‘transparency’ or ‘integrity’ – there’s nothing differentiating about those. Seriously, if a business doesn’t have those values as a standard, you’re not likely to touch them with a barge pole, right?
Your Values
No, we’re talking about values that truly mean something. Start by thinking about the things that matter to you. What makes up your company culture? What words matter to you? Jot them down. You’ll end up with a generous pool of words and the picture of your values will slowly start to reveal themselves. This is something that Peter understands completely. For him, working successfully with a business means sharing values. At Outside In Management, for example, there’s a big emphasis on getting the things you really want from being a business owner. Things like, time, financial reward, a sense of freedom. All in all, a really good life. That’s all sounding pretty inviting from where we’re standing.
Don’t settle for things you think your customer wants to hear; there’s no place for inauthenticity here. If you’re not going to be true to your values, then don’t bother at all. This is something that those businesses just starting out have a great opportunity to pin down from the off. Use your blank canvas to deliver values that will help you be heard above the white noise.
Do Your Competitor Research
Finding your USP can be daunting. It’s hard to look at things objectively and sometimes, you can’t see the wood from the trees. Checking out your competition can be a really helpful place to start. Look at what they’re doing and what they’re not doing. What are you offering that they’re not? This will help you to see the similarities and differences. More importantly, you’ll have the opportunity to offer something different to your customers. Or, at the very least, offer it in a different way.
Map Out Your True Customer Journey
All too often, businesses fall back on ‘excellent customer service’ (yeah, that old chestnut) being the thing that puts them ahead of the pack. But again, who wants to work with a business with anything less than excellent customer service? What are you really offering here? Figuring out exactly what your customer journey looks like can help you to be more specific about the pain points your business can help with. This, and the way you do it, is a big part of what makes you unique.
As a culture, we’re not that great at shouting from the rooftops about what we’re good at. But when it comes to your business, there’s really no reason to hold back. Blending into the business background isn’t enough, you’ve got to be seen, heard and bought. Identifying your differentiators is what’s going to help you be just that.
Get More Out Of Your Business
If you’d like to find out more about how Outside In Management can help you get more out of your business without the sacrifice, book a call with Peter. If you’re interested in discussing a strategy to help you understand how to make your business stand out, you can contact Manpreet at manpreet.singh@bobbledigital.com.