What Is a “Unique Value Proposition” and How Does It Help You?

No matter how brilliant your marketing strategy is, it won’t be nearly as effective without a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) on which to anchor itself. Many entrepreneurs and startups like to skip the step of creating a UVP, but it’s one of the most important elements of almost any successful business—and definitely worth the time it takes to come up with it.

What Is a Unique Value Proposition?

Sometimes also called a “Unique Selling Point,” a UVP is a short, concise statement that tells potential customers what makes your product or service stand out above the rest. Ask yourself the question: If I had 5 seconds to tell someone why they should buy from me rather than my competition, what would I tell them? The answer to that question forms the heart of any well-crafted UVP. In fact, a good Unique Value Proposition has three key elements to it, which coincidentally relate to each of the three words:

• Unique—what you do that no one else can do, or what you do better than the competition.
• Value—what the customer stands to gain by working with you or buying your product.
• Proposition—what specific product or service you are offering the customer.

Some good examples of Unique Value Propositions include:

• Evernote: “Your notes. Organized. Effortless.” (It couldn’t be any more concise.)
• Digit: “Save money, without thinking about it.” (Tells you exactly what it does.)
• Avis: “We’re number two. We try harder.” (Tells you exactly why you should pick the second largest car rental company, rather than the largest.)

What a UVP Is Not:

• It is not a slogan. Occasionally, an exceptional UVP might double as a slogan, (e.g., “We try harder”) but slogans are written for brand recognition and advertising, not to describe what makes you stand out.
• It is not a mission statement. Mission statements are written to guide company decisions. A UVP is designed to convince customers to work with you. One faces inward; the other faces outward.

How a UVP Helps Your Marketing

When you’ve nailed your Unique Value Proposition, it basically informs (and often appears on) every piece of marketing content you create. It helps your messaging stay consistent across all your marketing channels and lets prospective customers know just what to expect from you. It also helps you craft your marketing materials more easily because you always have a starting point for what to say. For that matter, when time or space are both limited, your UVP can become the marketing message by default. And finally, it helps you stay mindful and focused on why you’re in business in the first place.

Crafting a Unique Value Proposition is not easy; in fact, it will probably take you longer to write those few words than any other form of content you create. You’ll also probably make lots of revisions along the way, and you’ll want to test and retest your UVP to see how prospects respond to it. However, once you see how it pays off in both brand awareness and lead generation, you’ll realize that writing a good UVP is one of the best investments of time you can make in your business. 

No matter where you are in the process of developing your UVP, the team at HAC Digital Media can help you get to the next level. Our team includes experts in web design, SEO, Adwords, brand building, digital TV advertising, and social media management. We’re here to help you reach new people, so you can deliver on the unique promise of your business. Call us at (302) 239-6688 or reach out online today!