This post will explore ways to identify a USP and highlight it to market a new business effectively. To start we will look at the areas that are important to consider when identifying your USP.
What Matters To Your Audience?
Before starting a business, you need to know exactly what your target audience are searching for as well as what will set you apart from other businesses or candidates.
It’s important to clearly layout the areas that make you or your business worthy to the target audience. Here are some questions that may come in handy:
- What do the audience want to know? To answer this question you must provide a solution, and don’t just stop at the product itself, think about areas closely linked and create content around these interests to become a useful resource as well as a provider.
- What are your audience’s interests? Social media is a fantastic way to find out what your audience like and dislike now. You can also discover trends between demographics as well as events they may be interested in.
Once you understand your audience a little more, you can start to discover where they currently shop or source what they require.
What Sets You or Your Business Apart?
This is where your competitor research comes in, and for new businesses, the research should be in-depth and thoroughly analysed.
Some of you may be wondering where to start but before you search or visit anywhere firstly think about where your target audience will be – there’s no point spending hours searching in the wrong place. Once you have your audience research create a list of things you have learnt and use this to direct your competitor research.
If online then make use of all search engines, don’t presume that everyone uses just one, when searching think of the following:
- What keywords are competitors putting money on?
- What search engines are competitors using?
- Are there certain businesses that keep reappearing?
- What’s in there meta descriptions?
These questions can help form the basis of your SEO (search engine optimisation) and PPC (pay per click) strategy. As well as provide you with clues as to where your audience are.
If offline marketing seems to be more appealing then invest in trade publications and find out who is making the news, check out some award ceremonies, and exhibitions. All of these areas should be on your plan, as well as networking events – these are of interest to both businesses and individuals searching for opportunities.
Understanding and Sharing Your USP
Once you have the research you are ready to define your USP. Creating a comparison table can help to identify what sets you apart, but whilst searching for this you must keep your clients interests in mind.
Your USP should be at the heart of your business and https://www.bcms.com/gb/en-gb have created some top tips for setting out your USP and sharing effectively with your audience.
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