Unique selling proposition: the three tests most USPs fail
The one thing you do that the shop in the next tab doesn't, and that a customer actually cares about. If a competitor could claim it tomorrow, it isn't one.
- 140Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that their product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.
- Also called
- A unique selling point, or just your USP
- Has to be
- True, hard to copy, and something a buyer would choose on
- Not the same as
- A value proposition, which is the whole promise around it
- Shows up in
- Product pages, ad hooks, the sign-up form and the welcome flow
Three tests a real USP passes
Most shops have a USP the way most companies have a mission statement. It's written down somewhere, and it says high quality, great service and fast delivery. Every competitor claims all three, so none of them is unique, and none of them is a reason to choose you.
- It's true, and you can show it: a process, a material, a guarantee, a person
- A competitor can't say the same thing tomorrow without lying
- A buyer would actually choose on it, not just nod at it
Fail one and you've got a slogan. Pass all three and you've got the first line of your product page.
Finding your USP in what customers already say
You're the worst person to find it, because you know too much. Your customers have already told you, in reviews, in replies to your emails, in chats with customer service. Read your best reviews and write down every reason somebody gives for buying.
Then ask. One question in the post-purchase flow, why did you choose us, collects the answer in their own words. The phrase that keeps coming back is usually your USP, and it's often something you'd never have put on the homepage.
Where a USP has to show up, and where it goes missing
| Place | What the USP should do there |
|---|---|
| Product page | Sit in the first screen, near the price, not on an about page |
| Sign-up pop-up | Give a reason to join that isn't only a discount |
| Welcome flow | Prove it early, with evidence, not the slogan again |
| Ads and subject lines | Lead when the shopper is comparing you with someone else |
The welcome flow is where it most often goes missing. Email one hands over the code, email two tells the founder story, and nothing ever shows the thing nobody else can say. The welcome flow is the cheapest place to make that argument, because the reader's still deciding.
Related terms
FAQs
What's the difference between a USP and a value proposition?
A USP is the difference: the one thing you do that others don't. A value proposition is the whole promise, meaning what the customer gets, who it's for and why it's worth the price. The USP usually sits inside the value proposition as its sharpest line. You need both, and they mustn't contradict each other.
Can free delivery be a USP?
Rarely. Anyone can match it by changing their shipping settings, so it fails the test of being hard to copy. It still matters, and it belongs near the price. But if free delivery is the best reason you can give for buying from you, the product page has a bigger problem than shipping.
How long should a USP be?
Short enough to fit in a product page's first screen, a subject line or the opening of an ad. One sentence, ideally a short one. If it needs a paragraph to make sense, it's an explanation, and the USP is hiding somewhere inside it.
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