USP or UVP? The Shortest Route to YES
What’s the number one problem that people ask me to help them solve? Whether it’s entrepreneurs, people trying to land their first job in a new country, or professionals who are trying to climb the leadership ladder - it basically boils down to one thing: How to get their prospect to say YES.
It's a major communications challenge to get noticed, heard and unambiguously understood. And then the next level is to convince that potential client, investor, hiring manager, or C-Suite team that you’re the best of all choices.
But seriously … How many boring introductions have you sat through yourself? Mind-numbing presentations? Confusing proposals? That was a rhetorical question.
So it seems that everyone is making the same mistake: “Getting the message out there” like it’s a one-way street before really considering who cares. In fact, there IS a one and only that your potential client cares about – “THE One and Only” in other words – themselves.
What? You just wanna peddle great technology? Or you're looking for employment and any decent job will do? Good luck with that. Until you figure it out, you’ll be on the treadmill for some time, working hard and not understanding why you’re not standing out the way you want to.
Stop the navel-gazing. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t about you, your product, your business. It’s about your prospective client / employer / investor and addressing their pain point. That’s it.
They're looking for a solution to their problem, and you need an instantly understandable soundbite that tells your desired audience exactly how you can solve it if you want their attention. Simple. Or is it? (Another rhetorical question).
FedEx said: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” (security, saving time). Canva tells us: “Empowering the world to design” (simplicity, affordability, competitive advantage); Coca-Cola invites us to: “Refresh the world. Make a difference” (global, sustainability).
What makes these successful examples? Each and every one focuses on the customer instead of the brand. They get people to connect various positive things that are bigger than themselves, bigger than the product, and bigger than the company).
The process is fairly simple, although the finesse with wordsmithing is fairly sophisticated. You’d be amazed how much work it is to make something sound profound, obvious and simple.
Many people confuse – or use interchangeably – the acronyms USP (unique selling proposition) and UVP (unique value proposition). They’re vastly different, and understanding why is going to help you connect better with the people you are trying to impress.
USP = describes what makes your product or offering stand out, and what makes it different from your competitors. Think: product or service, role, function, form = best in category compared to competition. It's a product-level differentiator - what you sell.
UVP = explains why a client / customer should care about that difference. In other words, what is the most compelling reason to choose you / your business / your product instead of another solution / candidate / offer? Think: relationship trust, emotion, lifestyle = best solution for your needs. It's a problem-level benefit - what your customer feels.
Very rarely is it about just the facts. It’s almost always about the feels. People buy a piece of identity, prestige, an emotional experience - core personal values - when they choose this or that brand over another. They’re buying more than what you’re selling.
So in order to craft your UVP, there has to be a profound and deep understanding of what they want, and what they value.
This is quite a different approach to the adage “Build it and they will come” (dumb advice - and a misquote, actually - from Ray Liotta in Field of Dreams, 1989). While it’s true that attention plants a seed, there’s no certainty that seed will grow. You’ve got no idea what the plant will look like, or whether it will bear fruit. Not exactly the bricks and mortar required to build the foundation for your dreams.
So don’t just slap up a website, a post, a resume, a pitch deck and expect anyone to roll up.
Instead, start digging into the psychology of your potential client. Not every client has the same problem. You have to understand profoundly what they're trying to do in their daily tasks and processes and conversations at work. You need to provide value >as they understand it< in order to have what you’re offering exchanged for money.
Exactly how are you going to help them do the job?
Half the problem is that your prospective client just doesn’t know what they want, what the solution is, or what value exactly you are bringing to the table. If they fully understood their own problem and knew how to solve it, they probably wouldn’t need you – and so your UVP would be sum zero. But they very much DO understand their own pain points.
Think of how many Dr. Google self-diagnosed patients show up at the clinic. They know damn well what their symptoms are, and they want to tell you all about it, in great detail. They’ll even prescribe themselves their own medicines or frontal lobotomies. Thankfully, we have medical specialists. So please realize that your client will likely be on the hunt for something that may not actually help them. And if you’re proposing something new or innovative, or just a little bit strange (internationally-trained professionals, and innovators that’s you!) – they’ll take a hard pass rather than risk it.
So what WILL enable you to showcase your value?
Well, you’re going to need both qualitative and quantitative measures in order to provide evidence that your solution or approach actually works. You’ll want to consider the following (from both your perspective and that of your ideal client):
Qualitative measures = The proof of trust from the stories you tell about yourself, your brand, your product, your company, and experiences others have had with it all; stories about how you solved a huge problem >just like theirs<; stories about happy, satisfied customers. These are real testimonials, actual case studies, buyer-generated reviews, and STAR stories (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
Quantitative measures = The proof of efficacy in terms of numbers, percentages, and other metrics that help provide the detail within the stories. Think of infographics - they’re easy ways of communicating facts at a glance. The trick is not to just dump the numbers, but make them mean something – make them an integral part of the story you are telling.
Even in highly technical fields, quantitative measures will take a back seat to qualitative measures every time. Stories create context, build trust, reveal values and problem-solving strategies. They’re a way for the client to envision themselves taking the hero’s journey in the story. The metrics are the signposts, tools, and victories along the way.
The difference between the story that your client is currently telling themselves (and their customers) – and the one you’re telling – is the measure of your opportunity. THIS is what you have to construct, brick-by brick, word-by-word, as the foundation of your UVP.
Then wordsmith your UVP in the language THEY use. Join the conversation that’s already on their mind. A well-crafted UVP is the shortest route to YES.
About the Author
Anna is an organizational psychologist and executive coach, with a special interest in all things technology. We’re part of the team at Garleff Coaching and Consulting Group. If this article has struck a chord, please let us know.
Anna Garleff Cell: +1 587 224 3793 / anna@garleffcoaching.com
www.garleffcoaching.com
