I’m crazy for great customer service. It’s what I promise anyone who does business with me and it’s an important factor for me in choosing where I spend my money.

I know one of my pet peeves is shared by a lot of people – crappy customer service. Spending your hard earned dollars and being treated with indifference. People who act surprised when you expect them to do what they said they would, when they promised. I mean, how hard is it really? You’re committed or you’re not.

How can you give your customers a great experience? How do you make them feel valued and important? How can you tie that into your business and your unique selling proposition (USP)? Is it something you care about? Could you use that to set yourself apart? If it is something you care about – it’s a killer USP because so many people just flat-out don’t get it or don’t care, or both!

Recently I needed some new people to outsource web and graphic design to. I put an ad on Craigslist and was promptly flooded with resumes, websites and samples. My first pass was for the style I was looking for; my second pass was for customer service. In this case I was looking for people who could commit to a deadline and stick to it and who really cared about doing it with a great attitude and were easy-going. Finding great style was easy –great customer service was much harder to find.

I didn’t end up choosing the people whose work was the least expensive, although many people put that front and center as their USP – they would get the job done for less. I tried one of those for-less guys –his customer service was great – for about a week. After the first job he suddenly lost his interest in being diligent and had a real attitude. Another ‘price guy’ disappeared. Apparently he was cheap for a reason.

The people I ultimately chose and am working with and will continue to bring my business to are the ones who deliver great quality when they say they will with a great attitude in the bargain.

OK – I admit it – I deeply value doing what I say I will and others who do the same – it’s hard for me to work with people who don’t. People who don’t drive me nuts. Even people I really like. Even if they’re friends. It’s become a USP for me – my clients know they can count on me to deliver great marketing copy – on time and with no prima donna attitude. Ultimately, they’re always right. Reminds me of a question we ask a lot around here: Would you rather be right or be happy? For me, it’s happy.

If killer customer service is something you value, think about using it as part of your marketing platform – you’ll really make yourself stand out and get more business from the kinds of people you want as clients. It’s win-win.

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I promise you I’m not crying despite the look on my face!

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What Makes You Different?

Here are some things to think about that will help you define your USP and what’s unique about your business….

For all intents and purposes, your (Unique Selling Proposition) USP is your answer to the following question:

Why should I buy from you instead of somebody else whose product I perceive as similar or maybe even the same as yours?

And remember, your customer pretty much only cares about what’s in it for them.

SO…..maybe you’re a web designer and you come up with:
“My web design is so awesome that you won’t be able to resist its huge appeal, or mine so you will want everything I ever produce, and convince all your friends and colleagues to want it too.”

Nice try. Unfortunately, it’s not a USP.

For example, lots of people are web designers, and all of them think their web design rocks. At least I hope they do. So what makes you special? Different? Worth paying for; buying from?

This is the unique part of the Unique Selling Proposition. What makes you unique? Stand out from the crowd? What compelling thing do you offer that makes what you do more appealing/different from your competition?

What kinds of websites do you design?

Do you write the copy for someone’s site, or work with someone that does?

Can you help a client with their marketing message?

Is branding your specialty?

Do you set sites up in a way that makes them easier for clients to use? Better for their customers? How? And what does that translate into for your client? More visitors? More sales?

Are you proficient in a technology that other people may not know?

Are you a stickler about deadlines and delivering on time?

Do you have clients that are well known?

Do you specialize in something?

Do you build really great e-commerce sites?

Do you design for a specific industry, like the film industry or potato farmers?

Your USP may be wrapped up in what kind of work you do, or it may have to do with a service you provide that ties into the work you do.

Don’t forget that clients also look at the price tag. And that can be a USP too. Do you offer a payment plan? Do you take checks or PayPal? Credit Cards? Financing? Something to make their life easier? Payments simpler?

All of these things can be tied into your USP and what moves your client to do business with you. Be innovative, stand out. Use your personality and promote the things you love best about what you do. Other people will love that about your work too.

Be sure you’re clear about what you offer and include it in all your marketing materials. State it in simple, plain language. Have someone help you craft your message if it’s in your budget. When you have a USP that really resonates with you, it will attract more business and it will keep you from trying to be all things to all people and risk not standing out to anyone. Be bold – be real and grow your business.

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Putting it Together

Marketing and building your business is easier if you know what makes you stand out from the competition. It’s about knowing your Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

What does make you stand out? How are you different? You need to take the time to really think about that. For example – if you offer the same product or service I can get from someone else, why would I get it from you? Are you going to treat me better? Have a better price? Be available at midnight when I’m freaking out and your work is supporting my deadline? You need to have something – and its better if it’s something you’re passionate about, something you really CARE about, that sets you apart. You could decide to be the lowest price, but if you don’t get jazzed about that and you’re just doing it in the hope someone will buy because it’s cheaper – forget it. Not a good USP.

If instead, your USP is that I’m going to turn myself inside out to make sure you love the work I’ve done and that you’re a satisfied client, that can work if you that’s how you’re wired and it’s going to benefit them and benefit you.  You can never go wrong delivering something that makes you tick.

Hey, it could be that you’re the most expensive _____ in town, but when a client comes to your office they’ll sit in a massage chair and drink champagne while you talk business. Your USP: excellent quality, VIP treatment. Perhaps you’re the most expensive but the quality is incomparable, or the service is outstanding or you create something that can’t be gotten from anyone else. Your USP: Best quality, best service or: Best quality, unique in the marketplace.

Conversely, maybe your prices are low, but your work/product/service is every bit as good as your competition and you’re the perfect fit for people on a budget. Your USP: great quality, low prices.

You have to have something that sets you apart and it has to be something that people will buy; that is meaningful in your marketplace. It can be simple too – that you just flat-out do a good job, or are super reliable, and you’ll convey that in what you say, what you do and what you deliver for your clients/customers/patients, etc.

Do you see how this comes from the combination of your business offering/skill, your personality and what drives you? Sometimes a good USP has more to do with the ‘twist’ that attracts people than it does from what your core business or offering might be. In other words, I’m a business writer, and maybe someone else is just as good as I am, or better. But I will meet your deadline no matter what, and I’ll make your revisions and I’ll do it graciously and quickly and I’ll re-work it until you think it’s perfect. If any or all of those things are important to you and you think my work is as good as Bob’s but he’s a pain in the ass, guess who you’re going to choose?

You can’t be all things to all people, so don’t try to be. You don’t need everyone to like what you offer; you just need some people to love what you offer. Knowing (and/or positioning) what’s different and unique about you will help you to build your brand and your reputation and allow people to know you, what you offer and how you stand out.

Sometimes those things have to do with what else interests you – about your work or outside of your work. What do you pay attention to when you’re out in the world? Architecture? Food? How people are dressed? Shoes? Storefronts? Cars? What else do you do? Play music? Hang out somewhere in particular? Read? Dance?

Along with your USP which is the focus of what makes your business different is your UPA – your unique personality attributes. See my Article: Your USP: Ask These Questions to learn how to create your USP.

Take some time right now to work this out. This is a good thing for any business owner to do at least once every year. Use the old elevator speech idea – how would you describe your business to a stranger in an elevator ride to the top floor, basically in a minute or less. It’s what you say at a cocktail party when someone asks what you do….

You want to position the language in a way that tells the person what’s in it for them. Everything you offer has benefits and features and you want to be talking about the benefits for that person.

I’ll use me as an example to use your USP to say what you do. What I offer: written words for business in all shapes and forms. What’s different about me: I’m not a prima donna. I’m down-to-earth, easy to get along with and in my book the client is always right. Might sound corny or old-fashioned, but it works for me.

When people ask me what I do, I say something along the lines of: Anything a business has that’s written is what I create – websites, email campaigns, brochures, you name it. I’m able to convey your brand, your style and your company in a voice that works for your audience. I get the work done on time, with no fuss and a great attitude. That’s it.

Please figure your USP out right now. Read my article: ‘Your USP Checklist‘ to get some ideas of how to work it out. If you want to use that USP in social media to get more business, then get my Free Report right now: Using Social Media To Grow Your Business….it’s on every page of amyposner.com

You’re on your way. Good for you. Honestly, most business people put this off, it’s not that hard, or time consuming and doing it will make you more money. Need I say more?

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