What's your company doing to set itself apart from all of its competition and build a sustainable competitive advantage? Many companies struggle with defining what makes them different from their competitors, even though they have core strengths that do set them apart. In today's crowded marketplaces, when prospects and customers go looking for a vendor, what usually causes them to investigate further into the possibility of buying from a specific company is what sets that company apart. Companies that define and develop their messaging around their unique selling proposition have a much better chance of accelerating their sales and gaining customer attention and traction.

It's very easy to actually develop your company's unique selling proposition. This starts with a strategic marketing planning process which includes analyzing the positioning of your company and its messaging. If your company is an also ran in its market today, why not sit down with your marketing and sales team and define what makes you different? Better yet, why not bring together a group of your customers to ask them why they buy from you, versus your competition. Using a listening process with your customers and your sales and marketing team to understand what sets you apart can usually be a strong step towards defining your sustainable, competitive advantage, and creating statements that differentiate yourself easily from your customers.

There's a big difference between a company that sells on features and benefits and a company that sells and markets itself on what makes it different from its competitors. Companies are made up of people and people are always interested in something new and different. Innovation is part of the American spirit and it's no different when it comes to innovation as related to marketing. If your company needs help defining its unique selling proposition, there are many marketing and sales consultants out there who can help you with this process. It doesn't have to be expensive and it's relatively quick to do. A USP can set your company on the path towards improving its marketing, improving its market penetration, gaining greater attention from potential prospects through your marketing efforts, and shortening your sales cycle by getting customers wanting to buy from you. What are you doing to improve your unique selling proposition?