If you want to be the number one company in your area…If you want more people coming through your doors…And if you want more sales with less effort and marketing dollars…

Then you need a USP.The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is one of the most powerful concepts in marketing.Before I explain how to get your own, let me show you its power to transform a business from struggling to powerhouse.

Tom and his brother were looking for a way to pay for college. They opened a business together—a pizza joint near their school.The business didn’t start off well. After 8 months, business was so bad that Tom’s brother bailed. Tom struggled with the restaurant alone for a few years. He made good pizza, but so did the other pizza places. His pizza was affordable, but it wasn’t the cheapest in town. He couldn’t figure out how to stand out from the crowd. Sound familiar?

One day, he had a life-changing idea.  He was near a college. He knew students didn’t care about great pizza, they just wanted it quick.  So he started advertising:“Fresh, Hot Pizza Delivered in 30 Minutes or Less, Guaranteed.”And he knew he could pull it off. He was in a great location, and his target market lived close by. I’ll tell you about how all this ties into the USP soon, but for now, look at what happened to Tom. You see, once Tom Managhan made this change, Domino’s started growing.

Fast.

It wasn’t just guesswork, either. He knew why his guarantee worked—he was very close to his target market.  As he grew, he studied the best locations.  He advertised only within a certain distance from his stores.

That focus allowed him to open 3 restaurants in 1969. Less than 10 years later, he had opened 200. He had 1,000 restaurants by 1983. By his retirement in the late 1990s, Tom had more than 8,000 Domino’s worldwide.

And just for the record, when Tom started wasn’t a “great” time to be in business.  America was struggling with an unpopular war, an energy crisis, a hostage crisis, income tax brackets as high as 77%, and interest rates in the teens. Yet, Domino’s still grew.

The best part is his success gave Tom incredible freedom. He bought his favorite baseball team, the Detroit Tigers. He started an enormous collection of Frank Lloyd Wright furniture. He collected custom cars. He donated substantial amounts to his church. He became one of the primary funders of the Ave Maria Foundation.

What Changed?

What sparked the change? What spurred Dominos’ growth? It was his focus on Domino’s Unique Selling Proposition or USP.He guaranteed 30 minute delivery. And he knew his guarantee made him different than anyone else. That, in essence, is what a USP is all about. What makes you different?

Three Steps to Your Own USP

Creating a USP is probably the best way to develop a business. Yet, so few do it. To stand out from the crowd, follow these three steps.

First, find a unique angle to develop your USP. Look at your industry. Find an angle no one is exploiting. For Tom, the angle was delivery time. No one had set a time limit for themselves, so he did.And people noticed.The good news is you can develop a USP in any industry. Avis car rental couldn’t get past being number two, so they advertised, “We’re Number Two. We try harder.” People knew Avis had a reason to excel.  They figured Avis would treat them better than the number one company.Fred Smith built FedEx (which also started in the 70s—during a fuel shortage) on, “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.”

Fred had developed a unique system to speed up delivery time. He realized he could promise overnight deliveries when no one else could.Other insurance providers slashed prices and created discounts. Allstate advertised, “Dollar for dollar, no one protects you like Allstate.”  Allstate didn’t want to be seen as cheap. They wanted to be seen as the best protection available.Do you see how this works? Is there something you do or can do that no one else is doing? It doesn’t matter if the opposition can catch up. If no one else is doing it now, you have an opportunity.

Second, once you come up with your USP, advertise it. Once he had his USP, Managhan advertised it everywhere. He communicated it in every commercial. He printed it on every item a customer would see. Fliers, coupons, and even the pizza boxes all displayed it.Everywhere someone saw the name Domino’s, they saw the USP. In short order, if anyone wanted quick pizza, they thought of Domino’s.

Third, do more than advertise. Push the USP in everything you do. Managhan didn’t stop at just advertising. Where he placed his stores... what his research team designed... his business contracts... were all determined by his USP.Let me be more specific. He searched for locations near colleges and populated areas.  He developed an insulated box to keep the pizza hot longer. The contracts for his franchisees clearly laid out his expectations and goals. All to ensure 30 minute deliveries to anyone who ordered from them.To Tom, the USP was more than a marketing gimmick.  It marked a fundamental change in how he did business. He did everything he could to deliver pizza in 30 minutes or less.

What are you focused on providing to the customer?  And what are you doing to ensure you provide it as promised?

Here’s my point. Nothing will grow your company quicker than a good USP. Once you and your customers are clear on what makes you different, your company will grow beyond what you thought possible.

If Tom Managhan could grow his company during an economic crisis…

If Avis could win the uphill battle against number one…

If FedEx could deliver packages during a fuel shortage, and…

If Allstate could sell insurance while every competitor slashed prices…

Then you, too, can succeed… no matter the obstacles.

Sean McCool is a an award-winning marketer and success coach. He can help you create marketing materials or just talk with you about what’s possible for your business. You can contact or leave a message for him through his website www.SeanMcCool.com.