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07.29.08 Develop a Unique Value Proposition  By
Stoney deGeyterIn its early years, the Internet was the great leveler of businesses. Anybody could jump online, start a business and hope to make a little money. Today, it's not so easy as it was, but unfortunately people still have that same mindset. It doesn't take a lot of money to start a successful business online, but it still does take a plan. And that's where many online businesses go wrong. I talk to many website owners who are unable to put to words what it is that distinguishes them from their competitors. They don't know what makes them unique or have a reason why someone should buy from them rather than somebody else. This is a shame. Running a business online is really no different than anywhere else. Just because it's easier to "build your store" doesn't mean that you'll be successful. You still need to create a solid business plan and develop a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) if you really want to succeed online. In fact, this is where building a business online may actually be more difficult than offline. When building a business off-line, location is everything. In fact, you see business after business after business that are really no different from each other, just in different parts of town. Due to each businesses location, each can survive and even be successful. But generally, that's only until another similar business sets itself up in close proximity that has established it's UVP. You soon find that because this new business has given themselves a unique advantage over the other, they begin to draw business away from the one that's been around a while. The same thing happens online, but it's only magnified. See, where offline businesses can succeed simply by filling a need in a unique location, even in a town with dozens or hundreds of other similar businesses, online there really is no similar geographical limitations. Your business is not just competing with businesses in your area, but quite possibly you're competing with businesses all over the world. And if you're not unique or remarkable in any way, if nothing that sets you apart, then you're just another one of a million other businesses doing the same thing. No business being in business On- or offline, if you don't have a UVP then you really don't have any business being in business. Your business may be valid, it may be genuine, it may be profitable, it may meet a need, but if there are others out there doing the same as you, you need to find something that sets you apart. Something that gives people a reason to buy from you rather than from "them."
A UVP answerers the question, "why you?" Every shopper asks this question, whether consciously or unconsciously, before they make a purchase. If they have shopped with you before then it's easier to answer that question and purchase again. But it's not an automatic lock. If they find another store that can answer that question more precisely then it's still possible to lose your customers to that other store. If attracting new customers, this "why you?" question has to be satisfied before they'll continue through the purchase process. That question can be answered in many ways, and usually includes many different answers of varying degree of importance. But one of the easiest ways to answer that question is to give your visitors something unique to focus on. Make sure they know what it is about you that makes you different from the next shop. Before we go any further, let's take note of what unique doesn't mean. Two things come to mind off the top of my head: low prices and customer service. Sorry, there just isn't anything unique about these things unless you can definitively show that you do have the absolute lowest prices and/or the best customer service. And most likely you can't. Which explains why these points don't constitute a UVP: almost anybody can claim them for themselves… and most do. I talked to one business owner that believed that he truly had the best customer service in his industry. He hadn't really sold anything yet as he was just getting off the ground, but that's what he wanted to build his business on. That's certainly a great goal, the problem with this approach as a UVP is that when dealing with transactions online, customer service is almost synonymous with problems that need to be fixed, not necessarily problem avoidance. Continue reading this article. About the Author: Stoney deGeyter is president of Pole Position Marketing (www.PolePositionMarketing.com), a search engine optimization / marketing firm providing SEO and website marketing services since 1998. Stoney is also a part-time instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College, as well as a moderator in the Small Business Ideas Forum. He is the author of his E-Marketing Performance eBook and contributes daily to the E-Marketing Performance (www.eMarketingPerformance.com) marketing blog. | ||||||||
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