You are Your USP
You are the unique selling proposition (USP) of your business. Your voice is a major part of your brand identity. The voice you use when talking to customers online, is the voice you speak if they enter your shop.
Online, your business brand is everything that appears about your brand. How you set yourself apart from competitors relies on how you present your business. When your blue widgets—retail or service—need to stand out, how you converse and interact with customers and clients has direct impact on their decision to buy.
As David Amerland points out in SEO Help: 20 Semantic Search Steps That Will Help Your Business Grow,
The information you produce about your brand has a life of its own.
You want your brand to guide people toward making a purchase from yourbusiness.
Get Clear About Your Brand
In the world of search engine optimization, differentiating your business from all others is calleddisambiguation. It’s a big word to define getting clear.
In order for your customers to be drawn to your particular brand, your voice in every place you are present needs to be clear and unique.
Where many small businesses miss the mark is trying to be unique by creating a presence—through web copy, advertising, and videos—that does not represent their business. They attempt to emulate competitor success but trying to be like their competitors. Imitating a quirky and humorous competitor will not give your the veracity and resultant trust if you aren’t quirky and humorous. Being yourself within your brand will help you reach the right customers much better than attempting to be something you are not.
The way you stand out is to be yourself in the business sense.
Three Quick Steps to Clarify Your Business
Because your business brand shows up in different places, creating a consistent message both visually and with words is essential to help customers recognize your brand wherever they find you. Your website, YouTube channel, social media, and advertising all need to correspond visually and with a recognizable message.
Examine your existing website and advertising. Look for visual consistency and messages that correspond in tone and well as information.
Write your business mission statement. Then share it with three different people and ask if it is clear. If your friends don’t understand right off the bat imagine how difficult it is for potential customers to understand. If you get questions like What is it you do? your mission isn’t clear yet.
Ask yourself what the one word is that describes your business and brand. If you are not clear yourself, you won’t be sending a clear message.
The more you clarify, the easier it is for customers to understand your business wherever they find you.
Pro Tip
A great way to refine how your business appears in that brand life of its own is to work through the steps in SEO Help. Internet technology practitioner Oleg Moskalensky designed a form with all the questions to help you work through the steps specific to your business. The form includes an introductory video with David Amerland. Get a copy here, then make a copy for yourself and work through the steps.
Case in Point
A small accounting business contacted me for help with website copy. The owner sent me background material—spreadsheets, notes, more notes, possible copy—filled with information borrowed from other businesses.
We scheduled an hour-long video chat where I asked the owner how she differed from all the other accounting services in her area. Then we narrowed down to the main service she wanted to promote—her experience and consulting expertise—to focus on the service she offered which differentiated her business from competitors.
We created that service of making management decisions based on numerical reporting as her one key business service.
Build a Clarity Foundation
Take the steps to be clear about your business. Rather than examining your competitors to find the right mix, start with your business.
Find the one word that explains your business. Build from that.
Create a concise mission statement that explains what you do. Keep it brief.
Align your business presence wherever it appears, online and offline. Make certain your website, advertising, and social media including videos all clearly present your business.
Your precision in defining your brand communicates with customers who want what you have.
Clarity about your business is the foundation of great content. If you are looking for help getting started call me 503 468 7008.
Zara Altair
