Unique Selling Proposition

Many people open a business with the hopes of increasing their income. This is their only reason for being in business. These business owners usually don’t get very far because they don’t understand business and they don’t understand customers.

Service businesses solve problems that people don’t want or don’t have time to take care of themselves. Once you understand who your ideal customer is, you can give them exactly what they want. To do this you need to speak to them through your USP – Unique Selling Proposition. It’s a brief statement of how your cleaning business is unique and why the consumer should do business with you.

Unique Selling Proposition Example

For instance, Merry Maids uses, “Relax. It’s Done.” And they use many variations of this on their website and their marketing materials.

Your USP shouldn’t be complicated and it shouldn’t promise things you can’t deliver. Notice that Merry Maids doesn’t mention how they clean or how much they charge. They just reassure you that you can rely on them and that they know how to get it done.

How to Write a Unique Selling Proposition

One way to create a USP for your business is to identify an opportunity gap. For instance, if you are servicing young families, see if there is something not currently being offered or catered to in that market. To find out, look at the marketing for cleaners in your area and write down the message they use on their website or coupons. Are they missing out on something that is important to your target market?

If your business is already established, ask your customers why they chose you and why they stay. This may give you some ideas, but don’t pick something just because you need one. Take some time and let the idea bubble up in your mind. Usually when I put issues on the back burner, the answer comes when I least expect it.

Once you have an idea, work on every word to make each one as important as you can. Ideally, you want your USP to be one sentence, but no more than three. If you work in a college town, your USP could be, “We Clean When You Call.” This implies that you are ready for last minute jobs, so don’t use this unless you can deliver. You don’t even need to provide the service at your standard rate. You could charge a premium for your USP. Imagine how many calls this USP will generate in a college town!

If you’re offering green cleaning, you could use that in your USP. How about, “We’re Green Cleaners. Are You?” This gets people thinking and wondering about the cost of switching their cleaning products to green. Why should they when they can hire you?

Once you have settled on your USP, use it on all your marketing materials:

• Website
• Magnetic Signs
• Business Cards
• Business Forms
• Letterhead
• Advertising Materials

Do you offer something that your competition doesn’t? Make it part of your USP!

What’s your USP for your business? Leave a comment and share.

Join my House Cleaning Business Mastermind group – we’ll help you brainstorm and grow your business. Join today and download my free Branding Worksheet, available in the group files.

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