Competing Requires a UVP

UVP is Important

Unique value proposition (UVP), is arguably the most critical concept for marketing and sales.

A synonym of UVP is USP, or unique selling proposition, but let’s frame the discussion in terms of the value that you can provide to clients rather than the sale that you’re trying to make. Client first.

Acronym variations notwithstanding, your UVP summarizes the special characteristics or combination of factors that set your service apart.

Let’s Look at an Example

For instance, say that Henry Ramirez has been working as a CFO in a mid-size company for 10 years. He’s thinking of starting his own consultancy to provide planning and day-to-day accounting services to other companies.

Henry could start his UVP with as a very basic service description: Fiscal Planning and Accounting Services

Not much of a hook. If Henry specifies the scale of business that he can support, it gets a bit more interesting: Fiscal Planning and Accounting Services for Mid-Size Companies

If Henry’s accounting experience was with a healthcare provider, he can go a step further: Fiscal Planning and Accounting Services for Mid-Size Healthcare Providers

What if Henry has specialized knowledge of insurance that is used as an advantage in his accounting work?

Fiscal Planning and Accounting Services. Specialists in Helping Mid-Size Healthcare Providers Work Effectively with Insurance Providers.

Could You Get Away Without a UVP?

The universe for a vaguely defined value proposition is certainly vast, but how many prospects will generic language ever interest? Probably very few.

The more specific language, while excluding most of the potential universe, should resonate much more strongly with the specific audience.

Can you compete without a well defined UVP? Maybe. But you’re much more likely to get traction by positioning yourself in a more specific way — by embodying the uniqueness in your UVP.

Do the concepts of UVP and niche seem similar? They parallel each other closely: your UVP should speak directly to the niche that you have identified for your business.

For more guidance about defining your UVP, see this article from Inc. magazine: https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/what-is-a-unique-value-proposition-how-do-you-find-it.html