How to Сreate A Unique Selling Proposition For The B2B Sector in Russia.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is an important component of the marketing strategy for any market and any segment, including B2B. It often depends on the USP how successfully you will attract new customers and keep old ones. The efficient USP in Russian B2B segment has its peculiarities. Read more about it in RMAA Group blog.

The Unique Selling Proposition is a fairly new phenomenon for business in Russia. This method has become to be used more or less widely since 2000 when foreign brands began entering the market. The USP is a briefly-worded message about a service, product or entire company which distinguish them from similar ones and serves for a customer as an incentive to make a purchase. The Unique Selling Proposition shall have the following features:

• Be unique: USP should distinguish you from competitors

• Be specific: USP should contain figures or facts;

• Be understandable and clear: USP should be clearly defined for your customers;

• Be brief: USP should be as brief as possible and to the greatest possible extent informative;

• Be relevant to customers: USP should contain solution of any problems that are of concern to your customers.

How to develop a proper USP?

1. Gathering initial information. You can draw up a table containing product features and competitive advantages for customers which they will gain due to cooperation with your company. Experience has proven that the more written the better. If you managed to write 15 competitive features it's perfect, if 20 - even better. In addition, you should describe all benefits and advantages for customers, even if they are insignificant. After indicating your advantages, you should remove the benefits which your competitors can offer. Our goal is to find and offer customers the advantages that the only we have.

2. Checking the relevance of benefits. You can check it using the following ways:

• History of queries in search engines: to check each of the selected benefits by using a search query - for understanding how often potential customers are trying to find a solution to the similar problem.

• Feedback cards: you can offer loyal customers to fill in a form, selecting the most important benefits.

• Open question: you can ask you customers straight out why they prefer to work exactly with you.

• Sales Analysis: what items and options are in high demand with your customers.

3. USP testing:

• You can divide your customers into groups on a casual basis and send different kinds of messages to different groups.

• Placing contextual advertising with USP different types.

Three conditions to create a Unique Selling Proposition:

1. USP shall emphasize the uniqueness of your product or service. There are a variety of characteristic which can distinguish you from your competitors, for example

• Useful additional service;

• Polite and competent staff;

• Focused specialization;

• Leading positions on the market;

• Elitism;

• High result;

• Etc.

2. Customers shall understand their benefit. The characteristics stated in the Unique Selling Proposal shall meet the Buyer's needs. Here are a few tips which help you create an interesting for customers USP on the Russian market:

• Start USP basic hypothesis from the Director personal history. In this way you will answer the question your customers have: why have you decided to do this business?When you reply to it, you make your proposition unique as well as your history is unique.

• There is no point to have high hopes for product technical features. Any know-how can be copied by your competitors at any time. You should look for the uniqueness elsewhere.

• Define the problem and the need of the customer for solution of which the customer is addressing to you, and build your USP accordingly.

3. The benefit your customers receive shall be significant for them. We only have ten seconds to catch interest of a potential customer. That's why when the problem is more significant which we are offering to solve to the customer, the USP with the uttermost clear and understandable wording will make the brand recognizable and well-known for the potential customers. This rule is pertinent everywhere but for the sophisticated techniques only (as a rule, consumers perform analysis and comparison of characteristics beforehand).

How to check if your USP is efficient or not?

1. Your Unique Selling Proposition cannot be used by competitors. Ideally, your proposition must be unique, and if your competitors use it they will cheat a customer or break their positioning

2. You can develop a reverse USP and it won't seem absurd. Under a USP it is often given self-evident things about high quality, perfect price and wide range. A real USP can always be reworded by 180 degrees and at this cannot be meaningless.

3. They would like to trust in your USP. The USP shouldn’t offer your customers something incredible - they will be more likely frightened of it than attract, that’s why try to draft your USP in such a way so that they would like to trust in it.

Brand confidence is higher

Brand companies are far more trusted in B2B segment on the Russian market. If your brand is not so popular yet, there are several ways to make you more recognizable:

• Get any prize, highlight it on the Company's website, on the blog, make a newsletter;

• Take part in sectoral ratings. If the company takes up a strong position, you will hit top 10. This information can be used in press releases or presentations for customers;

• Participate in industry events and specialized exhibitions with strong information support;

• Work with corporate client reviews. Read more in our blog.

The Unique Selling Point is a marketing tool that will help you stand out from your competitors and gain new customers. RMAA Group specialists will help you develop or adapt your USP for the Russian market, test the uniqueness of your brand and find new approaches to your potential customers in Russia.

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