How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition and Win More Video Clients

Photo Credit: IronRodArt via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: IronRodArt via Compfight cc

When a prospective client finds you online, what do they see?

Do they see someone who can deliver value to them that no other video business can? Or do they see just another production or post production company?

Top-quality work is a must, but the way you present your business to the world is also crucial to your success. The right presentation wins over quality clients willing to pay premium rates. The wrong one just makes you blend in with everyone else.

Most Video Businesses Seem Generic to Clients

Your unique selling proposition (or “USP”) is like your business’s calling card to the world. Without one, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of video companies vying for clients.

A good USP conveys the value that only your services can offer

It’s the perfect tool to make a favorable impression on prospects and convince them to hire you because they can’t get that value from anyone else.

Domino’s Pizza is famous for their unique selling proposition: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.” Domino’s doesn’t do this anymore for legal reasons (their delivery drivers were getting into too many accidents trying to meet the deadline), but it was good while it lasted.

The Domino’s USP helped turn a single store in a college town to the largest pizza chain in the world. The USP made it clear what the prospect would get (fresh pizza delivered fast) and summed it up in a way that was simple to understand. You can do the same with your video business.

Why Your Video Business Needs a Unique Selling Proposition

When you don’t present a compelling USP to your prospects, it’s tough for them to see the unique value you can offer. They don’t understand why they should choose you over the thousands of other video businesses online.

Blending into the background like this might get you clients here and there, but it’s ineffective because it forces your prospects to make the case to hire you

Without a way to differentiate between different service providers, they resort to factors like price or years of experience in the video business.

That’s not good for you because you can’t control some of those factors. And you don’t want to get into a battle of trying to undercut your competitors with the lowest price; most of us don’t have the resources to do that and stay profitable.

A USP helps you make a more persuasive case why prospects should hire you

You get to show them the massive and unique value you can offer them.

How to Create Your Own USP and Stand out from the Crowd

Making a conscious decision to craft your own USP separates you from your competitors. You get to be proactive about the image you convey instead of having customers do it for you.

They’re sizing you up you either way, so you’re better off taking charge of how you present yourself

The right USP makes you memorable and more attractive to clients.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Study What Your Competitors Are Doing

New and established retailers alike spend a lot of time and money scoping out their competitors, assessing their strategies, and adopting what works. You can do some reconnaissance of your own for ideas about how to craft the perfect USP for your video business.

Who are your toughest competitors? Which successful video businesses would you like your company to emulate?

Make a list of 5 or 10 target companies. Go to their websites and pay close attention to how they present themselves and their services. Focus on anything that makes them stand out from a generic video business. Could you adapt any of their strategies for your own use?

Here’s a great USP example from MWP Digital Media:

MWP’s USP (“results driven video production”) makes it clear what kind of value –financial value, in this case – clients get from working with MWP. Every bullet point that follows supports the USP.

2. Take Advantage of Client Feedback

The reasons you think clients hire you might be way different than the reality of why they pick you over everyone else. The only way to know for sure is to ask. You can use the insight you gain from customer feedback and package it into a powerful USP.

Don’t be afraid to ask clients why they chose you over your competitors. There are several ways you can do this, whether it’s asking when you have them on the phone or sending them an email with a questionnaire about you finish their projects.

Continue soliciting feedback, and you’ll start to notice trends. You can take the most popular reason why people chose you or combine several popular reasons and package them into your USP. One of the easiest ways to craft a USP is to specialize your video business to serve specific types of projects or clients.

3. Get Your USP out to the World

Deciding on a USP is just the first step. Once you have something in mind, it’s time to get your unique selling proposition out to the world. You should take every opportunity to express your USP until it becomes the “trademark” of your video business.

Places like website headers, email newsletters, advertising campaigns, and within project proposals are all great chances for you to work in your USP. Eventually, people will automatically associate your business with whatever unique value you chose to convey. For instance, you’ll go from being “a video company” to “the video company that produces beautiful HD wedding videos in Toronto.”

The key is to just get started. You can refine your USP as you go along.

You Don’t Need a Unique Service, Just a Unique Presentation

Very few businesses are truly one of a kind. As a video professional, you might be worried that your services simply aren’t unique enough to warrant a USP.

Don’t worry about that. You don’t have to offer completely unique services; you just need to find a unique way of presenting yourself to potential clients. Domino’s wasn’t the only business delivering pizzas to people’s homes quickly; they just did the best job of capturing what they did in a way that appealed to customers.

A compelling USP – a peg that you hang your business on – separates you from the crowd instantly. It’s a great way to attract quality clients willing to pay premium rates. Start creating your own today.

Photo Credit: IronRodArt via Compfight cc