With endless online shopping options, customers need to quickly understand what makes your product special. The right positioning strategy helps your brand stand out instead of blending in with competitors.
A unique selling proposition (USP) can guide your branding and marketing decisions, showing customers why your product is different from anything else they’ll find.
What is a unique selling proposition?
A unique selling proposition (USP) is the key benefit that sets your business or product apart from competitors. It’s a clear, focused statement that answers a potential customer’s first question: “What makes you different?”
This differs from a unique value proposition (UVP), which focuses on the specific value your product provides to each customer.
Why your business needs a USP
A well-crafted USP helps focus your marketing strategy and shapes your messaging, branding, and copywriting. When customers understand what makes your brand unique, you’re more likely to build brand loyalty and increase sales.
How to write a compelling USP
- Research your competition
- Identify your differentiators
- Understand customer needs
- Write your statement
Creating a strong USP takes focus and strategy, but you can follow these steps to write a USP that works for your business:
Research your competition
Look at your competitors’ USPs and find gaps where you can position your brand differently. Even similar products can stand out in unique ways—like shoes that emphasize style versus comfort versus durability.
Identify your differentiators
List what makes your brand unique. Be specific—saying “We sell high-quality products” is too generic. Strong products and marketing solve specific problems and communicate benefits in your customers’ words.
Note: Marketing offers like discounts, free shipping, or 24/7 support aren’t USPs. While effective, these aren’t unique, since competitors can easily copy them.
Understand customer needs
Match your unique attributes against what your audience wants. Look for unmet needs or pain points that competitors haven’t addressed. Being different only matters if you’re different in ways your target audience cares about.
Write your statement
Try this template to clarify your USP:
[Your brand] offers [product or service] for [target market] to [value proposition]. Unlike [the alternative], we [key differentiator].
This template helps you define your USP internally—you’ll refine it further for customer-facing content.
8 inspiring USP examples
The best way to understand powerful USPs is to see them in action. Let’s look at how these eight businesses created memorable USPs that help them stand out—and how you can apply those lessons to your business.
1. Pipcorn
You can buy popcorn anywhere, but Pipcorn carved out its own market by focusing on eco-friendly and health-conscious customers.
The brand highlights “sustainable ingredients,” “whole grains,” and “family farms” on its packaging and website, promoting the environmental and flavor benefits of heirloom corn.
This health-focused positioning helps Pipcorn attract customers and sell their popcorn as a premium product.
2. Muse
Even with a truly unique product—the first consumer device that provides real-time brain activity feedback during meditation—Muse still needed a strong USP.
While Muse has no direct competitors, it competes with traditional meditation practices. Its USP focuses on optimizing sleep and meditation through technology.
Muse smartly acknowledges traditional meditation while positioning its product as an enhanced solution.
3. Taylor Stitch
Taylor Stitch turns crowdfunding into a competitive advantage with its USP: “We design new products. You crowd fund them.”
The brand clearly communicates the benefits of crowdfunding on their website, sharing three customer benefits:
- 20% savings on pre-orders
- Environmental sustainability
- Seasonal product availability
By highlighting these advantages, Taylor Stitch transforms potential crowdfunding concerns into compelling selling points.
4. Tattly
While most temporary tattoos target kids with simple designs, Tattly creates sophisticated artwork for all ages.
Its approach lets customers express themselves through beautiful temporary tattoos, without the commitment or cost of permanent ones. Its USP—“Fake tattoos by real artists”—immediately sets it apart.
Though other design brands work with artists, Tattly makes this collaboration central to its identity. Instead of just mentioning artists in its copy, it showcases detailed creator profiles on it online store and organizes products by artist. This strategy reinforces its position as a curator of wearable art rather than just another temporary tattoo company.
5. Saddleback Leather
Saddleback Leather’s memorable tagline says it all: “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead.”
This clever message instantly communicates their value proposition—these products will outlive their owners. They back this up with a 100-year warranty that guarantees their products will last a lifetime (and then some).
While competitors focus on status symbols, seasonal trends, or affordable luxury, Saddleback commits fully to longevity as its competitive advantage. When knockoffs appeared in the market, Saddleback turned it into an opportunity by creating a “how it’s made” video that reinforces its quality and craftsmanship.
6. ThirdLove
In the billion-dollar lingerie industry, ThirdLove needed a way to compete with legacy brands. It chose to make “find your perfect fit” central to its entire brand experience.
This isn’t just marketing—it’s built into everything it does:
- Virtual fitting rooms for first-time customers
- Half-size options for better fit
- A “perfect fit promise” guarantee
While other brands might offer basic sizing charts, ThirdLove prioritizes finding the right fit for each customers’ individual needs. Among all possible messages about style or quality, it chose to focus on solving a common customer pain point—and committed to it completely.
7. Beardbrand
While many cosmetics companies offer quick fixes at low prices and focus on treating symptoms, Beardbrand takes a fundamentally different approach. Its USP centers on products that “work with your body’s natural chemistry, not alter it.”
This isn’t just marketing language—it’s a product ethos that guides its entire business. It only develops products that meet this standard, deliberately positioning itself against common industry practices. By casting artificial solutions as the antagonist, Beardbrand confidently demonstrates its commitment to natural grooming solutions.
8. Warby Parker
Warby Parker disrupted eyewear retail with a customer-centric USP: its home try-on program. Customers can test five frames at home for free before buying.
The program works simply: try the frames, return what you don’t want with prepaid shipping, and buy what you love. This service helps the brand compete with traditional retailers by solving a common problem—buying glasses without trying them on first. By bringing the in-store experience home, they’ve made eyewear shopping more convenient and risk-free.
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Unique selling proposition FAQ
How do you write a unique selling proposition?
1. List what makes your brand and products unique.
2. Research your competitors to find gaps in the market.
3. Compare your differentiators against customer needs.
4. Analyze your findings to identify your strongest angles.
5. Test different positioning statements until you find one that resonates.
Why do you need a unique selling proposition?
A strong USP helps you stand out in your market and guides your business strategy. It tells customers exactly why they should choose you over competitors and helps you make consistent marketing decisions. Your USP becomes the foundation for building customer loyalty and driving sales growth.
What’s an example of an effective USP?
Taylor Stitch’s crowdfunding model shows how to turn an unconventional approach into a strong USP. They emphasize three clear benefits of their model:
1. Customers save 20% through preorders.
2. Production creates less environmental waste.
3. Products arrive when customers need them.
