Is it a USP these days not to have a USP?
Penguins with special specimen
Definition USP: “Unique Selling Proposition” – something that makes your offer or company unique and distinguishes it from others.
Every now and then I get asked “What is the USP of your company?” I never have a good answer to that. Because actually we do not have a USP. We do not provide or sell anything special that is not available in this or a very similar fashion somewhere else.
In practically all sales or entrepreneur coachings however exactly this aspect is brought up again and again.
„You have to elaborate your USP!“
„What distinguishes you from others?“
„How to best find and advertise your unique selling points.“
These are common phrases that I often come across in this context. In fact, it is often enough so insistently discussed that I always think: “Do we have any justification as bluvisio at all without a USP?” and “Oh dear – how can we continue to exist without anything that sets us apart?”
OMG
However, I am then always reassured by the fact that we have been in business without a USP since the beginning of our company, and that this has worked quite well so far.
Our customers obviously don’t mind
If you ask our customers why they like working with us, the following answers are particularly frequent:
- „Because you make good prices.“
- „Because you know what you are doing and work very professionally.“
- „Because you are cool and it is really fun to work with you.“
Customer feedback
Now, as already mentioned, these are not USPs, because all of this can also be found without exception in other companies as well. Nevertheless, it still seems to be quite popular in this combination and is obviously appreciated. After all, there are an astonishing number of repeat customers in our client bast – and that is without any USP.
The human component is indeed very important to us, whether we are working with customers, suppliers or partners. We take the term “cooperation” for real. A fair and – with all professionalism also personal – contact is the secret ingredient for all of us at bluvisio. Maybe we can just credibly transmit that we all really enjoy what we do (not everyone and all the time, of course, but in general – and most of the time).
Contract closing
However, the “good prices” are just as important to us. Of course, we too must and want to make a profit – after all, we don’t do what we do just for fun (even if it’s a lot of fun). But on this topic it has always been and still is our approach that we do not build our economic success on a few larger customers and make a lot off them, but rather serve many clients of all kinds and earn a fair share of every business without being shameless. We are well aware that our model might mean more work, but we gladly go this extra mile because it has proven to be very sustainable for us and is obviously well appreciated by our customers.
One’s own professionalism is always the hardest to judge. However, we are always dedicate ourselves to our tasks and the concerns of our clients with the necessary seriousness and our full commitment. For this, we often take the long run. This does not mean that we are stiff and humorless (the contrary is the case!), but we take our work seriously and are not ashamed to work hard and get our hands wet. Our own expectations of ourselves are always high, but in combination with our experience we can usually meet them quite well – and our customers seem to notice that also. We stand for commitment and handshake quality, and even if these virtues are perhaps less common today than in the past, we are certainly not the only ones in the world (as that would be really sad!). Everyone of us has been in the situation that some projects sometimes take longer than planned, but in such cases we show our true colors and would not back out. We do not go home until the job is done.
No USP = No Problem?
These are all far from being unique selling propositions, but in combination, it is obviously attractive enough that our customers (and the number is constantly growing) still love to engage us.
We are in agreement
That is why my personal answer to the question of whether a company necessarily needs a USP is a clear and distinct “No”.
Hard and honest work, not taking yourself too seriously (despite all your expertise) and sustainable entrepreneurial conduct – that pays off. And you can forget about USPs. It’s certainly nice to have one or more – but it also works very well without them.
Maybe this is exactly what our USP has always been: that we just don’t have one.
We simply know what we are doing.
That why: bluvisio – experts in IT
By: Jan Dittel
Images:
– Penguins with one of a kind: JeremyRichards / shutterstock.com (edited)
– OMG emoji: ober-art / shutterstock.com
– Client feedback: pch.vector / freepik.com (edited)
– Handshake for contract: TeraVector / stock.adobe.com
– Abstract handshake: o_du_van / stock.adobe.com
Get advice!
We are your perfect partner for the planning and realization of complex IT projects. For further information and personal consultation please contact us.
bluvisio GmbH
Telephone: +49 6027 4629 971
Email: info@bluvisio.de
* Mandatory fields
