USPs Tell It All
“In the world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.” – David M. Ogilvy
Are you familiar with the term “Unique Selling Proposition” or USP?
The USP is an important part of creating your practice and positioning you for a referral practice. The USP describes who, what, where, when, and why within a few brief sentences. It bullet points the service you have to offer, who your ideal patients are, and the benefits of your services. The USP positions your practice, and its benefits, to the people who need your services most.
Another benefit of a USP is that it differentiates your services, and the benefits of your services, from your competitors. The USP should target the emotional needs of your potential patients. The USP is often referred to as an elevator speech. This means that if you were in an elevator and someone asked you what it is you do, within a period of 15 seconds or less, your USP would describe your practice, its benefits, and the target market.
If you are unable to describe your practice in a few short sentences, then don’t try to sell or market your services. Simply, if you can’t explain this briefly, your patients will not be able to refer other patients to you because they will not have the language to do so.
Here are some of my favorite USPs to help get you started:
“I’m an attorney. When you’re in trouble, call me on the double.”
“As a financial planner, I support practice owners to achieve greater financial success, greater personal success.”
“My name is Tom and I’m the House Medic. I’ll take care of the honey-do list.”
“We provide solutions to the Workers’ Compensation needs of employers.”
“We remove interference from the nervous system so that the body is free to heal itself.”
“We are the town doctors!”
USPs need to be practiced. Be sure you can say them easily and quickly, and to be sure that your current patients can use the same USP to describe your services, as you are going to be building a referral-based practice.
To begin your USP, you can start in several different ways. One way is to describe the practice you are in, the second is to describe the work you do, and the third is to describe a little about who you are. Don’t feel there is only one correct way to write a USP. There are several. Make your USP truly unique. Have it reflect you, your practice, and your creativity. Keep in mind that it should be simple and repeatable, as you will want your patients to share this as they are referring potential patients to your practice.
