To identify your USA, you want to begin by establishing a statement of benefits for your business. The statement of benefits is a list of all the various strengths that you or your product or service might possess. From this list, select three to five major strengths and formulate them into cohesive USA (Unique Selling Advantage) based upon those characteristics that really motivate your prospects to become customers of your business.

It should include items that reflect either the operation of your business or the quality of your business or service. It can include location, surroundings, price, value, product knowledge, actual buying experience from your company, etc.

This is really that single unique benefit, essence appeal or promise that your company makes to your prospects. One that no other competitor offers.

Most businesses cannot really articulate in one to two crisp, concise, clear paragraphs the USA of their product or service of their business. Of those who can only several even have one. The rest are trying ineffectively to be all things to all people.

You need to have that crisp niche driven USA. It should be one unique attractive selling advantage that you're best suited to deliver to your prospect.

Depending on the strength, and maybe the biggest marketing void in your area for an unfulfilled niche, your USA may be one of the following ten steps:

¡è You could sell your product or service for less.

¡è You could specify the exact amount and sell it for less than any other company. Many appliance stores do this like Sears or Lowes. They give you a guarantee that they have the lowest price.

¡è You can set a higher quality product or service than anyone else. You may charge more. Explain to them that you're giving a lot more value. This is a more preferable method.

¡è You could provide more customer service or education before, during and after the sale than anyone else does at a comparable or lower price.

¡è You might offer price guarantees or twice the level of assurance protection or' warranty than your next closest competitor.

¡è You might offer exceptional bonus products services, premiums or gift certificates than anyone else.

¡è You might offer a larger selection or more choices and options than anyone else.

¡è You might have a service department that is 20 times the size of your competitors so the customer only has to wait one hour before you can service them or they might show up within 30 minutes.

¡è You might have a trade in program that maybe another company doesn't offer.

¡è You might have a specific age group that you service.

The number of possible USA's is really infinite. You can have more than one and market to more than one group. You really have to decide what your main USA is, what it has been or what it should be before you really begin to reconstruct your entire marketing mission. You can weave the USA into everything that you do.

You want to be certain that you can actually fulfill What ever this big USA promise is you decide on. It doesn't do any good to promote your fabulous selection of products or services if you only have two versions of an item.

There are in fact some prevalent USA's in most businesses. And you can ask a business owner to clearly articulate in one paragraph or less his/her USA. Most of them don't have an answer.

An "elevator speech" is if you get on an elevator and Some one asks you what you do, you should be able to tell them concisely and clearly what it is before you get to your specified floor. They should be asking you, "Really? How do you do that?"

It's really no surprise that most businesses lack a USA. It's no surprise that they barely get by. Their failure rate is high and their owners are apathetic. They get only a small share of the potential business.

Other than having a great location, why are they going to get people to come to their business? If they don't offer an appealing promise or unique feature or special service?

Look at Wendys. They're sitting on a comer lot with a great location, but another hotdog or hamburger joint might also have a great location. Why do people go to Wendys versus the other hotdog place which may even have better food? Because Wendys offers all the other great advantages. You know what you're going to get. The restrooms are spotless, etc.

Do you want to go to a firm or company that's just there? Or one that really has some type of unique benefit? Whether it's incredible prices or selections?

Would you rather go to a company that offers you the broadest selection in the country? Or one with every item marked up half the margin the competitor's do? Or one that sells the Rolls Royce of the industry?

You gain an advantage by offering a big, unique, appealing product. You want to focus on that gap real need or unfulfilled part of your market. You want to integrate that USA into every part of marketing your business such as display ads, yellow pages, direct ads, salespersons.