In a world filled with billions of people where everyone is connected, standing out as a business has become exceedingly important for any company that would like to succeed within their industry.
To that end, having a Unique Value Proposition has a couple of key benefits.
Most notably, it is to help your employees better understand what is expected of them and to help your audience better understand what they should expect from the business. This message should also be quickly received the moment someone lands on your website.
How to Figure Out What Your Brands’s Uvp Should Be?
Well, the simplest answer would be to figure out who your target audience is and what new features your company brings to the table. The idea is you should be solving a pain point that your competitors have not been able to so far.
Unlike a slogan or catchphrase like I’m Lovin’ it, for example, a UVP does more than simply act as an advertisement. It explains to the customer how the product can be used by them, whom the product is ideal for, and how it should be used. It will normally be an image accompanied by a heading and a block of text or bullet points.
According to research by CXL Institute, the longer your UVP is, the more information a customer will retain. If you have more services listed and have more space on your landing page dedicated to your UVP, a customer is more likely to read and remember what your brand is all about.
A good example of this in action is what Cyberchimps has done on one of their product landing pages to display their features-
Of course, this is easier said than done which is why we are going to talk about a few examples as well.
7 Companies That Nailed Their Unique Value Proposition
The most successful companies the world has offered up have had some of the most concrete UVPs. Let us talk about some of the best ones:
1. Stripe
Stripe’s simple yet effective headline gets the point across immediately. It has a robust payment system that any business can depend on no matter what their needs may be. The attention-grabbing statement leaves you with just enough information to keep you scrolling.
Once you keep moving down the page, you are met with relevant graphics and gifs that aid every word on your screen. A list of benefits such as easy-to-use APIS that show a developer Stripe is easy to work with or some of their impressive statistics such as the 135+ currencies and payment methods they support make you want to try Stripe out.
Their bulleted list of benefits also makes it super easy to scroll through what Stripe has to offer. Features like a fully customizable payments flow and a hosted payments page is what helps Stripe to show customers that they can trust them when it comes to payment processing.
Another smart move on the part of Stripe is they do not simply focus on the people who make money online and need to be paid but rather on the business having to use Stripe as their payment gateway. When compared to their largest competitor PayPal, Stripe is more attractive to businesses who are looking to add a gateway to their eCommerce website.
They talk about features like customizing payment flow or increased card acceptance which is much more comforting to hear than simply how easy it is for your customers to pay. In my opinion, this is the primary reason they are able to compete with a big brand like PayPal.
2. Uber
Amid multiple controversies such as the first class action lawsuit against Uber by 350,000 of its former drives filed in 2013 (which claimed that the company should treat them as employees rather than independent contractors) or the GQ incident from 2014, Uber has been far from the most loved app on the market.
Drivers and customers alike don’t always agree with Uber’s policies but one thing the infamous app has done right is narrow down on a solid UVP. They targeted the pain point of every taxi-hailing, exhausted customer, and were rewarded because of that.
Uber’s easy-to-use app has numerous benefits worth pointing out:
- You can call a driver to you (wherever that may be) in less than a minute.
- You can call for a cab with no cash on you at all because there are tons of other payment options such as using your card or an eWallet.
- Women feel a lot safer using this app because drivers are vetted and you can emergency call if something goes wrong.
This serves as a much more preferable option compared to your average ride with a cabbie that involves numerous pointing at signals or arguing about how the cost shot up.
Even when you visit the Uber ride options page, everything is clearly displayed. Each rideshare option is accompanied by a graphic and a quick description. Compared to their competitors like Lyft that offer very similar services, Uber comes up on top because they know exactly what they are delivering to their customers and do not bother beating around the bush.
3. Apple
Apple is facing the heat lately for the decision to drop the earphones and wall brick from future iPhone pieces sold or the ever-increasing price tag on their devices ( $999 for the iPhone 12 Pro) but I can bet you $999 that there are people lined up to buy that phone.
This is thanks to Apple’s Unique Value Proposition. It guarantees a sleek, sexy phone that boosts your status. No matter how many features Samsung adds to their phones and no matter how technologically superior they might make it, Apple sells itself as the poster boy for the sexy phone.
This is mirrored in their web design, their media statements, and the rarity at which they release new models as compared to their competitors. Apple has been successful at doing one thing- going past looking at a phone as a set of features and selling it as a lifestyle.
There is no doubt that Apple has unparalleled security software and some of the best features but all of that can be replicated- what they stand for cannot be.
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4. Jetblue
No airline makes you feel like family quite like JetBlue does. If an airline could embody your funny uncle at Thanksgiving- Jetblue would be it. This airline’s mission (bringing humanity back to air travel) pretty aptly defines what air travel is all about.
It is not all about the free Wi-Fi, endless snacks, or movies on the plane but rather about the customer experience that sets JetBlue apart. You will see this through their campaigns, their social media presence, and even through their employees. An encouraging environment for the team and a focus on keeping their employees happy can be partially credited for the great workforce JetBlue brings to the table.
One more example worth taking a look at- Their campaign, Flight Etiquette, was a creation of videos that consisted of hilarious short clips that touched upon annoying in-flight behavior that we have all had to deal with. Why was this awesome? Because it was honest about the not-so-great parts about flight travel too.
Instead of focusing simply on the good bits, these videos helped the bad bits become funny at the very least.
Another JetBlue trait is its ever-present Twitter team. They are constantly engaging with customers online, solving queries that have been posted to Twitter, and often reply in less than half an hour with a solution for problems as complicated as refunds and cancelations. Twitter is more than a way to update customers on discounts- it is their way to engage with customers.
According to HubSpot, Laurie Meacham, the Manager of Customer Commitment says “We call ourselves a customer service company that happens to fly planes.”
5. Brian White & Associates
So far we have talked about brands that are extremely well established and probably turning over millions in profit. Now, let us take a minute to talk about small businesses that want to stand out within their state or even their town.
Brian White & Associates, a company based in Houston, does this extremely well by focusing on not just the lawyers they bring to the table but the specialty they excel in. They mention it within their heading, the paragraph beneath it, and even the features as you scroll down their home page.
Simple graphics and a list of services make it easy for visiting customers to understand exactly what their next step should be and whether the service is right for them. In a field as complicated as law, most people find it confusing to find the right help. This site is a great example of people that help the website visitor from the very beginning by keeping things understandable.
6. Intuit
Intuit is an accounting powerhouse that offers various services to brands such as Quickbooks, TurboTax, and Mint (an app that makes sure you are never behind on bills by helping you track your budget). Each one of these, in their own way, makes life easier for businesses from a financial perspective.
Offering a multitude of services under the same umbrella helps customers associate Intuit with all things finance. They give customers the bonus of integrating two or more pieces of software together since both have been created by them.
This means if you use Quickbooks for your accounting needs and TurboTax to file your taxes, Intuit allows you to integrate both of these services and use them alongside each other.
That awesome feature helps them climb a few notches above their competitors. Another UVP that Quickbooks brings to the table is their free services such as filing on TurboTax for free. You will find the CTA (Call To Action) for this on their homepage.
Being a powerhouse of brands makes you a bit of a monopoly in your field which is the privilege Intuit enjoys.
7. Walmart
Walmart has made a name for itself as a supermarket that keeps costs in mind while serving you with the best products. In a lot of cases, its competitors may even be giving you the same deal but because of the reputation Walmart has with lower and middle-class shoppers, it more often than not wins the battle.
A visit to their website instantly shows you a list of discounts no matter what time of the year it is and a visit to their store will often involve loads of advertisements regarding new discounts. However, what makes Walmart’s UVP truly brilliant is not just its value for low income and middle-income customers but the fact that it still remains a general choice for everyone.
The benefits Walmart brings to the table when it comes to collection and features pulls in customers from every walk of life. Its smooth supply chain management helps the company move products to the customer quickly which keeps prices low. Other than this, Walmart does not compromise on quality.
It really is an easy formula- Walmart kept it simple, affordable, and up to standard.
Wrapping it up
No matter what industry you are in having a Unique Value Proposition to show your customers what you are all about is imperative when discovering yourself as a brand.
However, remember that things are constantly changing. Your customer’s wants, needs, and preferences are changing by the day. Vegan cheese may not have been relevant two decades ago but which supermarket does not have it now?
I would also highly suggest focusing on brand storytelling as your move forward in your journey. Stories are the only way a brand can foster a relationship with their customer. Whether that is through a great ad like the one Apple created The Underdogs or a real life story of how the company’s creator fought to make the brand what it is today. Features and headlines are concise and clear. They are what our head needs but if you want to be remembered by your customers, consider giving them a good story.
Listening to your customers and being open to changes within your company is what is going to help you stay on top once you get there.
About the Author
Freya is the founder of the personal finance blog CollectingCents that teaches readers how to grow their passive income, save money, improve their credit score, and manage debt. She has been featured in publications like Business Insider, Fox Business, the Huffington Post, and GoBankingRates.
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