What Is A USP And Why Is It Important To Product Managers?
You are now managing a great product! You might even have a significant effect. When it comes to choosing a product that solves their problem, what should you recommend to them?
The power of a USP
Product managers face a common problem: trying to find what makes your product different from everyone else’s. This is difficult because we don’t know enough about our product. We are familiar with how the product works and can therefore understand why we do things faster, better, or more quickly than other people. When customers have to choose between our product and another, the problem is that they don’t know nearly as much about it as we do. You could be a product manager if you can get them to choose your product.
The missing ingredient is what product managers call a Unique Selling Proposition. A USP, which is simply a statement that clearly defines what sets your product apart from other products your customer might choose, can be summarized as follows: A USP is a one-sentence statement. Your USP cannot be used as a marketing brochure.
It is not easy to establish a USP for a product. This is because product managers have been taught to view our product as a collection. Our product is capable of doing a lot of great things. This is a difficult task. This is what we must do to assist our customers in their decision-making.
How to Use Your USP The Best
Yes, it is challenging to create a USP. It turns out, however, that it is worth the effort. This is because once we can clearly identify what makes our product unique from all other products, we can move forward with product development and ensure that our time is spent on the things our customers value most.
It can be easy to create feature plans and road maps for a product with many functions. This is not the USP you have identified. Although some of these tasks will be necessary, once you have placed your USP, you can ensure that every new version of your product has features that add value to your USP.
A small company that created websites for schools was an example of how a USP can be powerful. Although this is a niche market, there were only a few other companies that offered the same product. Although they did a better job than others, it was difficult to explain why their product was superior. I helped them develop a USP. They eventually discovered that they created websites that spoke to each other, a network of websites. They were able to stand out once they integrated this concept into their marketing materials and conversations with customers.
What Does All This Mean for You?
You must believe in your product to be a product manager. This is part of the product manager job description. Your customers might not know that your product is the best solution for their problems. This means that you must create a USP.
Your unique selling proposition (USP) is the one sentence that clearly explains why your product is superior to all other options that are available. It can be difficult to distill all the benefits your product offers into one USP. This will allow you to use your USP as a guide for future product development to enhance what makes your product unique.
Product managers never have enough time to do everything. It’s worth taking the time to create a USP for the product. Your customer and you will both benefit from knowing what makes your product unique.
