How to Determine Your USP - Lesson 4: Ten More Ideas for Generating Your USP

Here are 10 more great idea generators to help you develop a powerful USP:

11. Added Value
“My photographic prints come with a life-time guarantee. If anything happens to your print, from fire to flood, I will send you another print for only the cost of shipping and handling.”

12. Premiums/Gift-with-Purchase
This is like a one-time shot of #11. “Every painting you purchase comes with a full-size print of one of my other paintings.” Or even better, “Purchase one of my paintings, and I will send you 24 pre-stamped postcards of that same painting along with an 8-pack of greeting cards.”

13. Packaging Difference
Think of all the ways you can now buy laundry detergent boxes! Add a packaging difference to your product. “For every photo print you purchase, I will send you a copy by email and another one on CD.”

14. Size
This one is more of a challenge for artists. Sam’s Club and Costco are well known for selling food in giant-sized containers that are so much less expensive per ounce. Do you have a product that you can sell in a larger size or quantity?

15. Expertise
Incorporate into your USP how long you’ve been an artists, what your credentials are, where you’ve worked, or how much work has gone into each piece. “A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have worked as an independent film producer for over 43 years.”

16. Price
17. Payment Terms
Since these two are so similar, I have grouped them together. I have always recommended against using low price as a USP, but I certainly encourage using a high price as a USP! Better yet, use payment terms. Do you sell a painting for $4800? Offer it at $400/month for 12 months. Try to keep the payment term at 12 months or under unless the price is very high. This is also a way to offer what feels like a lower price, yet is higher than you would normally sell for. If you have a painting that normally sells for $120, you could sell it for $14.99/month and make 50% more!

18. Guarantee
This one should be first on the list because it is so important. I can also be included with ANY other USP. I have heard of countless places that went from a 30-day guarantee to a life-time guarantee and not only sold more because of it, but did not have any more returns. If you can’t offer a full money-back guarantee, at least offer an exchange.

19. Celebrity
Think this is only for the big name brands on television? Think again! Many celebrities will do a photo-op and endorsement for much less money that you think. Imagine a picture of a celebrity with your painting on the wall behind them and the caption, “So and So LOVES their new Sara Mathewson painting.” Celebrities sell, whether we like the idea or not. Do you want to be a purist living in a cave or do you want to sell more art.

20. Combination
Think of ways to combine two or more of these ideas and you will create an unstoppable USP.

Next, Lesson 5: Incorporating Your USP.

Chris O’Byrne
http://www.OnlineArtsMarketing.com/blog