Need USP help, please.

Hi,

I understand the concept of USP. I can immediately recognize when other businesses have identified and are promoting/leveraging theirs. I desperately want to identify mine but I think I just can't see the forest for the trees as they say.

I have operated a commercial construction company for 20 years. I am adept at handling literally any type of construction, renovation, or repair work that can come up. I have all of my own tools, trucks, equipment and help. I do not subcontract. I am a genberal contractor in that I do it all... but I do it all completely in house. My specialty is commercial and retail construction - store spaces, offices, shopping centers, etc. Our recent projects have been... BIG dry cleaners (lots of permit issues), auto parts chain stores (we did it all), fencing around an apartment complex, automatic entrance doors for an office building, large roof mounted sun deck for a commercial building, small building addition, a concrete walkway, painting, drywall, various repairs, etc.

I also have the ability to provide project design, project permit plans, and permitting and inspection services for the work we normally do. Truly, all in house.

I also design, manufacture, install and repair signs for commercial businesses and properties under the same business name. We make signs of all types.. lighted electric, neon, carved and gold leaf gilded wooden signs, plastic signs, vinyl graphics for storefront lettering, vehicle lettering, etc. We provide the same, design, drawing, and permit service for the signs. We have all our own solvent printers, vinyl cutters, metal equipment, CNC routers, plastic equipment, service trucks, and welders. I wear a lot of hats but it's true, this is all in house.

The CNC router purchased for use in the sign manufacturing has made us more profitable in the cabinets that we make for the retail chains also as it does the job of 3 men easily. So we have also been selling cabinetry and counters specially designed for niches that we have worked for and know about.. dry cleaners, auto parts chains, hair salons, etc.

Next up... I am able to provide most of my services to a large part of the east coast. We serve DC, Md, Va, WV, De, NY, NJ, Oh, NC, and Pa. from our Pa. property. And I recently added a office in Orlando, Fl. which will serve most of Fl. and Ga. My help is OK with traveling.

I have actually told clients in the past that we are not the cheapest source for the services we provide. I've never made any point to be competing with a guy and pickup truck and tool belt. It's just not an apples to apples comparison. I think now about how stupid that kind of was and how wrong it actually is. I honestly know that my current clients hire me because I actually am the cheapest source they could find anywhere that is capable of providing all of what I provide. To get the same offerings from a single source, by making one phone call... 717-328-3300, you would certainly need to hire a much larger company than mine. So, I guess I am the cheapest choice. I am not real excited about that but am willing to push back my reservations about competing on price for whats in my best interest.

So, given what I have layed out here - does anyone have an idea of some short, quick-conveying statement or tag line that will put forth my USP to the world?

Impressive accomplishment!

Here are some ideas for you:

From the ground up to signs in the air, we do it all in-house!

Building is our business. No sub-contractor hassles. We do it all!

Your one-stop, in-house, contractor for businesses.

End sub-contractor hassles...we're your one-stop builder.

Hope this is helpful to you.

Sandi Bowman

Seems you have a foundation for some solid growth.

One thing I focused in on was your use of in house workers
meaning YOU PAY for any liability those workers might cause.

Now why might you do that?

Maybe because your workers are so skilled that it would
actually you COST you more money to sub contract out
to unskilled uncaring who knows where they got them from
construction workers who get a lot of things wrong so the
sub-contractor forced to carry high cost insurance policies raises
their rates accordingly.

(black belt hint: can you come out and say you hire legal residents of
the US? That's a USP for someone in the
construction industry plus it's a bold one 'cus just about everyone
else will be too scared to say such a thing.)

But even if you can't or don't want to the fact that you have
in-house workers i think the average business could care less
unless it means your workers are more skilled or you can
get more jobs done on time at cost because you have more control
on when and what work gets done.

(Example: ARe you the only builder with a 99.7% on time no cost overrun
completion rate in the town of Anywhere USA)

Maybe that's another USP that might work.

Plus seem like you have a lot of backend profit centers from recommending
architects, service companies, construction upgrades to buildings you've already worked on, referrrals from past customers. Lots of profits centers.

Think about hiring a guy like Gordon Alexander to write some advertising to help you tap into those other profit centers.

Finally check out this archive I've posted some links (other's have too) to great sites that help you come up with more USP and business naming ideas.

[Ankesh]

One suggestion: call up a few of your clients and ask them: why did they buy your services?

The answers you get will help you a long way in coming up with a strong and powerful USP.

Rosser Reeves gives us this definition for USP:

1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the customer: "buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit."

2. The proposition itself must be unique - something that competitors do not, or will not, offer.

3. The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.

Keep that in mind while using the following short formula to come up with a short and snappy tag line.

1. Mention what you offer
2. Mention how you take care of the downside
3. Don't mention anything else

Thats it. Don't try to be witty or creative with tag lines. The above 3 points were gotten by deconstructing the best tag line ever: Fresh hot pizzas in 30 minutes or its free.

You offer one stop solution for all commercial construction jobs - often at lower cost than anyone else can provide. But how do you take care of the downside? What guarantee or risk reverals do you offer to your clients?

If there is no apparent risk reversals that you offer, a short quick tag line you could use is:

* Complete Commercial Construction Services
* Hassle-Free Complete Commercial Construction Services
* One-Stop Construction Station for Commercial Enterprises

If you let us know the name of your company and a few more details and wishes, we could help you come up with a better tag line and USP.

Basically, while consulting clients, what I used to do is - find out a lot of information about the clients company, his competitors, and his ideal clients. Only knowing all those 3 things can you come up with the best possible USP.

Originally Posted by Ankesh

One suggestion: call up a few of your clients and ask them: why did they buy your services?

The answers you get will help you a long way in coming up with a strong and powerful USP.



Keep that in mind while using the following short formula to come up with a short and snappy tag line.

1. Mention what you offer
2. Mention how you take care of the downside
3. Don't mention anything else

Thats it. Don't try to be witty or creative with tag lines. The above 3 points were gotten by deconstructing the best tag line ever: Fresh hot pizzas in 30 minutes or its free.

You offer one stop solution for all commercial construction jobs - often at lower cost than anyone else can provide. But how do you take care of the downside? What guarantee or risk reverals do you offer to your clients?

If there is no apparent risk reversals that you offer, a short quick tag line you could use is:

* Complete Commercial Construction Services
* Hassle-Free Complete Commercial Construction Services
* One-Stop Construction Station for Commercial Enterprises

If you let us know the name of your company and a few more details and wishes, we could help you come up with a better tag line and USP.

Basically, while consulting clients, what I used to do is - find out a lot of information about the clients company, his competitors, and his ideal clients. Only knowing all those 3 things can you come up with the best possible USP.

One observation - In my experience the proposition does not have to be unique - but the perception that it is unique. Capt Charley

You've heard it a million times, but can only sell what people WANT to buy.

1.) I'd ask your customers what they WANT to buy from you.

Overall, and for each of the diversified areas in which you operate:

What do they WANT from a Dry Cleaner?

What do they WANT from Routers?

What do they WANT from _____?

2.) I'd list and review the answers to each question and see how they compare to each other.

3.) If there is a common or generic answer to each question I'd try to whittle it down and incorporate it into an overall or company umbrella USP

4.) I'd take the unique WANTS that emerge from each question to use as a seperate USP for that particular product or service.

All Dominoes really did was ask their customers what they WANT and incorporate that simple response into their USP - Fresh Hot Pizza Delivered In 30 Minutes or Less, Guaranteed.

And if you can satisfy the WANTS that should help you to get away from the vicious price-based comparisons and competition.

Here's a link to an article that has absolutely nothing to with construction but does a much better job than me of presenting the WANT topic:

http://www.psychotactics.com/artcustomerwants.htm

Continued success!

Rod

"CONTRACTOR-1"
"One Call-Does It All"
"All Under ONE Roof"

Don Alm

Wow! Thanks to all that returned for a quick response and thanks for your help and comments.

Some had asked a few questions and I will try to answer...

I think my existing clients buy from me because I am the cheapest (cheapest that sells all that I do), because I generally dont whine for more money when the going gets tough (contractors call that a change order), because I offer everything that they need to complete a project... they give me an adress and, if they choose to trust me, the next meeting we have is when I hand them the keys to a finished space, permits finaled, construction complete, counters installed, signs up and lit, now hiring banner installed, ready to open for business.

My competitors... I see my competitors as much larger companies with more overhead, many more office and field personnel, subcontractors and their problems, mechanics lien issues on the customers property (from not paying the subcontractors), etc.

My ideal client is typically a small national chain that builds many locations in each of my states that I work in. My clients need to be big enough to keep building but not so big that they have their own construction managers or act as their own general contractors. My clients are busy finding real estate and opening stores and appreciate that I can take care of whats needed in between those two activities. And they are willing to pay for that hassle to be taken out of their lap.

Another ideal client is a busy property manager in charge of several commercial properties... same customer size criteria, for the same reasons stated above.

My risk reversals are not standards... we reduce the customer risk by ensuring a sub or supplier wont bite them in the but by filing liens for non-payment on the property. we design and review designs against codes that we are familiar with (retail, dry cleaning, sign zoning, etc)... more familiar with than our competitors.

Another mention is that since we use very few subcontractors, we do not mark up for a general contractor fee on any work that we do on our own. A typical General Contractor will have electrical+25% + plumbing+25% + mechanical+25% etc etc. We also mark up subs but we sub very little. Anything we do ourselves is not further marked up. In the end, the customer might find a painter that will do the painting for slightly less that we will but they will not usually find anyone to do the whole package as inexpensively as us.

Someone asked our company name... for 20 years its been a generic name... "Altex" or more acurately.. "The Altex Companies". When I started out, I was only doing stucco work (textures) - hence the name ALL-TEX... I later dropped the hyphen and lightened it to just Altex.

Well, I hope this helps some. I am still thinking, hard. And I do appreciate the help. I am just overwhelmed with how to bring it down to an elevator speech or better yet... something that will fit on a business card. If I can see this happen here in the next short while I will be a believer for life.

Continued Thanks,
John