We understand that your destination has a lot of great qualities such as free parking, friendly staff and accommodating services. However, this probably isn’t the reason someone would go out of their way to visit your destination. Make a list of the things you think are special about your business. Go back through your list and scratch out the ones you think businesses like yours could also say. Now you’re getting somewhere.
Get Your Destination on Their Bucket List.
Let’s break down destination marketing with a few rules for building your USP:
1. Think big.
2. You can't be good at everything.
What we mean is, you can’t have the best this andthe greatest that andthe most amazing whatever for a single USP. It’s too much and too generic. You may be good at multiple things and that’s great! But it’s really hard to push all of them. When someone thinks of your business, one uniquequality should come to mind that makes you stand out from the other options. You need to be specific and really sell it.
3. Where can USP come into play?
In a sense, your USP is an extension ofyour brand promise. This is the exclusivity of your brand and what your business provides. Your USP can also be part of your slogan. However, your USP needs to go a bit further. Think of the John Deere slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere.” While John Deere has multiple differentiators, they focus on the quality of their equipment. This slogan plays with the USP to create a catchy line that is memorable but still gets the point across.
One good USP example is TOMS shoes. For each pair of shoes purchased, another pair is donated to a country in need. You rarely see TOMS talking about the quality of their shoes or that they’re super comfy. The comfiness and quality of the shoe is just an additional perk to their products that they don’t talk about until you are at the point of purchase online. This characteristic makes them stand out in the abundance of shoe brands. That’s how we all know TOMS.
Their marketing messages revolve around “One for One” which also doubles as their slogan. This is another good example of playing with your USP to get a catchy and memorable slogan like John Deere. It hints at their USP but doesn’t explicitly say what it is.
You must do the same for your business. We aren’t saying you have to do a huge social responsibility movement like TOMS, but you do need to stand out from the rest with something truly unique to your brand.
When it comes to marketing, there are a lot of pieces that have to come together to create a really good campaign. It’s a lot to take in. We know. But that’s why we’re here to help.
This is something we do every day. Building a USP for our clients is something that guides the rest of our marketing strategy for them so we’re used to the pressure of making sure the USP is precise and accurate.
