You are probably familiar with the acronym USP for Unique Selling Proposition, right?
Why I never recommend creating one for your tourism business is simple.
As you create a USP, you are motivated to focus only on selling. A UVP focuses on adding and offering VALUE to the customer.
I like to think of them as a UVP”C”s - Unique Value Propositions of CONVERSATION.
The hospitality industry is all about those moments when you exchange information that is personalised enough to make the person in front of you feel special.
Keep those best conversations and exchanges with your customers in mind to guide you as you read on to find out more.
So, how does a hotel create value?
Value for money is just one tiny slice of the answer to this question.
Value, especially in our changing world of post-pandemic travel, is much more about trust and feeling heard. It is about understanding what your target customer profiles want and meeting them right where they are so you can give them what they need.
Price and location are important factors, but tourism businesses cannot ignore guests’ desire for a unique and personally rewarding experience.
In short, a well-crafted Unique Value Proposition is the perfect way to guide a potential customer into booking with you.
It is ultimately about conversions of course, but it is not just about getting ahead of your competitors. It is about getting bold and confident in regard to your offer and really understanding who you serve the best and why.
Taking time to define your own Unique Value Proposition is the only way to get clear on what you stand for, who you want to host, and how you can transform their stay into a series of magical moments that they will remember forever.
One way to motivate you to get started is to look at it from the end result backwards.
We all want to improve our bottom lines, right?
What do we need to do that?
Satisfied customers who write more positive reviews, happily share word of mouth recommendations, and come back for more as repeat visitors.
How do we satisfy those customers to the point that they want to share or return to our business?
By serving them an experience that exceeds their expectations.
An experience that exceeds expectations is one filled with magical moments that meet their needs.
A Unique Value Proposition allows you to connect with your potential guest on an emotional level. What you are trying to generate are those “Wow, this person really gets me!” reaction. That is how you catch attention and get this already connected guest to move further along their journey to booking with you.
Another powerful reason for defining your UVP is that it will drive your content strategy. Because you have to answer some questions about your target audience in order to craft an awesome UVP, you really start to work out what they want to hear. This means that you start to become super intentional about the type of content you put out there to guide your potential customers in.
So, let’s find out a bit more.
A UVP is not just a tag line, a slogan, or a positioning statement. It uses powerful language that resonates with your target audience, offering them clarity in few words.
You don’t have to go take a degree in human psychology, but you do need to get a little clued up on what drives consumer buying decisions to understand the power and value of doing this work.
People don’t always want the cheapest, they want the best value for THEM. A major driver behind buying decisions is “What’s in it for me?”, “Why should I buy from you?”.
Rooms are rooms, beds are beds, seats are seats, “so what is the MORE that I get from you?”
There is a subconscious cost versus benefits formula that runs around our heads when we are considering making a purchase, whatever it is.
The “MORE” that people are looking for is your “WHY”.
Simon Sinek, the author and speaker, said "People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it".
By incorporating your “why” as the main concept, closely followed by your “what” (you do) and your “how” (you do it), you start to resonate and engage on an emotional level.
That, ultimately, is what drives buying decisions.
To help illustrate his point Sinek says, imagine if Apple also started backwards by creating a marketing message that started with their “what.”
“We make great computers. They’re user friendly, beautifully designed, and easy to use. Want to buy one?”
While these facts are true, we are not driven to take action because Apple makes great computers. That is how their Unique Value Proposition started in this example.
But of course, Apple doesn't communicate this way.
What Apple really says is:
“With everything we do, we aim to challenge the status quo. We aim to think differently. Our products are user friendly, beautifully designed, and easy to use. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”
See the difference? Feel the difference?
Now you are not Apple, right? but you have a WHY, a HOW and a WHAT, you just have to find them and get them in the right order.
Just in case you are wondering HOW you are going to create something SO unique that you completely stand out from everything else that exists on the planet, YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
"You don't need to be unique to the whole world, just in your customers mind is enough."
Want to learn more? To find out how to craft your own Unique Value Proposition, follow the step-by-step guide in my Content Creation Course for Hotels. It details the questions you need to ask yourself to begin to define your UVP. It teaches the anatomy of a UVP and how to build it from scratch. It also showcases some examples of how not to do it, followed by some awesome models of how to nail it.
If you want to build your reputation and improve your bottom line, getting clear on your Unique Value Proposition is crucial to creating engaging content and serving the best experience possible to your guests.
I cover this and MUCH more in my most popular hotel marketing coaching programme, Amplify Hotel Marketing. Click this link to find out more.
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