How to build my Unique Selling Point as a yacht charter company?

This post is part of our charter company support series. In this series we are going deep into branding, sales and company strategies to build a strong company. Today we have an eye on the USP of your company. What is a USP? A USP (Unique Selling Proposition or Unique Selling Point) is that part of your company and your offer that differentiates you from your competitors. So how can we define that USP or build it?

First of all:

Be aware of your direct and indirect competitors. You don’t know to decide who this can be? Check the following:

1. Who is having a similar offer like you?
2. Do you have companies that are located near you or even in your harbour?
3. Do they offer the same yachts, equipment, trips and services?
4. Do they have a similar branding, design?
5. Is your customer the same?

We know these are some good questions to work on, define at best 3-5 direct and 5-8 indirect competitors.

Have you ever thought about your ideal customer?

Write down your ideal customer in form of persona. Follow this link to learn about how to build personas.

Regarding the USP it is good for you to know about your company’s strategy for the next years. What are going to change to attract more customers? Do you want to add new services and products? 

Put yourself into the customers perspective

Very important for you is to put yourself in your customer’s perspective. We know you love your company and your service, but does your customer really care that you have the best back office team? Not really. Does your customer care about your great marina partners? Maybe. 

Get into the position of your customer to have a look on your services and offers. What of that can be a unique selling point that no other charter company has? 

Examples can be:

• Unique Experiences like heavy weather sailing
• Unique Accommodations like staying overnight on a lonely island
• Unique Services like yoga cruises with special teachers

Let us work out why the heavy weather sailing offer is a USP:

First there are no to a few charters offering these kind of experience. If there are more than a few, they are doing it in different locations. It is a narrow offer for a very unique customer audience.

Why all this?

“Why is this good? Just few customers! I want all customers!” You will say.

If you target to many people with an offer like “Sailing in Greece”, the possibility is that you are losing uniqueness, as other companies are offering that holiday also. You are than part of a mass and not unique. If you bring your branding and all your offers for one persona and target group in position, you will find a lot of special customers who are willing to pay more for a unique offer. In the end your chances of more sales and higher return come from that you target fewer people. That sounds like a paradox, but it works.

Take your time and get inspired also by companies outside of your market to find out how they position themselves. It is a lot of fun to jump into other companies perspective to understand their positioning.

Do you have questions about USP as a charter company? How to build a brand? Let us help you with your needs.