Domino's promised hot pizza delivered in thirty minutes or it was free. That was a unique selling proposition. A USP is the one thing a product offers that competitors do not. It is not a slogan. It is a concrete promise that matters to customers. Rosser Reeves coined the term in the 1940s. He argued that every advertisement must make a proposition: buy this and you get this specific benefit.

Weak USPs sound like everyone else. "Quality service" and "competitive prices" are not unique. Strong ones are specific and hard to copy. FedEx promised overnight delivery. M&Ms promised milk chocolate that "melts in your mouth, not in your hands." The best USPs are true. A false one will be exposed by reviews and social media within weeks.

How to find yours

• List what customers actually complain about.
• Identify what you do better than anyone else.
• Test whether the claim is provable.
• Make it short enough to remember.

Sometimes the USP is not a feature but a business model. Zappos offered free return shipping for a year. That was not a product feature. It was a promise about risk. The proposition can live anywhere, as long as customers feel it.