Having trouble getting customers to come to your farm? Concerned that customers might buy their tree at an in-town lot or big box store? Why do wholesale buyers choose another farm over yours?
The fix could be as simple as creating a Unique Selling Proposition for your farm.
I recently read Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham. In the book, Abraham offers many useful tactics and tips about how to grow your business. We can apply these same tactics to Christmas tree farms.
In this article, we’ll dive into the Unique Selling Proposition, and how we can use this strategy on our tree farms.
What is a USP?
A USP is statement about what your farm does that provides your customers with a result or advantage superior to the competition’s.
It should be related to why customers choose to buy their Christmas tree from you over another Christmas tree farm, tree lot, or big box store. Or for wholesale growers, why a retailer chooses to purchase their Christmas tree inventory from you rather than from another wholesaler.
Why Should I Have a USP?
Creating and using a USP can have a significant impact on your farm.
1) First, creating a USP forces you to focus on what is most important to the customer.
You may think that a high-quality tree is most important to your customers, but it might actually be the family experience of cutting down a tree on the farm that is most important. For wholesale growers, it may be your customer service or timely delivery of trees. This is also related to the 80/20 Principle of trying to attract your “ideal” or best type of client.
2) Second, a USP forces you to differentiate your farm from your competitors.
You may think you don’t have any competitors if you’re the only Christmas tree farm in the area. However, you’re still competing with tree lots, big box stores, and even artificial tree sellers. In order to attract more customers, you need to offer something additional or different than your competitors. It could be the whole experience, unique tree types, or offering additional services, such as wagon rides, Christmas light displays, or home delivery.
Differentiation is especially important for wholesale growers because wholesale Christmas trees are more of a price-sensitive commodity than choose-and-cut trees. Wholesale growers can differentiate themselves by offering better customer services, a wider variety of trees, or generous payment terms.
3) Finally, a USP gets customers and potential customers to see your business as offering them a superior benefit or advantage that no other competitor offers them.
This is what ultimately makes customers switch from a competitor to you. For example, if you’re the Christmas tree farm that gives a free Christmas tree stand to first-time buyers, customers will remember that.
USP Examples
Most successful business have a USP, you might just not have noticed them. For example, Domino’s Pizza was originally known for their guaranteed pizza delivery in “30 minutes or it’s free.” Also, both Nordstrom and REI stores are known for a no-questions-asked, 100% money-back refund if you’re dissatisfied with your purchase anytime in the future.
An example from my own life is when I created a business to deliver Christmas trees in the Cincinnati area. My business, Cincy Evergreens, offered a “hassle-free, authentic Christmas experience” by “delivering fresh-cut Christmas trees from local farms right to your door.”
How to Create a USP
Now, let’s get to work to create a highly effective USP so you can start differentiating yourself today.
Step 1: Identify what advantage or result your customers want the most.
For example, are customers looking for the best family experience, tree selection, or convenient location? It could even be a combination of advantages or results that your customers want.
Step 2: Position your farm as providing a unique benefit
Once you determine what your customers want the most, you should position your farm as providing a unique benefit they are not getting from your competitors. Examples of unique benefits can include location, tree variety, additional amenities/activities, a money-back guarantee, added services, or lowest price.
Step 3: Create a crisp, clear statement (your USP) that promises the most you could possibly offer.
Your USP should be similar to an “elevator pitch” in that it should be quick and to the point. It should take less than a minute to orally convey your USP.
Here’s a hypothetical USP example: Bosserman Tree Farm – Offering North Carolina’s finest Fraser Firs with a memorable family-friendly experience.
How to Use Your USP
After you’ve created your USP, you should integrate your USP into everything you do. According to Abraham, you should “live” your USP. A customer or potential customer should be exposed to your USP every time they have contact with your Christmas tree farm. This includes integrating the USP into every marketing aspect of your farm, which might include social media, advertising, and logos. If you have employees, they should also understand the farm’s USP and how to “live” it.
Conclusion
A USP is an extremely effective strategy to differentiate your farm from competitors. Being unique is extremely important to attracting new customers, as well as keeping existing customers coming back year after year.
This article is just a quick overview of what a USP is and how to create one. For more information on creating a USP, as well as other business-generating strategies, I recommend reading Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got. If you need help creating a USP, contact me.
