Being able to communicate the unique benefits of what you have to offer in a specific manner is critically important for achieving a distinguishable difference between you and your competitors.

You should aim to make your USP the one specific idea that first comes to mind when people think of your product or service. A very famous example comes from the automobile industry: when people hear “Volvo” they instantly identify it with “Safety”.

You must obviously work to educate your target market about your product’s USP. People did not just automatically associate Volvo with safety. Volvo helped to instill this idea in their heads through cleverly planned advertising, promotion and publicity.

You must have your USP clearly defined before you begin to craft any sales material for your product or service. This will help you to communicate your USP to your target market. If YOU can’t state it your prospects sure won’t see it.

Depending on the real benefits of your product or service and the void in your market that you are filling, your USP might be one of the following (or any number of others you might think of):

Here’s Exactly How to Create Your USP:

Write out in one to two paragraphs the benefits, NOT features, of your product or service; what sets it apart from your competition; and what makes it appealing to your target market.

Edit out the generalities and focus on the crispest, clearest, most specific promise your product/service can offer to your target market.

Rework it until you have a simple, clearly defined USP that your customers can instantly identify with. You should try to express your USP in a way that people really think. For example, forget anything like, “The innovative leader in banking services, financial products and convenient technology”.

People just don’t think that way. So it doesn’t stick in their minds. This is more like it: “South Africa’s only international bank”. Get the idea? Keep it simple. Succinct. USP’s work best when they are a sentence or two for the most.

Lowestfare.com is an example of a company whose USP is clearly defined in their domain name. This company provides the lowest air fares in the air travel industry.

Does Your USP Pass This Checklist?

If you haven’t answered YES to all four of the above, go back and rework your USP until you can. You should present your USP in every ad. And do so year after year. People remember with repetition.

This seems like a Herculean task most of the time, especially if you want to keep the rules for good domain name selection in mind. Moreover, it would also be wise to check if the name you want is trademark registered, even if the domain name is available.

Most e-commerce experts would give you the following advice on domain name availability:

First Choice

Make dot com your first choice as a TLD. If you are lucky enough to get it, then also register .net and .org to avoid giving business to competitors with the same name.

Alternative Extensions

In the most likely case of non availability of the dot com version you can either look for another domain name (which may turn into an endless search) or register your domain with an alternative extension like .net, .org or any country specific extension. Amongst country specific extensions .ws and .tv are quite popular. This would entail the risk of sending the majority of your visitors to the .com version of your domain name, but at least you would have a sensible, memorable and simple domain name for your online business.

New TLDs

At the end of last year a number of new TLDs (dot biz, dot info, dot pro, dot name) have been announced by ICANN. This may seem like an answer to the prayers of people looking for good domain names. But beware these extensions still stand to be losers in comparison to their dot com versions, at least for now. However, eventually people may get used to learning the extension along with the domain name.

Secondary Market

There exists a secondary domain market where purchased domain names are auctioned. You just might be lucky enough to get your hands on a good dot com domain there. Some domain names also get expired when their original buyer doesn’t continue payment for them. These become available for purchase a while after their expiry.

For information on various issues and latest developments related to domain registration, you can check out Domain Guide Book

But the name becomes extremely important if it also acts as the address (URL) of the business. Hence the importance of choosing the right domain name cannot be stressed enough.

The “right domain name” for an online business would be one that contributes towards enhancing your image and towards your marketing efforts. It helps in bringing more traffic to your web site.

Whether you already have an established offline business or are trying to build an online business from scratch, here are a few simple rules of name selection to follow:

1. Easy to spell:

If people can’t pronounce or spell your domain name properly, it is bound to cause problems for you. This is because they need to be able to type your domain name correctly to reach your web site. Otherwise, they would be surfing some other web site thinking it is yours. You are likely to be the loser if something like that happens. Hence, try to choose a domain name that is easy to spell.

A number of words in English have different versions of spelling, for example: color and colour, jewellery and jewelry etc. Search all the possible spelling versions of your name and register all of them. It would save you from losing a lot of valuable traffic.

2. Short and simple:

The ideal domain name would tend to be short and simple. We need to avoid confusing our net surfer at all costs. Longer names are bound to lead to more confusion and would cause problems in pronunciation as well as spelling . Initially ICANN allowed only 23 characters for domain names but now this limit has been changed to 63 characters. While this has made a variety of new domain names possible, the danger of confusing net surfers with long names has also appeared.

3. Memorable:

Your domain name must be easy to remember, so that net surfers can instantly access your web site by typing in your domain name in the browser window. They might not bother to conduct a search for your web site if your domain name is difficult to remember and is easily forgotten by them.

4. Unique:

Your domain name should not be a sub domain. These result when you choose to host your web site with a free or inexpensive host.

To illustrate, a unique domain name would look like this: www.yourname.com, while a sub domain of Xyz company would look like this: www.xyz.com/yourname.html.

As it is obvious, a sub domain results in a longer URL for your web site. This goes against all the three rules listed above. It won’t be short or simple, easy to spell or memorable. But the problems don’t end here. The biggest problem is that your URL would not be consistent. If you ever decide to terminate your hosting with Xyz Company you would have to change your URL. Your customers may not have any way of finding you, resulting in loss of business for you.

5. Related to category:

Your domain name should give some idea of the business you are in, and what your web site is about. The two famous web based brands Yahoo! and Amazon defy this rule. You can’t tell that Yahoo! would be the name of a search engine and Amazon would be a book store. But don’t let this change your mind. Amazon and Yahoo! have the advantage of being the pioneers in their chosen categories, along with consistent brand building efforts and a commitment for quality.

6. Alphabetical considerations: A instead of Z:

If you intend to rely heavily on search engine traffic, like the majority of web sites on the net today, you may also want to consider the alphabetical order of the name. A name starting with “A” would be listed on the top of a directory, while “Z” would go right at the bottom. This may make a big difference on the amount of traffic you can draw from directories.

7. Generic or exclusive

There seems to be a lot of debate on whether a domain name should be generic or exclusive. It is true that while generic domain names result in more traffic for a web site, they make poor brand names. The solution is simple: While you shouldn’t be giving your online business an official generic name, you may want to buy generic domain names related to your category and use them to redirect your URL.

In this way, you won’t suffer the danger of having a poor brand name, and you would also gain more traffic through redirection. Supposing you were selling books, would a domain name like book.com help you in getting more traffic? You bet it would!! It appears that Barnes and Noble realize this as they already own this domain.

Selection of the right domain name requires creativity along with a consideration for the above listed rules. And remember, Yahoo! is successful in spite of defying three of these rules. You just have to realize which of these rules are important for your particular situation.

1. Bizy Moms

Pretty cool. This site lists a number of home based business ideas along with real life stories related to these ideas. These would help you get a feel of the real life considerations and situations related to each business idea. If you have a unique business idea of your own you may want to post it to this site.

2. Home Business Ideas

This site gives a list of business ideas, along with a definition, required skills and related resources for each idea.

3. IdeaCafe

Nice site with loads of info for any wanna be entrepreneur. This particular section includes expert advice on business issues, and a listing of business ideas with information on required investment and equipment for each idea.

4. Bright Ideas Bulletin

A collection of the best business ideas and articles from “The Bright Ideas Bulletin”, which is a free ezine.

5. Home Business Ideas

This site features a lot of useful business information and a list of more than 200 ideas along with information, resources and suggested books for most listed ideas.

6. 200 Home Based Business Ideas for Women

200 unique ideas for home based businesses. A lot of creative thought has been given to each idea. Also features an explanation and related books for each idea.

7. Legitimate Home Business Ideas

Are you wondering if there is a demand for your business? This a list of legitimate home biz ideas along with job listings for each idea.

8. Free Home Biz Ideas

Want to start a business, but have no money to do so? This site offers ideas that require minimal or zero investment to start.

1. What do you like doing?

This is a very important question and one for which you must find an answer. You can’t feel passionate about your venture unless you love what you are doing. Without feeling passion, it is impossible to work hard and turn your venture into a successful one. Turn your hobby into your profession, and you won’t have a single working day in your life. What can be a better way to earn your living?

2. Who would you like to work for?

Another approach to coming up for an idea is to determine who your customers should be. These should be people you like working with, and whom you can relate to. Observe them closely and interact with them on a regular basis. You might eventually be able to identify a need within them which you can fulfill. For example, you may belong to an email discussion group where you hear people complaining about how time consuming it is to submit ezines to directories and to keep track of those submissions. Aha! Maybe you can start an ezine submission service!

Search for clues of unfulfilled needs. What do they want which is not being done? What are they dissatisfied with? What problems do they want solved? The answers to these questions may lead you to a winning business idea. All successful businesses achieve success through satisfying an unmet demand, the right way.

3. Research and test market

Don’t plunge into a business immediately after identifying a need that you can fulfill. Research and test your idea with your target market. Ask them if they think this is a good idea and how much they would be willing to pay for it. It is not unusual for people to have a need and yet be unwilling to pay for getting that work done. Taking the ezine submission service example again, people may think promoting ezines is a big pain, but would they be willing to pay someone else for doing it?

Also, people might be willing to pay, but is that amount enough for you? Can you earn a living on it? You may need to make some changes and add more value to your business idea to make it more suitable to the needs of the people, or to increase their willingness to pay. Search for services or features that you can add to your offering to make it appear more valuable and beneficial.

Ask questions about anything you are unsure about from your acquaintances as well as current and prospective customers. Even if you think you are sure about a decision or idea, a second view point is always a great help. It provides you with a new way of thinking.

4. Observe competition

Once you have identified a need within your target audience, you must observe how other entrepreneurs are fulfilling similar needs. Perhaps you want to be a candle maker. Observe the other candle makers around you. How are they managing themselves? How are they differentiating themselves from other entrepreneurs? Is there something unique about the packaging, candle shapes, colors or fragrances that they are offering? Are they satisfying their customers? Is there something that you can do better than them? If they are doing something very well then maybe you can copy them.

5. Make yourself stand out

There is always room for something new even in a very competitive field. For example, there are thousands of web designers on the web today. Can there possibly be room for more web designers? Sure, why not? There is still a need for web designers who are dedicated to maintaining quality of wok and services for their clients, and meeting deadlines. There would always be room for specialization as well. For example, web designers who specialize in building web sites for churches, or web sites related to animals, etc.

To be successful you must try to have focus and maintain quality of service at all times and at all costs. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Gradually people would start recognizing you because of the high quality of work you do, and the commitment you show for your work. Success may not be easy to achieve, but it can be done, and it’s definitely worth trying for.

6. Be willing to learn

The process of learning is perpetual and never ends. Those who have an open attitude and willingness towards learning, are bound to benefit a lot more from the learning process. Read and research as much as possible about you idea. You may discover information which would prove instrumental in your success. For example, a web designer would need to learn a lot of programming languages and practice a lot to reach a professional level of expertise. Even if you are a so called expert in your field, there would still be room for you to learn new things, and you should avail every opportunity you find to do so. This would ensure that you have an edge above your competition.

7. Don’t give up

Bad times in business are faced by everyone. Sometimes you feel discouraged and unwanted, and you feel you can’t go on. But hard work and determination forms the basis of success. You may not achieve the success you expect immediately, but if you are determined to make your business work, it eventually will.

The above steps may not guarantee a hundred percent success in business, but if you follow them closely, your chances of success would definitely increase. May you achieve success and prosperity in every way.