How to Find Your UVP and Secure Loyal Clients

It’s safe to assume that all businesses want loyal clients— not only do they bring in funds whenever they have an event, but they are also a source of word-of-mouth advertising. From a consumer perspective, I love having businesses that I know I can trust; I’m busy enough without adding searching for a new event pro/florist/caterer to my list.

If businesses are seeking loyal clients, and clients are seeking trusted businesses, why can it be so challenging to find each other?

One reason you struggle to find loyal clients could be that you don’t have a clear UVP, or Unique Value Proposition. Your UVP is the lead feature you bring to the table, the thing about your business that your clients value the most — and it may not be your inventory. Let’s break everything down to get a better look.

What is a UVP?

Your UVP is the main thing you bring to the table. It is not your only feature, it’s the feature that your clients value the most.

The key to find your UVP is in the name itself. Let’s take a look— we’re going to work backwards and start with “proposition.”

Proposition – What is the main thing you are bringing to the table? Be clear and specific— your clients will forget you if you’re vague or convoluted.

Value – What pain-point are you solving? Who is it helping and how will it improve their lives?

Unique – What sets you apart from everyone else in your industry?

Said another way, your UVP is the answer to the all of the following questions:

• What are you selling?
• Who are you selling it to?
• How will it improve their lives?
• Why is it different?

So, if your UVP is “Sophisticated, individualized wedding planning”:

• Your Proposition is sophisticated, individualized service
• Your Value is that your clients (engaged couples) will receive treatment and services catered to their wants and needs, not a one-size-fits-all plan, so their emotional needs are treated with as much importance as their wedding plan
• What makes you unique is that you don’t have a standardized plan of attack for your event— everything hinges off of the client’s vision.

While your event rental company may offer great furniture and decor rentals, other rental companies do too, so that’s probably not what your clients value the most from your company. Your UVP could be your personality, how easy you are to talk to, your keen eye for detail— it turns out that what your clients value the most usually isn’t an item at all.

How do you find your event business’s UVP?

When trying to determine their UVP, people tend to immediately jump to surveys. The logic makes sense— why not just ask your client what they value most? But the problem is that people tend to forget what actually “sold” them on your company soon after they’ve decided. Getting surveys to your clients ASAP will help you get the most accurate results, but there’s another method: buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a fictional archetype based on your actual clients. Most businesses have 2-4 common buyer personas that make up the majority of their client base. Once you’ve established your client personas, find out what they have in common. That’s probably your UVP.

For instance, if you’re a photo booth rental company, your buyer personas may include:

• An HR employee at an organization who wants to create fun and memorable conferences for their members to learn and network at
• A high school employee wanting a photo booth for school dances
• Brides who want to create memories for their family and friends, but don’t want to rely solely on a photographer

What do these buyer personas have in common? For starters, the people in charge of arranging the events are going to be very busy. Secondly, they aren’t going to want to babysit a photo booth during the event. Third, they want their guests to have fun. Given the commonalities, your UVP could be that you offer “A fun, easy way for your guests to make memories at your event.”

Use your UVP to gain loyal clients

Your UVP is your best leverage tool for sales and marketing. If your quirky personality is what wins your event deals, make sure it shows in your advertisements. If your UVP is the sophistication you bring to your events, make sure that’s reflected in your showroom. When you’re closing a sale or calling your clients to action, you should always return to your UVP.

As your UVP is such a vital part of attracting clients, it should be in every aspect of your business. A disconnection between how you present your company and your UVP will only confuse and put-off your clients, so aim for cohesiveness! We’ve outlined some important areas where your UVP should be visible and represented:

For example, if sophistication is part of your UVP, your delivery team should never show up wearing jeans and t-shirts; likewise, your showroom should reflect the sophisticated vibes you aim to bring to all of your events. Keeping all aspects of your company in line with your UVP— including the details— will create a cohesive, professional quality to everything you do. Your clients won’t be able to resist your expertly curated business and will call you every time they have an event!

What’s your company’s UVP? Is it different than you expected? It could be anything from your company’s sophistication, a stand-out rental (a 30 foot school bus with an 80s arcade), your customer service, good communication, unicorn rentals – anything! Once you understand what your clients really value from your company, you can create better ads, your sales team can work more effectively, and you can hone your business to support and find your UVP. That helps you achieve your goal of creating more loyal clients. Watch our webinar on identifying and amplifying your UVP now.