The Unique Perceived Benefit, in short UPB, refers to the unique value that customers perceive in a product or service. It describes the specific benefit that the offering provides from the target audience’s perspective and why they should choose it over alternatives.
It is not just a question of what features a product has. The benefits must be relevant to customers, easy to understand and genuinely apparent.
A convincing UPB answers the following questions:
- What specific problem does it solve?
- What benefits do customers get?
- Why is this benefit relevant to the target audience?
- How does your offering differ from that of your competitors?
- Why should customers choose this particular product?
Typical perceived benefits may include:
- Time or cost savings
- easier to use
- higher quality
- better results
- lower risk
- customisation options
- faster or more reliable service
- Access to a solution that has been lacking until now
The UPB is closely linked to the Unique Selling Proposition, or USP for short:
| UPB | USP |
| describes the perceived benefits for customers | describes the unique selling point of an offer |
| considers the product from the target group’s perspective | examines how it differentiates itself from its competitors |
| replies: „What’s in it for me?“ | Answer: „What makes this offer unique?“ |
A start-up may, for example, have a unique selling point (USP) based on a particular technology. However, the USP only really comes into its own once customers understand the specific benefit that this technology offers them.
A strong UPB helps start-ups to:
- to clearly articulate the value proposition
- to refine one’s positioning
- Making marketing and sales messages easier to understand
- to target relevant customer groups more effectively
- to set itself apart from its competitors
- to increase people’s willingness to pay
To develop the UPB, founders should talk to potential customers, analyse their problems and test different value propositions. The key factor is which benefits the target group itself considers to be particularly important.
A common mistake is to equate product features with customer benefits. A feature describes what a product can do. The UPB, on the other hand, explains the specific improvement this brings for customers.
innoWerft helps founders to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ problems and target audiences, to refine their value proposition, and to develop a clear positioning for customers, partners and investors.