February 14, 2024

A unique selling point (USP), also called a unique selling proposition, is the essence of what makes your product or service better than competitors. In online marketing, communicating your USP clearly and quickly is one of the keys to getting potential customers to convert on your site. What is unique selling point (USP)? A unique selling point (USP), also called a unique selling proposition, is a marketing statement that differentiates a product or brand from its competitors. A USP might boast the lowest cost, the highest quality, the most experience, the first in its product class or another trait that sets the offering apart from the competition. A unique selling point can be thought of as “what you have that competitors don’t.”  Why are unique selling points important? A unique selling point defines your company’s unique position in the marketplace, getting at the heart of your business: the value you offer and the problem you solve. A strong USP clearly articulates a specific benefit – one that other competitors don’t offer – that makes you stand out. If all the products appear to be the same, your prospective customers won’t know which one is right for them. Being clear about your unique selling proposition helps them differentiate between the variety of choices available to them. It is a crucial part of effective selling, otherwise all your marketing efforts will go unnoticed and blend in, especially online with so many options. A USP can also serve an important role internally, as it forces you to consider your company’s mission and its very reason for being. A successful business often determines which of their key competitive differentiators are clear. As a business owner, you need to consider and communicate who your business is for, what drives you to offer the services you offer, and how you want to make impact in the target market. Your USP is your key differentiator and the reason your customer will buy from you and an important part of your marketing strategy for attracting new customers. Examples or good unique selling points Toms Shoes is a shoe manufacturer. Again, there is nothing especially unique about that. But Toms Shoes’ unique selling point is that for every pair of shoes a customer purchases, the company donates a pair to a child in need. Toms Shoes helps put shoes on needy children’s feet; this is a strong unique selling proposition. Nike is yet another company known for selling shoes. Yet they are differentiated from Toms because they focus primarily on athletic shoes with prominent sponsorships with star athletes. Their USP is that they provide the best quality shoes for athletes and fitness in general. Those are just a few examples of unique selling propositions. USPs are by their nature unique to each business, but roughly fall into three major categories: Quality – Superior materials or ingredients, superior craftsmanship, proprietary manufacturing methods, one of a kind Price – The lowest price guaranteed, price matching, free shipping, bulk discounts, special offers Services – Easy returns, personalization, great customer service or even advice and a curated selection of products and goods Unique selling points differences per industry Depending on the type of products or services your company is trying to sell, different selling points may be relevant. For example, if you’re and entrepreneur selling clothing goods as a retailer, you might find different selling points appeal to customers than if you’re a small business selling consulting services. Here are some templates you can follow: For retail, typically customers are looking for unique selling points around products and services. You can add value to existing products as well, if you’re not producing them yourself. Are your goods unique to your store, or is your selection hand-curated. An example of the latter could be products that are very durable or environmentally friendly, customers would seek out your store for that guarantee. Do you offer any services other retails don’t, like payment plans or free returns If you’re reselling goods, can your goods be personalized or made unique For Manufacturing and Wholesale companies, it can be hard to find a competitive advantage when most companies compete on price. It’s important to be entrepreneurial and offer compelling usps to set your company apart. Are you offering faster shipping or securities (like insurance) Special bulk or tiered pricing for purchasing commitments Do you have stock of products that are hard to come by otherwise, like local distribution or EOL (end of life) products Services might find different reasons appeal to customers all together. It can be hard to adapt your business model to feature more unique selling points, but that’s all the more reason to focus on them to set yourself apart from the pack. Focus on high-quality services, maybe your company can differentiate itself in quality of services delivered Address common pain points customers might be dealing with, for example a travel agency might add car rentals on top of their flight and hotel offerings to save customers a step when planning a trip How to communicate your unique selling point There are many ways a company can communicate their USP to their customers and prospects. A few commonly employed methods include: Advertising – Traditional media advertising and brand marketing campaigns can be a good way for a new business to get their brand in front of their target audience and communicate their USP. Social Media – Social media is a large driver of brand awareness for many companies. Having a strong presence on social networks and working with social media influencers can be a way for companies to communicate their USP. Content Marketing – Creating interesting or viral content that also talks about how and why a company is different from the competition can be a good way to communicate USPs. Digital Marketing – For an online store or digital business, the USP is often presented as the tagline of a webpage or as a bulleted list on a product page. Search Marketing – Improving a website’s SEO and

RTO No objection Certificate (NOC) is an official document issued by the local Regional Transport Office (RTO) to allow re-registration of the vehicle with another RTO in a different state. Also, it is a document certifying that there are no pending dues of tax on the concerned vehicle. Travelling to another state for less than three months and planning to take your vehicle with you, you are not required to obtain an NOC. As per the regulations, you are required to apply for a change of address and re-registration when you are going to another state for over a year. The application for change of address and re-registration needs an NOC from the local R.T.O where you got your vehicle registered. Purpose of Obtaining NOC As per the Motor Vehicle Act, the owner of a vehicle must obtain NOC if he or she desires to remove or sell his/her vehicle to the other state. However, an application for change of address and registration needs a NOC from the local RTO where you got your vehicle registered.  Service Charge The prescribed fee of Rs.50/- for all class of vehicle will be charged in the issuance of NOC. Documents Required The following are the documents to be furnished along with the application form: Copy of Police certificate from NCRB Copy of Registration certificate Copy of Insurance certificate Valid tax details Offline Application Procedure for NOC The No Objection Certificate (NOC) can be obtained using the form no. 28 that the applicant needs to fill with the required details and submit at the Regional Transport Office (RTO) along with the documents required to issue NOC. Once the application form is submitted will be checked by the concerned authority of the RTO in order to obtain the report of the vehicle from the police authority to verify that the vehicle is involved under any criminal case or stolen. On verification, if there is no DSA cases pending or outstanding dues against the vehicle, then the receipt of clearance can be obtained, and No Objection Certificate (NOC) is issued. Online Application Procedure for NOC Step 1: The applicant needs to access the official portal of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.  Step 2: Select the state from the list of states as given below. Step 3: Click on “Apply Online” and select “Services on Driving Licence” to apply for NOC. Step 4: Now, read the following instructions carefully and click on the “Continue” button to move further. Step 5: Enter the details of the driving license, date of birth and click on the “Go” button. Step 6: The applicant name with other details are displayed and then select the respective state and RTO and click on the “Proceed” button.  Step 7: On the next page, details of the driving license is displayed to verify the details shown and click on the “Confirm” button to proceed. Step 8: Issue of NOC page is displayed, select the required service and click on the “Proceed” button, then data accepted successfully message will be shown. Step 9: Enter the captcha as same and click on the “Submit” button. Step 10: The acknowledgement form will be created with the applicant details and the service requested and clicked on the “Proceed” button. Upload Documents  Step 11: To upload the documents required, click on the “Upload Documents” button and press “Next” button. Step 12: To continue with uploading the documents click on the “Ok” button. Step 13: Select the respective address proof from the documents list, upload the same and click on the “Submit” button. Step 14: On the next level, select the age proof from the documents listed, upload the same and click on the “Confirm” Step 15: Select the “Form-1” for uploading and click on the “Upload” button to confirm. Click on the “Next” button to proceed. button. Upload Photo and Signature  Step 16: Under this step, click on “Upload Photo and Signature” button to upload the photo and signature and click on the “Next” button.  Step 17: Read the below-listed instructions carefully for the size of the photo and signature and click on “Upload and View files” button. Step 18: On uploading the “Photo and signature” successfully, the message will be displayed and then click on the “Next” button. Payment of Fee Step 19: Select the “Fee Payment” and click on “Next” Step 20: Now, read the below-listed instructed carefully and “click here to continue e-payment” for the continuation of the payment process. button to pay the prescribed fee. Step 21: Calculate the fee in the application fee window and select the bank or gateway by providing captcha. Step 22: Click on “Pay Now” for continuing the payment process. Step 23: On the next screen/page, verify all the details and click on “Proceed for payment” for the continuation of the payment process. Step 24: Click on the “Continue” button to log in to the bank gateway for the continuation of the payment process. Step 25: On successful payment, the acknowledgement message for payment successful will be displayed. Step 26: Click on the “Print Receipt” button to generate payment receipt, and then the payment receipt will be generated and verify the details given in the payment receipt. Step 27: On approval of your application, the No Objection Certificate (NOC) will be provided in thirty days from the day of receipt application. Validity of NOC No Objection Certificate (NOC) is valid for a period of six months within which the owner of the vehicle must initiate the process of re-registration.  Practice area’s of B K Goyal & Co LLP Income Tax Return Filing | Income Tax Appeal | Income Tax Notice | GST Registration | GST Return Filing | FSSAI Registration | Company Registration | Company Audit | Company Annual Compliance | Income Tax Audit | Nidhi Company Registration| LLP Registration | Accounting in India | NGO Registration | NGO Audit | ESG | BRSR | Private Security Agency | Udyam Registration | Trademark Registration | Copyright Registration | Patent Registration | Import Export Code | Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection | Section 8 Company | Foreign Company | 80G and 12A Certificate | FCRA Registration |DGGI Cases | Scrutiny Cases |

The full form of ESOP is “Employee Stock Ownership Plan”. Employee compensation has progressed beyond the basic wage package provided by businesses. Employees are now given much more than just pay stubs; one such benefit is the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) refers to an employee benefit plan that gives the employees an ownership stake in the company. The employer allocates a certain percentage of the company’s stock shares to each eligible employee at no upfront cost. The distribution of shares may be based on the employee’s pay scale, terms of service, or some other basis of allocation. What is ESOP? An ESOP (Employee stock ownership plan) refers to an employee benefit plan which offers employees an ownership interest in the organisation. Employee stock ownership plans are issued as direct stock, profit-sharing plans or bonuses, and the employer has the sole discretion in deciding who could avail of these options. However, employee stock ownership plans are just options that could be purchased at a specified price before the exercise date. There are defined rules and regulations laid out in the Companies Rules that employers need to follow for granting employee stock ownership plans to their employees. Why Company offers ESOPs to their employees? Organisations often use Employee stock ownership plans as a tool for attracting and retaining high-quality employees. Organisations usually distribute the stocks in a phased manner. For instance, a company might grant its employees the stocks at the close of the financial year, thereby offering its employees an incentive for remaining with the organization for receiving that grant. Companies offering ESOPs have long-term objectives. Not only do companies wish to retain employees for the long term, but also intend to make them the stakeholders of their company. Most of the IT companies have alarming attrition rates, and ESOPs could help them bring down such heavy attrition Start-ups offer stocks for attracting talent. Often such organisations are cash-strapped and are unable to offer handsome salaries. But by offering a stake in their organisation, they make their compensation package competitive. ESOPs from an employee’s perspective With ESOPs, an employee gets the benefit of acquiring the shares of the company at the nominal rate, and selling them (after a defined tenure set by his employer) and making a profit. There are several success stories of an employee raking in riches together with founders of the companies. A very notable example is Google when it went public. Its founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page became the richest persons in the world, even the stock-holder employees earned millions too. How does an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) work? An organisation grants ESOPs to its employees for buying a specified number of shares of the company at a defined price after the option period (a certain number of years). Before an employee could exercise his option, he needs to go through the pre-defined vesting period which implies that the employee has to work for the organisation until a part or the entire stock options could be exercised. Employees can use their ESOPs to purchase business stock at allowed prices that are lower than the market value. Employees can also sell shares purchased through ESOPs and profit from their investments. If an employee leaves or retires before the vesting term, the corporation must purchase back the ESOP at fair market value within 60 days. Cost of ESOPs and Distributions Legal fees, accounting fees, and administrative expenditures may be included in the initial costs of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in India. The cost of establishing and sustaining an ESOP varies according to the plan’s size and complexity. Furthermore, ESOP distributions in India may occur in a variety of ways. When an employee exercises their stock option to obtain shares, they have the option of selling them immediately or storing them for future appreciation. If the employee decides to sell the shares, the proceeds, less any taxes due on the gain, will be sent to them. If the employee agrees to keep the shares, they will own a piece of the company and may be eligible for dividends or capital gains if the stock price rises. ESOP Taxation ESOPs have dual tax effects: When an employee exercises their rights and purchases company stock When the employee sells the stock after purchasing it Let’s take a closer look at these examples: Tax treatment at the time of buying the shares Employees can purchase shares after the vesting date at a price less than the share’s Fair Market Value (FMV) on that date. As a result, the difference between the FMV and the exercise price of the share is considered a pre-condition in the employee’s hands and taxed at his income tax slab rate. However, in the case of new businesses, the government has softened the tax implications of ESOPs. Employees at the start-up would not have to pay the tax on the perk in the year in which they exercised the ESOP. TDS on ESOPs would be delayed until the sooner of the following dates: Five years from the date of the ESOP grant When does the employee sell the ESOP? Date of departure from the company Tax treatment at the time of selling the shares If the employee sells the shares, the difference between the selling price and the FMV on the date the share was exercised is taxable as capital gains. If you sell your shares within a year of buying them, you will have to pay a 10% tax on any profits over Rs.1 lakh. If the shares are sold within 12 months, the profits are taxed at 15%. Taxation of foreign ESOPs in India is also similar, and you would be taxed in India on the perquisites earned from a foreign company.  Benefits of ESOPs for the employers Stock options are provided by an organization as a motivation to its employees. As the employees would benefit when the company’s share prices soar, it would be an incentive for the