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Product Differentiation Print E-mail

USP (Unique Selling Point) is an old term for what we now call product differentiators. The reason it’s still useful is that it stresses the need for your proposition to be unique. What have you got that the client can’t get elsewhere.

This can be very difficult to define but if you can’t do it you’re in trouble. All your staff also need to be able to rattle off what is different about their products because the value of your whole organisation lies in these differentiators. In a recession these have to match what your customers need. If you are selling quality rather than cost you need to make sure that your staff can explain to customers exactly what makes the product worth the extra money. Make sure that staff are committed to it as well. As the sell gets harder sales people will start to believe that it’s because their product isn’t really worth it.

You may find it useful to do a little business school thinking here and work out whereabouts on the quadrant your competitive position lies.  Use the labels apply to your business for your axis and then plot your brand and your competitors onto the grid. This is a useful way to look at how crowded your bit of the market is and if you need to reposition any products. Competitive positioning means putting your brand in a position where it has a distinct place on the map that is clear for your customers to see.When you’re looking at your own unique sales points look at the quality of product, product leadership, relationship with audience, reputation, efficiency, service, trust with users or readers and additional services you can offer. Focus on the areas that you truly excel in and concentrate on these in your promotion so that you don’t dilute the key messages. Most importantly, whilst you are doing the deep thinking about your position, make sure that there is an audience out there for you to target.