Do You Have a USP? (Part 1)

For business owners, a ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ (USP) is the most daunting concept to crack, if they are perfectionists, and the most trivial one, if they are reckless. Whatever the case, most of us fail to articulate one, and sometimes, even after many years of establishment of our business. Let’s delve a bit deeper and see why people neglect the most important selling tool for any business, and why they should focus more on it.

The Problem Statement: The process of crafting a true USP is either neglected totally, or USPs are set frivolously.

A friend of mine, who is an expert in Brand Management and is a member of a prestigious business networking club, narrated an incident that happened during one of the monthly events of this club, recently. To have a better understanding of their business(es), the members were asked to deliver a presentation on their primary business. At the end of each presentation, when the presenters were asked about their USP, none of them could articulate a single convincing selling point, which is unique only to them. They just spoke rhetorically about how good their products were and how big the size of their business or stock was, and unsurprisingly, their competition claimed the same as well. Clearly, none had given serious thought to this critical aspect of their business.

Jumping onto the Bandwagon: Business owners might find it difficult to identify or create a unique aspect that distinguishes them from competitors, especially when they want to ride the wave of success created by a trending product or service, despite having ample funding and investment to burn. This happens when their objective is purely to take a pie of the market share and not to offer something truly different to the consumer. This results in creating ‘just another player’ in an already saturated market.

Absence of Brand Identity: Brand identity comprises of the visible elements of a?brand that identify and distinguish the?brand?in consumers' minds: colour, design, logo, typeface, etc. It corresponds to the intent behind the branding, which in turn, reflects the objective of the brand or the company. Many new businesses, if not most, fail to focus on this aspect before commencing their operations, thus failing to realise why started the business in the first place. Naturally, a USP is closely tied to the brand identity, and when a company hasn't clearly defined its brand and what it stands for, its USP can never stand on its own.

Business in Commodities: Certain companies offer products that are considered commodities, rendering them to be the same as or similar to those of the competition. When you try to sell products or services that are similar to your competition, then you’re just focussing on selling what you want to sell, and not selling what is needed by your buyer. For example, a company that imports or exports spices has nothing new to offer to its end users, which makes it challenging to arrive at a unique selling angle.

Market Dynamics: Certain industries change rapidly and their market demands evolve equally fast, forcing companies to struggle to maintain a consistent USP. Companies that do not have an ongoing strategy to counter these changes, fail to adapt to these dynamics and usually fall behind their competitors, miserably.

Missing Focus: Let’s face it: not everyone can be an Amazon. (For that matter, even Amazon started with a focus on books.) However, many companies, especially those with ‘deep pockets’, try to sell everything to everyone, and in this process, forget what their key strengths are. This translates to creating a weak or non-existent USP.

Misalignment of Stakeholders: Often, startups (and well-established companies alike) face misalignment among internal stakeholders regarding their core values, business goals, and unique offerings, thus affecting the development and maintenance of a strong USP.

Lack of Communication: Sometimes, despite having a strong product, companies may fail to communicate effectively to their target audience, or even worse, communicate to the wrong audience. If the target group, for which the product is intended, is not made aware of the uniqueness of the product, then the product never really existed in its customer's mind.

('The Solutions' will be shared in the 2nd part of this article)