Essential Elements of Unique Selling Proposition

Being the best is great, you are the number one. Being unique is greater, you are the only one

What enters your mind when you hear the word unique? Offcourse, something that is different from the rest. Something that is one of its rare kind; unlike anything else. And what about the term selling? It can be effortlessly explained as an ultimate step where the producer exchanges its product with the buyer for any monetary value. Selling and buying are the two pillars of a business unit because its survival and growth depend only on these two.

Now getting to the term market, we know a market is a physical or virtual platform where buyers and sellers meet to perform business transactions which can be in form of exchange of goods or services. A company constantly looks for capturing a high market share so that it can dominate the consumer demand.

A high market share means experiencing more demand for your product then your direct competitors, which finally helps you to efficiently generate more potential profits and survive economically for the long-term. But can a company hold a high market share when its product is the same as its competitors, definitely no?. For this, it has to be one of a kind, different from its rivals to get a competitive advantage over others, it shall have a USP.

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A unique selling proposition or unique selling point is a marketing concept which highlights a specific feature or aspect of an object or service that makes it different for the others. In short, USP answers the key question “how exactly is your product different from the others?” In a competitive market, every corporate unit tries to capture the lion’s share by emphasizing its product as one of a kind to attract the customers and majority of times this technique proves to be helpful.

Let’s have a look on some of the cases

To properly support this statement let us have a look at Bajaj Motors. They decided to enter the motorbike segment with a new brand at a time when the market was captured by TVS, Royal Enfield, Yamaha and many other giants. They knew they had a minor chance of surviving in such a dynamic market with a product equivalent to their competitors. So, they announced that the memorial is made from metal recovered from the ship.

In February 2016, Bajaj unveiled the motorbike traditionally made with precious metal from Vikrant’s scrap and named it Bajaj V in honour of Vikrant. It provided a blend of patriotism which was the USP for the brand.

Similarly, we can take the example of fast-food giant Subway which have segregated itself from other fast-food chains by providing the opportunity to the customer to design their own product. The subway permits the customers to pick everything themselves, from bread to stuffing so that a customer can have an entirely different experience.

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Essential Elements of Unique Selling Proposition 

Potential customer focus

Customers is always considered the king of the market in the modern era, so every organisation should properly focus on what customer wants rather than what they want.

Reasons, Not Characteristics

There are undoubtedly some companies where the products are highly homogenous and the only USP which can be created is out of the moral sentiments of the customers same as Bajaj Vikrant.

Positioning

It is important for the company to position their product in the minds of the customer which can be done through advertisements or other marketing methods, because the USP can fail to work if the product is promoted ineffectively.

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Necessary Steps in Implementing Unique Selling Proposition

Properly understanding your customer base

Developing a USP begins with your specific target audience. What the customer is looking for, what the customer desires out of the market can assist the company to decide the customer base.

Look for competitive advantage

You should gaze sharply towards the innovative products that your rivals are efficiently delivering. If they are having a good position in the market, it doesn’t mean that they satisfy the customers. There is invariably a loop hole which can be used as an advantage over others. For example, Domino’s created its USP after stalking the market trend and intentionally introduced a new “30 minutes delivery or get it free” policy.

Look at industry trends

Look at the industrial trends that are being followed by every fierce competitor. Then find out the demands of the customers which are not being fulfilled by the rivals. Maybe in long-term, you can get benefited tremendously from the economic trends.

Testing your USP

Testing is the most important process before launching the genuine product as it provides an accurate idea of the rational thinking of the customers. A businessman must examine its product before launching the substantial one to test the satisfying power of the USP.

Connect your USP

Your USP must accurately reflect the official motto of the company clearly. It must carry out a compelling idea about the vision of the company and what company desires to convey to the customers.
It is not advisable to change the USP too often, but it is important to keep it fresh.

Hence, in this competitive world in order to sell your product to the target customer, it is necessary to have a unique selling proposition which can provide you an edge over others.

Submitted By Abhishek Chand | Krishanga Bharadwaj | Praveen Jain (PGDM Batch 2018-20)