Brand Differentiation: 7 Unique Selling Propositions to Set You Apart
Key takeaways
Unique selling propositions (USPs) are the distinct benefits or features that your brand offers, making it stand out from your competitors. They are hugely influential in your brand’s market position and whether customers choose your offering or another business’s.
As such, cultivating and optimising your USP is one of the most significant and long-lasting things you can do for your brand’s future success. For example, everybody knows that they need to go to IKEA if they want Scandinavian aesthetic furniture at an affordable price point.
Not only does your USP give customers a strong reason to shop with you, but it also defines your brand identity, voice, and guides all of your marketing campaigns and content.
With USPs being such a cornerstone of business success, how can you go about creating one that works effectively? This article will explore some of the challenges of developing a USP and discuss 7 ways to approach it to successfully differentiate yourself from your competition.
Let’s dive in.
Challenges of brand differentiation
Brand differentiation is about making your brand distinct and memorable in the minds of your audience. It’s about clearly showing what makes you different and better than your competitors.
It’s highly sought-after because modern customers are overwhelmed by choice. Brands that blend in are simply forgotten. Whether your USP reflects your price point, customer experiences, product features, or brand values, differentiation gives people a reason to pick you. Furthermore, USPs help your business cultivate trust with your customer base because they’ll connect more strongly with brands that meet their unique needs.
Unfortunately, it’s super challenging to find a unique angle if your business is one of many that offers a similar service or product. Some businesses will aim for appealing to a wide audience, instead of a niche one, resulting in a diluted message.
Effective USPs are made when business owners are self-aware and can think both creatively and strategically about their offering. On top of that, they might need to be brave enough to make bold choices and risk being unappealing to some.
Though there are a few potential roadblocks to creating a successful USP, you’ll get very far with a good dose of creative thinking. With that in mind, we’ll now explore 7 ways to approach your USP:
7 unique selling propositions to set you apart
1. Make your USP your process
With this approach, brands show off their unique method or process, not just their final product. A famous example of this is Domino’s, which promises free pizza if the delivery takes longer than 30 minutes. With this promise, Domino’s exhibits its speediness and its confidence in that efficiency.
Not only do customers know they’ll get a delicious pizza, but they’ll have it within 30 minutes. Nowadays, not a lot of takeaway services can guarantee that.
Being open about your methods or something behind the scenes also shows your brand’s transparency, which can foster trust with customers. Depending on your business, it could also exhibit your craftsmanship if your process involves intricacy and skill. These values become part of your brand story and can influence mottos, adverts, and content.
2. Offer a signature experience
Offering a unique experience elevates your product into something more memorable and personal. A famous example of this is Airbnb, which stands out as a platform used for booking holiday accommodation. From its map view to thorough filters, Airbnb allows its users to find accommodation that meets very unique criteria. Plus, users get a cosy look at their hosts and other people who’ve stayed there.
With hotel websites and maps being the only alternatives, Airbnb is an unforgettable booking experience. If you can pack in some moments of UX delights, your signature experience will build loyalty in customers who didn’t realise they needed their booking experience to be this customisable.
3. Hyper-specialise in a niche of your choosing
While this approach does narrow your focus, it can also allow you to serve a very specific audience better than anyone else. A great example of this is Wild, a company that sells
refillable and natural deodorants that are also free from plastic and cruelty. In one go, they cater to those customers who are eco-conscious and love anything natural.
Although a regular deodorant might technically have a larger audience, Wild carved out its own space in the market. Instead of competing with hundreds of deodorant brands, they stand out as the eco-friendly choice.
In this hyper-specialist way, you can dominate a specific niche and attract uber loyal customers who love your unique take.
4. Break industry norms
One way to stand out is to flip the usual expectations in your industry on their head. A brilliant example of this is Who Gives A Crap. Instead of the typical toilet paper brands that use soft marketing, cute dogs, and woodland imagery, it leads with a brash and funny concept.
Their packaging is bright and fun, their name is unforgettable, and their messaging is proudly transparent. They donate 50% of their profits to building toilets around the world. This unique take totally breaks the industry norm of soft and gentle toilet paper marketing.
By breaking this norm, they’ve built a brand that’s instantly recognisable and easy to get behind. If your industry is full of clichés, doing the opposite can help you carve out a space that feels fresh and authentic.
5. Personalise at scale
People love products and experiences that feel like they were made just for them. However, it’s difficult to do for hundreds or thousands of customers. Some brands manage it brilliantly by building systems that deliver personalised experiences on a large scale.
A great example of personalisation at scale is Function of Beauty, a haircare brand that allows its customers to create customised shampoos and conditioners based on their hair type, goals, and preferences. Customers answer a quick quiz about their hair, pick a fragrance, and even have their name printed on the bottle.
Even though this process is automated, customers still feel they’re getting something one-of-a-kind. Personalisation totally makes you stand out from other products on the shelf.
If there’s a possibility for this sort of customisation in your business, it’s definitely worth pursuing and seeing what happens. Personalised products have greater emotional resonance and, therefore, can garner much more customer satisfaction and loyalty.
6. Invent a category or redefine one
If your product doesn’t quite fit into an existing category (or its category is overcrowded), you can always create your own. Some brands gain traction by offering something so fresh that they need to invent a whole new label.
TRIP is a great example. They make CBD-infused drinks that fit into the categories of party beverage, soft drink, and wellness product. But equally, they don’t quite fit into any of those categories perfectly. TRIP has carved out its own space in the market and, therefore, is the niche go-to option for people who want CBD-infused drinks.
If your product doesn’t fit neatly into what people expect, that could actually be a strength to capitalise on. With the right branding, you can lead the conversation and set the standard for a new kind of product. Before TRIP, people didn’t even know they wanted a drink with CBD in it – and look where we are now!
7. Champion a cause that aligns with your brand
Aligning your brand with a cause can give your business a deep purpose that informs many aspects of your strategy, marketing efforts, and charitable contributions. Plus, the cherry on top is that it can boost your reputation as a brand with altruism and integrity.
The first way to nail this approach is to choose a cause that genuinely fits with your brand and its audience. Secondly, it must show up in your actions, not just in your marketing. Patagonia is a brand we’ve discussed before, and it champions a cause better than most.
Patagonia champions sustainability with its blog, clothing manufacturing process, and by speaking out about environmental issues. On top of that, they’ve actually donated millions (and the whole company) to support environmental causes. So, they certainly back up their bark with their eco-friendly bite.
While we’re not saying you need to give away your whole company, this kind of commitment can be trusted by customers because it seeps into every aspect of the business. If your brand supports a cause that aligns with your values and customers’ concerns, it can help you stand out in a meaningful way. Just make sure it’s authentic and that you’re willing to back it up with your actions.
Final thoughts
A clever USP is a truly effective way of gaining a loyal and trusting customer base. To create one, you’ll need a dash of bravery and a generous dollop of creativity. You’ll then need to ensure its flavour is distinctively ‘you’ and infuse it deeply into each element of your business.
If you’d like some assistance with developing your brand’s USP and differentiating effectively, you might be interested in purplebrand, our dedicated service for helping businesses optimise their branding efforts. We’ll work with your business goals and carry out market research to inform your new strategy.
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