I too, thought of the word “unique” as being the ONE thing that sets my company apart – all the while thinking to myself that there are actually several things that go into my whole concept.

Many of you confirmed my thoughts on this and I’m glad to know that others feel the same way. I’m in no way devaluing the importance of having a USP but I don’t feel nearly as compelled to “follow this rule” to the letter.

Great article. I enjoyed reading everyone’s posts and seeing diffent ways to look at the same issue.

Too many businesses throw away excellent money because they don’t have their USPs and with the rapid changes in media, marketing, cultures, social norms, etc… sometimes wisdom should be evolved and progressed, but not necessarily rebutted.

Great thoughts in the article and some interesting choice of thought flow. At the end of it all, whether you call it USPs or something else, as long as an organization doesn’t get lost in the mosaic of competitive noise and can grow in all dimensions – use whatever terms are necessary to get them there.

As a consumer, I do feel that organisation’s need to take a step back before they even think about devising their Value Proposition – Unique or Diversified, which they will use to attract me.

Quite simply I want to raise a question that organisations, no matter how big or small, got to ask themselves – “TO WHOM ARE WE WHAT?”. In other words, what is their target market and how are they meeting their respective market’s expectations. I know you will think that this is just Marketing 101 – Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. But I beg to differ – its a step beyond your typical STP.

The original article makes a reference to Demographics based segmentation, where two people in the same age bracket or having same income will respond to a value proposition in the same way. But do you think this would be the case all the time? Your friend, who could be as old as you or makes the same amount of money as you do, would also be very keen to go to a Star Wars movie marathon with you? Perhaps not. Most people are different, infact everyone has their individual likes and dis-likes and different needs and variables wants. Therefore the segmentation ought to be NEEDS based, where focus should be paid to consumer’s buying experiences, benefit inferences and cognitive categorisation of products and services.

I feel the ‘need’ to explain this using an example. Take a DVD Rental stores for instance. They are essentially catering to a vast market, renting out DVDs and Games. In other words, they are being everything to everyone. However, the case may be that some of their customers are seeking Value – affordability or wanting some extras for free, or no late fees or a longer rental period. Others may be seeking Convenience – finding the movie they want or needing the DVD store to be closer to their homes or having available parking or being able to purchase everyday products – bread, milk, newspaper, etc. You get my drift. Most DVD rental stores are trying to be all things to all people, with no particular competitor (store based) that is clearly targeting (the above mentioned) a chosen segment.

But if you think about online DVD stores and more recently DVD vending/kiosk type rentals that may be catering well to the Value seeking segment by addressing their needs. That is their Selling Propostion, to a segment that seeks Value. This proposition in itself is unique and it could be targeting quite a few different demographics. But I would like to stress upon the fact that their marketing efforts will be in vain, if their core value proposition does not satisfy the basic needs and wants of a particular set of consumers. Therefore assessing the customer base on the foundations of what drives them and what are their core needs and wants is of utmost importance.

What I am getting to is that advertising or pitching different Value Propositions to the same market segment (based on demographics) may or may not work! A DVD rental store advertising to me in a number of different ways, may or may not affect my final decision in favour of them and them only. In effect my decision will be based on what I really NEED and/or WANT.

In addition to finding out what the “market holds and where the organisation fits in”, I agree that we need to identify the strengths within the organisation but we should also evaluate the key success factors that can deliver on the promises made to the customer, because the customer will eventually perceive this as VALUE. This reflection exercise will help the organisation to gauge it’s ability to perform in the market place (in a competitive environment) and also assess it’s market attractiveness.

You’re absolutely right, there should never be a singular reason for anyone’s service/product – too many reasons dropped to the side of the road for many, that just screwed you out of customers. I’m not sure if small businesses or even large, single product/service businesses go for the singular approach. Never read that as I was laerning marketing, but then again, I kinda think branding is something the big boys have the time and money to do, while small businesses are busy figuring out the quickest, best way to get money going, anyway. Back in my day the “Must Read” authors were Jay Conrad Levinson and Sarah and Paul Edwards.

BUT, basically, this is a semantical problem here. Second rule of Semantics is “understand the word by context.” There is more than one meaning for the word “unique,” and, although I’ve never heard of Reeves, I can’t imagine he meant “singular” when he wrote “unique.” (If he did, then the 50s really were a simpilar time.) I’m not unique as a woman, not unique as a lefty, not unique as a transplant into the city of Philadelphia, and not unique as long-winded even. I am, however, a lot more unique as a left-handed, long-winded, Philadelphian woman! My subset has just decreased the number like me in the world from millions to maybe a few dozen! THAT’s how one becomes unique. (Just a demonstration, not a good selling point for any business.)

Oh, and I disagree with those who said that customers want to see your passion. Reminds me of the idiot salesperson trying to convince us to buy a sofa from him, because his boss is rich. (He was an idiot for spending 5 minutes, before we simply walked away, telling us how his boss lived.) We buy because of stuff WE want. It’s never about what the seller feels. I’m from Philly. Everyone is passionate here. (Just start talking sports teams.) Who cares how passionate the seller is? Does he/she know enough about the product/service to answer my questions and tell me why I should buy from him/her? And, are his/her USP right up my alley?

Keep writing marketing stuff! THIS stuff I get. lol Thanks!