Recently my marketing consulting firm was approached by the owners of a young organic tea company seeking guidance in piercing the retail product distribution channel. The entrepreneur’s behind the venture were hard working, passionate and fully committed; both personally and financially. They had an excellent product. They also had no sales traction.
After considerable consultation, and many questions about the history of the product and the owner’s backgrounds, the reason for their futile sales performance became crystal clear: They had not identified a Unique Selling Proposition to differentiate their teas from the numerous, established large, medium and small competitors that offer endless product choices in the category. This is usually the problem with any new product offering in an already mature consumer product universe.
What can the new startup do to counteract the existing advantages enjoyed by older, established competitors? The following are but a few options to consider when seeking a differentiation strategy to support a Unique Selling Proposition:
Create a Proprietary Process
Create a handling process that is positioned as proprietary, unique to the product. Another alternative is an enhancement that purportedly improves product performance. In cosmetics we often work with laboratories to craft a bio-engineering process or ingredient stability that we tag with an esoteric descriptive moniker.
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