We work with more than 3,500 small business retailers in our POS software retail community. We are retailers ourselves.
One thing we know to be true – being unique matters. It gives people a reason to consider your business, to shop with you.
Today, we share updated advice on the importance of being unique in any retail business, but especially in local small business retail.
In his 1960 book, Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves, a respected US advertising executive, introduced the world to the concept of the Unique Selling Proposition, USP for short.
Reeves defined USP in an advertising context:
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer: buy this product and you will get this benefit.
- The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot or does not offer.
- The proposition must be so strong that it changes consumer behaviour.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the concept of a unique selling proposition evolved from being essential to advertising to being essential in business. Finding your business USP was considered mission critical to businesses, retailers especially. Businesses drifted however and forgot about the importance of a USP.
Jack Trout told us just a few years ago that it was as relevant today. In 2000, he said that a Unique Selling Proposition was mission critical in business in his aptly titled book Differentiate or Die.
Differentiate of Die. There is no doubt about the call to action in the title, no doubt about the consequences of inaction.
You reflect the uniqueness of your business in 2020 through your inventory mix, shop floor storytelling, your online presence, your social media presence, and, how you reflect your own intellectual property, your own knowledge with and through what you sell. Indeed, you are the key, in many retail businesses, you are the USP.
A good USP will not require an advertising campaign to communicate. It will become obvious through the decisions you make and the actions that follow.
By living the USP in every facet of the business you soon become seen as unique by shoppers and this can drive excellent word of mouth and success for the business.
So, what us your USP and how is it reflected in your business in-store, online, on socials and elsewhere?
