Retail business advice: being unique attracts shoppers in-store and online regardless of your business size

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, or USP for short.

Reeves defined the USP in an advertising context:

1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer: buy this product, and you will get this benefit.
2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot or doesn’t
3. The proposition must be so strong that it changes consumer behaviour.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the concept of a USP evolved from being essential to advertising to being essential to business. Finding your business USP was considered mission-critical to businesses, especially retailers. Businesses drifted, however, and forgot about the importance of a USP.

Jack Trout tells us in his aptly titled book Differentiate or Die that a USP is mission-critical in business.

Differentiate or die. There is no doubt about the call to action in the title and no doubt about the consequences of inaction.

Yet many retailers, for the most part, have remained still in the face of an onslaught of competition.

Retail is tough today. There are fewer differences between competitors. Retailers are surrounded by competition, and it grows by the day. Yet many have remained still and have done nothing.

Smart retailers are reacquainting themselves with the writings of Reeves and Trout and learning about the mission-critical imperative of having a USP.

Differentiation could be service, product, location or a combination of these. Differentiation will most likely not be price, as anyone can easily match this.

Price is, after all, the last line of defence in any business battle. That said, there are some major price-focused success stories—Wal-Mart in the US and Bunnings in Australia, for example. This is rare in an independent retail situation.

To develop your USP, engage with your employees and other stakeholders. Take your time. Determine what you and your business stand for. Following open and honest discussion and debate, the USP, around which everyone in the business can willingly congregate, will emerge.

A good USP will not require an advertising campaign to communicate. It will become obvious through actions and decisions. By living the USP in every facet of the business, you will soon be seen as unique by shoppers, and this can drive excellent word of mouth and success for the business.

Here at Tower Systems we leverage our practical retail shop floor experience to provide advice and support for local small business retailers beyond our POS software.