Stand out from the crowd: same product, different image

Episode 1

Extremely limited resources (financial, talent, equipment) and a low entry barrier are some of the most common similarities that exist among micro businesses. This also means that the market is often saturated and highly competitive.

Without considering other seasonal factors or strategies, there are two ways your business/product can stand out from the crowd:

(1) Offer competitive pricing, which is only sustainable if your margin is reasonably good, or

(2) Work on the unique value proposition, commonly known as the 'UVP', of your product. The second approach lessens consumers' sensitivity to price fluctuations/differences and increases their willingness to pay a bit more.

Of course, you can also target a different market. This topic will be covered in another episode. We will also discuss situations where the first and second approaches may be rolled out simultaneously.

Now, the question is: How?

THE ANSWER IS through PRODUCT LEVELS PLANNING

Generally speaking, the core benefit is what motivates customers to buy a product/service. This article is built on the assumption that market saturation is high; hence, the actual product usually doesn't differ much among businesses offering the same service/product due to the nature of a low entry barrier. The augmented product is where your business creates valuable and meaningful differentiation.

Even core benefits like customer-focused (24/7 service promise), innovation-focused (pioneer in new features), pace-focused (fast delivery), or any other focuses aligned with your brand's vision might be quite similar these days. Hence, positioning it uniquely and further differentiating it with augmented features would be the key strategy to create a UVP in a saturated market.

If your thoughts are, "I'm not sure or I don't know what my company/brand vision is," ask these questions to yourself or the founder of the business.

Question 1: "Why did I(you) start this business?"

Question 2: "How did I(you) come up with the name of this business?" That should give you some clarity about it.

Let's say you started an online t-shirt printing business to make customized printing accessible even in small quantities. This means the core benefit of your product is convenience. From here, you can fine-tune your UVP. Convenience isn't unique these days, is it?

So, how do you make it a unique feature for your business? Work on additional (augmented) services that can make people buy from you. The definition of 'convenience' in your business might mean 'ready-template for design', 'design by just drag-and-drop', 'design for free', 'next day delivery', '8-hour response guarantee', 'pay later scheme', and 'sell your design to earn too'. Others might include 'fast delivery'. If you don't differentiate, then pricing (the first approach) is likely what you'll have to compete with, which is discouraged.

Ensure SWOT analyses are conducted for both your and your competitors' businesses. Ideally, your newly defined UVP should also address their weaknesses/limitations.

Tip:

Run a quick market scan of current offers to ensure your basic offer is competitively sufficient before embedding the UVP in the offer.

Sources to Know Your Competitors:

1. Keywords research (e.g., ubersuggest, Google Keyword Planner, ahrefs, keyword tool, and more)

2. Local business directories

3. Advertising

4. Tradeshows and exhibitions

5. Search engine queries

6. New product launch campaigns

7. Information from potential & existing customers

8. Brand search and recommendations (e.g., brandwatch)

9. Your local marketing consulting firm

---

Learn more about the strategic and operational marketing services, marketing consulting, training, and workshops offered by Dynotriads - the micro and small business marketing expert in Malaysia.