This exercise is to show you that although you made an initial choice where to buy your item, there are other places you could buy it.
In business, these other outlets are called competitors, and to survive and compete with our competitors we must be able to offer would-be customers a reason to buy from us.
Why did you make that initial choice? Cost? Location? Or something else? Marketers often refer to these reasons as a business’s Unique Selling Points (USPs).
What are your business’s Unique Selling Points?
To do this, break down your product/service into set categories:
- price
- quality
- availability
- Uniqueness.
Price
Unless you intend building an out-of-town pile-’em-high sell-’em-cheap style warehouse, it’s unlikely that you will want to sell on price alone. However, price will still be a deciding factor for potential customers. For example if you’re planning on running your business as a mail order shop, your goods will need to be keenly priced to get customers buying from you. The USP for mail order businesses is often that they offer goods cheaper than anyone else.
On the other hand, if your business will involve lots of personal attention and fussing over your clients’ every wish, your prices will be higher than your competitor offering a bargain basement, no-frills service.
In this case your USP could be that you are expensive, but well worth it because you are offering personal service.