In a market that’s got more competition than ducks at a bread convention, what does it truly take to stand out from the crowd? And, more importantly, what’s it going to cost you?
We’re reaching a precipice here in the land of marketing. As more and more businesses flood into more and more industries, every day becomes an uphill battle for owners to truly silence the surrounding noise and be seen as a viable option for consumers. Now we all know the solution to this: creating a unique selling point so tantalising that people will gather in the streets, chanting your business’s name, saying “I’ll never use again.” But it’s not always that simple, and more often than not, you’re going to have to combine a great USP with other elements to really get noticed. This is about the point where you’ll be asking “alright, so what’s it going to cost me?” – and fair enough. But before we get to that, it’s important to look at why you should be spending this cost at all. What does investing in your branding really look like?
Positioning yourself through great design is effectively taking the principles of your USP, and finding ways to let it shine through your marketing materials. As an example, let’s look at premium printing. If your unique selling point is all around being a boutique and luxury choice when compared to the competition, it only makes sense to choose a premium paper stock, finish, use a high quality design, include elegant imagery, etc. But let’s say your USP isn’t to be high-end, it’s to be affordable and cost-effective for consumers. Let’s turn to an Australian icon for guidance: Bunnings.
Everything about Bunnings speaks to being, for lack of a better phrase, cheap. Cheap looking branding, cheap paper stocks for print materials, and – of course – cheap snags out the front on a Saturday. But this is all done intentionally, because they’re whole USP is around having the lowest prices. To add to this, they’re taking the costs of having cheaper marketing options and pumping it into a wider range of deliverables.The Bunnings Magazine is a prime example of this. It’s free, readily available in-store, and will end up sitting in your home long after your last visit. They’re still using their allocated marketing budget – but it’s being applied in a way that really makes them stand out.
We can apply this logic to any brand and any piece of marketing material they have. Bunnings’s swedish cousin IKEA also places their USP in offering affordability, but their website isn’t a cheap templated mess. It’s well-thought out, simple, and easy to use – just like their furniture.
At the end of the day, to ask “what’s it going to cost me?” is the wrong question. Instead, look at your USP and how it currently aligns to your marketing, and ask yourself “what’s it going to cost me if I don’t do anything?” – your competition’s revenue will be your answer.