My business partner, Hugh, and I started Sendo, our mobile phone business, when we saw a gap in the market. Back then the mobile phone operators had no retail presence and it was the manufacturers who had the recognised brands – think of Nokia, for example. We used to say the operators were just a utility, like an electricity company, with no customer loyalty and just driven on price. Which was true.
The operators evidently felt this was a danger too (that they were being commoditised) and they set about investing in their brands; with high street shops, big advertising campaigns and their own branded phones. But a branded phone could take up to 3 months from order to delivery – far too long for them to commit to.
That was our opportunity – if we created a modular phone that could be customised with branded plastics, software and packaging, we could offer a branded solution that could be delivered in 48 hours.
Our unique selling proposition, our USP, was customisation, which gave us unrivalled speed and flexibility.
In truth the operators took some persuading to engage with another manufacturer, but we persevered, found a way in and eventually signed up 60 or so operators for our customised phones.
If you’re going to be successful in your start-up, you will need a USP. It’s vital to be able to explain very succinctly why your business idea is unique. It could be the product or service you offer, the price, location, speed, convenience, your market, source or distribution.
It doesn’t have to be something completely new. Think of We Buy Any Car – they make selling your car more convenient. Rather than settling for a low price trade-in deal, sell it ‘privately’ to them and get more money. Their USP is speed and convenience.
At Sendo we could say we were, “the only business delivering customised mobile phones to the network operators”.
So, think about it. “Your new business is the only one that, what?” If you can’t answer the question in a couple of words, you haven't yet found your business.
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