Developing your Coffee Shop USP (Unique Selling Point)

If you look at the coffee shop market at the moment you’ll see that it is dominated by large brands, but smaller independent businesses still thrive. Why? Because they have a USP, or unique selling point (sometimes called proposition). It’s not just coffee shops of course – all businesses that are successful in their sector have something unique they are selling to their customers.

As you develop your coffee shop idea try and look for niches in the market. Perhaps you already have an idea about how your coffee shop will be different from all the rest. If you do, this is your shop’s USP. If you are still in the early stages of developing your business idea, place identifying your USP as the centre of your business planning. It is vitally important in the demanding coffee shop market to offer something unique and different to your customers.

Unique Selling Point: A definition

Your business’ USP is what is different about your business from all the others in your market. From a customer perspective this can be a tangible element such as opening hours or high levels of service. USPs can also include other more intangible components such as your business’ brand. Beware of placing price at the heart of your USP.

Customers are looking for more than simply the cheapest goods or services they want to buy. In fact a strong USP will result in your customers being prepared to pay more for your business’ goods or services. Ask yourself the following questions to understand your business’ USP:

• What is unique about your business’ products or services?
• How would a customer identify that your goods or products are different from the others in your market?
• How can you present your goods or services in a unique way?
• Do you understand the features of your competitors’ products or services and how they differ from yours?
• Have you tested your products or services to gauge their USP in the market?

Your USP doesn’t have to be complicated or that innovative, but it does have to create in the mind of your customers the desire to keep coming back to your business. Whatever your USP is, once you understand it, you can then build your business around its features.

How to Develop a USP

Your business’ USP will come out of the detail that you put into your business plan. Follow the steps below to develop your own USP:

1: Market research
Before you can begin to develop a USP for your business, you need to look at your wider market. Deconstruct the leading brands and independent businesses you admire to identify what their USPs are and how they implement these elements.

2: Features and benefits
Look at either your core business or even a single product or service and list its key features. What is special about your product or service? Features are not necessarily benefits. You need to think about how your customers will perceive a benefit from each of your products or services’ features. Strong USPs is about benefits to your customers and not just a long list of features.

3: Priorities your features and benefits
Once you have a list of your features and benefits list these in order of importance. This will show you which components of your USP must be developed first.

4: Brand association
Most USPs doesn’t stand-alone as they usually relate to their business’ brand. Think about the businesses you buy from and how their brand is a component of their USP. Often, an emotional association is made between a brand and its USP that customers detect and use as part of their buying decision.

5: The 20/80 rule and your USP
The 20/80 rules states that 80 per cent of your business’ income will come from 20 per cent of your customers. What this means in practice is that you must always pay close attention to that 20 per cent and ensure that your USP is still attractive and offers these customers what they are looking for. You may, for instance, have to modify your USP over time. Periodically asking your loyal customers what they think of your business’ goods and products will often highlight changes that need to be made.

6: Communication and marketing
The USP of your business should not be its best-kept secret. If you have a world-beating USP, shout about it whenever you can. Build your marketing activity around your USP. Look for innovative ways in which you can show your customers the USP your business is offering them.

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