Is Your Coffee Really Unique ?    Coffee Talk : September 2003

Of all the factors that are talked about in a good coffee business, TASTE is most important , the most obvious and quite often the least focused on. Seriously –it never ceases to amaze me.

Your USP or Unique Selling Proposition is what sets you apart from your competitors and convinces people to patronise your business and I am seriously suggesting that you can still in 2003 make TASTE that USP. It’s the sure way to compete with the chains . . . and its fun.

A USP will condense the objective of your positioning strategy into a brief, catchy phrase. When creating your USP, use short punchy action words to tell the story of your business. Think "Just Do It," "Believe" and "Because you're worth it." Businesses will thrive on the basis of their stories and myths. We need to understand that the products are less important than the stories.

Your USP is essentially a story strap line that will reinforce your brand and identity. Additionally, your USP enables customers to enhance their own personal coffee moment by buying your product. Coffee is a lifestyle experience and experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods. That experience is the last 80% of what they will remember when they think of your business.

Before you even think of advertising or sending out a mail shot, be sure that you've articulated your USP. Provide prospective customers with immediate, compelling reasons to place their trust and cold, hard cash with you. The most important thing your USP should convey is what the benefits are for the buyer.

• Does it taste absolutely delicious ?
• Is it absolutely delicious every time ?
• Does it make me want another ?

To begin, make a list of all the specialised knowledge you've got that can resolve problems, reduce rejection, or knock down barriers. Identify anything about your location, name, or product that is vague or confusing. If you're stuck for ideas, examine what your purpose is and see if you can extract its message down to one line? Even if you can't, it's a good place to start.

Emphasise how much you believe in both your coffee and your customer by offering to take most or all the risk on your own shoulders. Offer customers their money back upfront if they don’t like the taste. Think about how you can eliminate buyer's fears and anxiety with a sensational promise of satisfaction. Be honest; make sure that your USP promises only what you can deliver. Measure success ;

• Is it good enough to have a another ?
• Is it good enough to come back soon for another ?
• Is it good enough to refer another person ?

If you market coffee to various market segments, you can have several USPs that focus on each specific aspect of your business. Instead of having one general strap line, you can run many small ones with different USPs. For example ; Speed, Choice, Value, Consistency, Bun Offer all highlight different customer needs and can help you pinpoint your most profitable market.

It is highly likely that you will need some specialist advice to control the production factors that create that special coffee moment. In this country I estimate that even the good coffee businesses are controlling less than half the necessary factors. In Italy they are beyond three quarters which is why the coffee is so much better there – it’s the culture.

So - see what you can do with a taste USP? You are giving people a reason to like you, to trust you, and to rather do business with you because you gave them great tasting coffee everytime. You are prejudicing them in your favour . . . and that tastes good to you too.