Finding Unique Selling Point (USP) for Cosmetic Business

If you want to gain trust of consumers and build your market strategy; a strong Unique Selling point (USP) will be a major factor behind the success of your cosmetic business.  Be customer focused, communicate the unique benefits and create a long-lasting impression.

Your USP should clearly define your business, and how your products are different from other competitors. To get a strong USP it is important to think like your ideal customer, what do they really want, why would they buy your products again and again, what do you want to be known for in your cosmetic business.  

Just wrap your cosmetic product’s advertising message around that USP and communicate it in your target audience with clarity.  If you dive deep into any successful business, you will find that the reason for its success is its USP.

Your USP will define your position in the marketplace and a robust reason for your customers to choose you over your competitors. Indeed, it will be the heart and soul of your cosmetic product.

What is USP?

A unique selling proposition (USP), or a unique selling position, is a statement that makes your products stand apart and outshine amid other competitors in the market. It reverberates your uniqueness and exclusivity and a major reason for your target audience to choose you among other competitors in the market pool.

You can focus on your market goals and make USP as your key branding tool to win over the other products in the market and indeed your potential customers. So let your sales and marketing strategy get a boost with a strong USP which is going to be something that your target customers were always looking for.

Key factors to consider while creating a USP

• Build social community
• Leverage the power of social media
• Substantiate your product claim
• Show Testimonials
• Clinical studies to support your products’ veracity.

Things to reckon while deciding your USP

• How will your product be a solution for your consumers?
• Who are your target customers and their specific problem that you are hoping to solve?
• What benefits do they reap from the product?
• Why did they choose your brand over others?
• How do you plan to present yourself in the market?
• Determine the category
• Strength of your product
• Target audience
• Identify the media use
• Put yourself in customers shoes
• What motivates your customer behavior and buying decisions?
• Who are they?
• What they buy 
• Why they buy

Glimpse of successful brand and their USP’s

Mcaffine – caffeine based 

Coffee, chocolates and tea have become the lifestyle of young millennials. The USP of Mcaffine is its caffeine-based products. Caffeine works as a powerful antioxidant; it tones the skin and reduces puffiness. It also strengthens hair follicles.

Body shop – sustainable 

The USP of Body Shop is its intense environmentalist philosophy of the business. Body Shop products are known for being naturally-made and environment-friendly which gives the brand a competitive advantage.

Forest essential

The USP of the brand lies in the quality and selection of handpicked natural ingredients. The products contain 100% natural premium oils, and are SLS and Paraben free, which makes sure that your skin, eyes and hair follicles stay unharmed from these chemicals. After a rigorous process of research and development, and testing various permutations and combinations of selected ingredients, the company swears by the quality of its products.

Mama Earth

Their unique selling point is the absence of toxins and harmful chemicals in their products. This has helped them in building a loyal customer base.

Man Company

Man Company creates premium and exclusive grooming essentials especially for men. Their ingredient story formulates the product image. All the products are especially formulated with premium and rich ingredients like chamomile, coffee beans, patchouli, rose wood, argan oil, black pepper, aloe vera, bergamot, ginger, lime, tea tree, thyme, almonds and mint. 

Role of your USP

Solve a Problem

Identify your target audience’s problem and explain how your product solves that problem.

Identify the Differentiators

Focus on identifying how your solution to your customer’s problem is different, or better than, the solution your competitors are offering. The value you identify here will be one of the major reasons why your customers will choose you instead of your competitor.

Make a Promise

Your USP will manifest your promise that will reflect your brand’s value and potential. You must abide by the promise you make to your customers’ when it comes to your product’s effectiveness.

Communicate your USP

Let your consumers notice you with the power of communication. Each and every page of your website or online marketing platforms should reflect your USP in the most effective and substantial way.

A quick glance at ways to communicate your USP

• Advertising

 Traditional media advertising and brand marketing campaigns can be an effective way to bring your cosmetic business brand in front of your target audience.

• Social Media

It is the best tool for brand awareness for many companies. Having a strong presence on social networks and working with social media influencers can be an astounding way for your cosmetic brand to communicate its USP.

• Content Marketing

Create catchy content, knit your brand story and come up with viral content that will speak how your products can prove to be a panacea for your target audience. Create magic with the power of words and convince your audience about your product’s efficacy.  

• Digital Marketing

In an online store or digital business, the USP is presented as the tagline of a webpage or as a bulleted list on a product page. It creates a long lasting impression in the minds of consumers.

• Search Marketing

Your cosmetic business website requires a great branding, web design, SEO, and advertising for the beauty and cosmetic industry. It is vital to understand the exclusive needs of digital marketing for skin, hair, and the entire world of cosmetic businesses. Get a state-of-the-art search engine optimization service.

Research

It is important to know your competitors and current trends in the cosmetic industry. Peruse through your competitor’s website, product descriptions and marketing materials this will give you an idea about your USP and how robust it should be to fulfill consumers expectation from a beauty or grooming product.  

CHALLENGES IN COSMETIC PRODUCT PRICING

• The price of your cosmetic products will ultimately determine the profit that you are going to make. Besides, it will also suggest the quality of your brand. 
• It has been observed that people respond emotionally to their favorite brand, this is why they are always ready to pay a higher price for certain branding or characteristics regardless of the markup price.
• The selling format also affects the price setting as well as the purchase decision of customers, in online stores price is always lower than in the physical store. We must find a balance point between the relationship between e-commerce market and physical store pricing.
• The price of your cosmetic products will create an image of your brand, value and social recognition.
• It should not just focus on short term profit but a long-term brand perception as per the market position of your product.
• It is significant to have an idea of different customer segments’ and their willingness-to-pay is one of the most powerful tools for increased revenue and profit.
• Market research can be done on the overall market but it is preferable to do brand health research by customer segment. This provides insights into what customer segments are value buyers and what customer segments are price buyers.

Organic and Vegan products

Be it pure hibiscus flowers from Madagascar or ancient herbs from Upper Himalayas or lavender, we love the products which appear safe, non-toxic and right from the lap of nature and every time we should feel the mesmerising beauty and fragrance of flowers and herbs. There is no doubt why vegan and organic products are growing rapidly around the world.

So, it is important that you decide your product’s genesis.

If you claim your product to be organic you have to follow very strict guidelines and full disclosure. Ingredients need to be grown following organic processes—the soil is certified organic, pesticide- and toxin-free and no chemicals are sprayed while growing with the lowest environmental impact. Organic brands and natural brands should be free of chemical toxins like parabens, SLS, synthetic fragrances and artificial colour.

In this era of ethical consumerism vegan beauty has become a popular trend among millennials. Vegan beauty is automatically cruelty-free and does not support animal testing. PETA lists alternatives to all animal products used in skincare and makeup.

If a product has a long shelf life it can’t be organic, a truly organic product will have a shorter shelf life. Consumers are apparently shifting towards the concept of clean beauty; this is why vegan cosmetics is on the roll. Consumers want their product to be sustainable, cruelty free, eco friendly and free from any harsh chemical.

To cap it all in this blog we shed light on the importance of USP, pricing and sustainable cosmetic products. In our next blog you will get to know the ways to protect your brand through trademark registration and website domain for safety, authenticity and smooth functioning of your cosmetic business.

Click here to read our next blog on Decide and Protect your brand in cosmetic business.