The importance in creating a unique value proposition through product positioning in order to create lasting appeal!

Everyday somewhere in the world the sun is trying to sell sunlight to a flower. Mostly the flower does not resist because it knows in full the value of sunlight. There is no doubt in the DNA of the flower that the staff which comes with those rays of sunlight is essential for its survival. In this context the sun is offering value through a product called sunlight that is critical in some place other than the sun itself. It just happens to be that that place is here on planet earth with so many willing and eager prospects.

The sun, though so many miles away is well positioned to offer a product that is firstly unique and secondly highly in demand. The sun competes daily to produce and deliver its product and its very clear that its highly effective in doing this. The maker of the sun clearly took some time in uniquely creating the sun after taking into account all the variables that need to be satisfied in order for the sun to have a unique value proposition with lasting appeal especially here on earth.

In product development it is very important for the product maker to consider the impact of positioning on proposed value when trying to create lasting appeal. The position that the product maker places the product in, will fundamentally shape the products proposed value and the appeal thereof. Now all products inherently compete on one of two dynamics. The one dynamic is Cost and the other is Being Unique. Most compete on cost however few compete on being unique. Remember the sun is completely unique.

Now the cost business model is often the easiest to implement though not necessarily the most advantageous. Competing on cost simply means that the supplier is able to undercut all other viable alternatives on cost in order to create lasting appeal. Now the underlying business mechanisms should be in place to allow such undercutting to happen profitably. Once a supplier can sell at the lowest cost while remaining profitable, then obviously their in business so long as there is demand in a fairly unsaturated segment.

Being unique however requires the supplier to design value into the product through features which address unique problems that cannot be easily solved with cheap/cost effective alternatives that are not specific enough. Obviously the unique model is more expensive to setup as it requires detailed knowledge and genuine concern for the unique problem that is being solved and the unique set of features that will collectively have to be embodied in the product and its underlying supply chain in order to create an appealing value proposition.

Competing on being unique depends on the unique set of features for creating lasting appeal among a group of prospects that have a unique problem which cannot be easily solved using conventional alternatives. Now most product makers will argue that their product is already unique enough and will further justify why their focus is cost by arguing that everyone else that is competing in the same segment has somehow figured out how to create the same set of "unique" features for solving the same problem at a low cost.

This calls for innovation and mainly happens when the product maker has put in the least amount of effort to understand their segment of choice and the nature and combination features that will make them standout in their segment.

Features are problem driven, and if the problem has already being fairly solved, then the segment is saturated. In a saturated segment the unique suppliers are those which entered the market first and positioned themselves to establish a dominant appeal while the competition was either not active in the segment or were still trying to establish market entry. A highly capable first mover supplier will keep innovating well and deep into its supply chain in order to optimize its position and fend off new market entrants.

Before making market entry, study the segment first and understand what makes the particular segment potentially viable. Here are some questions you can ask yourself while considering the respective segment; Are there any existing dominant players in the segment? What makes these dominant player(s) unique? Does the segment require me to compete on cost or being unique? Do I have the time and resources to be unique? If I am not required to be unique, how likely is it for other players to enter into the segment and reproduce my supply chain at an even lower cost?

The worst mistake to make is to enter a saturated segment and then try to compete on cost while there is already a dominant player that is well positioned and is offering the best set of features through an optimized supply chain at a reasonable cost.