Marketing Planning, USP and Differentiation

A, marketing, plan, outlines, your, marketing, goals, and, how, to, achieve, them., It, includes, the, target, market,, positioning,, marketing, mix,, budget,, timeline,, and, success, measures., The, last, item, is, key., Without, measures,, you, can't, review, objectives., And, if, you, can't, review, a, plan,, you, can't, improve, it.

Your, marketing, goals, should, align, with, corporate, objectives., For, instance,, if, the, corporate, goal, is, growth,, your, marketing, goals, might, focus, on, market, share,, brand, awareness,, customer, retention,, or, entering, a, specific, segment.

A, unique, selling, point, (USP), is, what, sets, your, offer, apart, from, the, competition., To, be, a, real, USP,, it, must, meet, three, tests:, it, has, to, be, genuinely, distinctive, (rivals, don’t, offer, it), valued, by, your, target, customers, (they, care),, and, defensible, (competitors, can’t, easily, copy, it)., Many, claimed, USPs, fail, the, third, test,, and, some, don’t, even, pass, the, second.

Product, differentiation, is, the, broader, effort, to, make, your, offer, stand, out, from, competitors., You, can, differentiate, based, on, features,, quality,, design,, service,, brand, image,, distribution,, or, price., This, strategy, reduces, direct, price, competition., Customers, comparing, two, things, they, see, as, different, won’t, focus, solely, on, price.

A, position, map, (or, perception, map), displays, competing, products, based, on, two, important, attributes,, typically, price, and, some, quality, factor., It, helps, show, where, the, market, is, crowded,, where, gaps, exist,, and, if, your, perceived, position, matches, your, intended, one., But, be, cautious—an, empty, gap, might, mean, there's, no, demand, there., So,, the, map, raises, questions, rather, than, providing, all, the, answers.