Sometimes, to develop your unique value proposition or brand idea you just have to look for one thing that’s important to your customers that your competition is neglecting. The exercise can be as simple as filling in the blank on the following sentence:

Its ______________ , stupid!

Where ‘_____________’ is whatever your competition is failing to address.

The best examples can be found in politics, where one simple idea that resonates with voters can determine the outcome of an election.

In 1992, with the country in a deep recession, candidate Bill Clinton’s encapsulated his whole campaign in this simple phrase: ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’ and won.

Years later, John Kerry wanted to talk about ‘the issues’, to which George W. Bush responded: ‘First you voted for, then you voted against…. we can’t trust you… you’re a flip-flopper’. In other words: ‘It’s character, stupid!’ It was a brilliant strategy.

People don’t have time for ‘the issues’. They just need one big reason that fits their world view and their decision is made. It’s not far fetched to imagine that the phrase: ‘It’s the war, stupid!’ may decide the next election.

The world of business is not different. Years ago, Lowe’s, the home improvement chain, noticed that Home Depot customers complained about lousy service and disorganized stores and responded with clean, well lit, clearly laid out stores where knowledgeable sales people were always ready to help. The result was growth.

Target recognized that arch-rival Walmart was not addressing a market segment that demanded better, more stylish products at bargain prices and carved a strong niche for itself.

Apple has built a cult following by making great products that address and fix everything that users hate about Microsoft-based PCs.

If you’re struggling to come up with your unique value proposition do a SWOT analysis of your main competitors and pay attention to the ‘Weaknesses’ quadrant. If you need more information, ask your customers: they’ll tell you.

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