Brand promotion: 23 ways to refine product and brand selling points

The starting point of all businesses is to benefit consumers. The reason why consumers buy a certain brand of products is because the benefits provided by this brand of products impress them and meet some of their needs.

The so-called selling points are all valuable interest points that can enhance users' purchasing interest and promote product sales. Products have their selling points, and brands have their selling points.

1. Why do products and brands need selling points?

First of all, when products are highly homogenized, selling points can reflect differentiation.

A very important product characteristic of soy sauce is its “freshness”. Many soy sauce brands appeal to “freshness” and directly associate it with freshness in their product and brand names. For example, "freshest of the best, first-class fresh, first-class fresh, fresh in June, extremely fresh, extremely delicious...", and the advertising slogans also appeal to freshness, such as "Chef's soy sauce is delicious and fresh, Haitian's flavor is very fresh..."

These soy sauces are all said to be fresh, and it is difficult for consumers to tell which one is truly fresh and which one is fresher. At this time, while a certain brand is talking about freshness, it also enlarges a line of words on the packaging : "Insist on using non-GMO high-quality Northeast soybeans." This selling point makes the brand stand out and gives consumers a reason to choose it. Customers may choose it just because of this selling point.

Secondly, human nature is greedy, and everyone wants to buy three items for one dollar.

There is no such thing as too many benefits. The more valuable benefits there are, the more consumers will feel that they are getting good value for money. For example, the packages that Afu Essential Oils and Three Squirrels give to consumers come with a lot of free gifts... Most people will feel that it is a great value, and the experience and word of mouth are more likely to be good.

2. How to find the selling points of products and brands?

Products have their selling points, and brands have their selling points. There are 8 common methods for extracting product selling points. Brand selling points are divided into two categories of 15 types, which are described as follows:

8 common methods to find product selling points

1. Find selling points from product appearance

The product is also unique in color and shape, which can be used as a selling point.

For example, "soap with holes, candy with holes, TV with large windows". The products of these brands are essentially no different from competing products. The differentiation is in the appearance. However, this differentiated appearance will bring differences to consumers' visual and psychological feelings, and can also promote product sales.

2. Find selling points from the raw material formula

What unique raw materials are used? What are the differences in the formula? What are the particularly valuable ingredients? These can all be selling points. For example, Chubang Soy Sauce "insists on using non-GMO high-quality Northeastern soybeans" and has an amino acid content of up to 1.3g/100ml.

For example, the "1:1:1 golden ratio formula" of Golden Arowana

3. Find selling points from the production process

What is valuable or different about the equipment and process methods used in the manufacturing process? For example, Robust's "27-layer filtration"

4. Find selling points from convenience

Convenience and the ease with which a certain need is achieved are also the benefits desired by consumers, and there are many ways to achieve them.

1) Single-point convenience

The product has a single point that can achieve a certain convenience

For example, the products of a certain bathtub brand are foldable and can be stacked up when not in use to save space and are easy to carry.

2) Convenience of stacking

The superposition of multiple functions can meet multiple needs at once and provide convenience.

For example, some shampoo brands promote the "two-in-one or three-in-one concept", satisfying multiple needs such as "cleaning, dandruff removal, hair care, and nourishment" with one hair wash, even saving the need for conditioner. Due to the accelerated pace of life, this is also a benefit point that consumers need.

5. Find selling points from customer needs

Through research, we can discover customers’ concerns or hidden pain points about the product, and then package them into selling points of the product.

For example, when I was serving a sofa brand, I discovered some of the customers' concerns through Internet and data research, such as "odor removal, free refurbishment, maintenance, free cleaning agent, free sofa cushions..." These can all be designed specifically as selling points for the products.

6. Use price as a selling point

Price is one of the 4 most important Ps in marketing and is an important factor influencing consumer purchases, especially for groups that are highly price sensitive. Both high and low prices can become selling points.

1) Low price selling point

The key is to have low price without low quality, and give reasons for the low price so that people feel they are making a good deal when they buy it.

For example, one of Xiaomi’s major selling points is “low price and cost-effectiveness”. When promoting its products, Xiaomi particularly emphasizes the product’s strengths such as “configuration, design, material selection…”, showing that although the price is low, the quality is definitely not low.

Including, Lei Jun announced that "Xiaomi's profit will never exceed 5%", giving consumers a reason for the low prices. It’s not because my products are bad or my brand is low, but because I have a conscience.

2) High selling point

The key is to give it a demonstrative value so that others can use it to pretend.

Price is also a yardstick for judging the quality of a product and the level of its brand. Some people who pursue high quality and high-end brands will not buy low-priced products. On the contrary, if the same product is priced 10 times higher and sold in a high-end shopping mall, they will be more willing to buy it.

For example, a suit with exquisite materials and design would not be sold at 500 yuan in the Sijiqing Clothing Wholesale Market in Hangzhou, but it would seem too cheap even if it was sold for 5,000 yuan in Hangzhou Building, the highest-end shopping mall in Hangzhou.

3) High and low prices coexist

Some brands have both "high price and low price" selling points for customers. For example, one of the main selling points of Guazi used cars is that "sellers get more money and buyers pay less", and the reason given is that "there are no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference"

7. Use service as a selling point

Service is an integral part of the product, and providing special services is also a powerful selling point.

For example, Haidilao is famous for its good service, Xiaogou Electric Appliances offers "lifetime free repairs", and Shenzhou Medical offers "24-hour door-to-door service, extra-long warranty..."

8. Use gifts as a selling point

Buy-one-get-one-free is a form of promotion. Good gifts can also be a powerful selling point. Some users will even place an order just for the gifts.

There are many ways to design gifts, and the core principle is "sense of value", which not only enhances the value of the product itself, but also ensures that the gift itself has a sense of value. If the sense of value is insufficient, it will not be attractive enough to consumers.

For example, buying a house will give you a parking space, buying a car will give you 100,000 kilometers of free maintenance, and buying a ROBAM range hood will give you Zwilling knives. These are all powerful gift selling points.

(II) Two categories of 15 methods to find brand selling points

After talking about how to find the selling points of products, let’s continue to talk about how to find the selling points of brands. Brand selling points can be divided into two categories of 15 types, namely 8 positioning selling points and 7 auxiliary selling points.

1. Positioning selling points

That is, some brand information that belongs to the positioning concept may not be used as brand positioning, but as a brand selling point to enhance brand trust when the brand does not have exclusivity on this concept or it is not the interest point that best reflects the brand's advantages.

For example, a certain brand has relatively rich brand assets. It is a classic with a long history, is a hot seller, has a secret formula, and has strong connections with other big brands. These can all constitute the brand positioning, but the brand can only choose the most advantageous concept as its positioning at a certain stage. Then other advantageous brand information can be combined to become a brand selling point to enhance brand trust. There are 8 types of specific operations:

1) Use market performance as a selling point

Indicators such as sales volume/sales revenue/growth rate of the brand or product being appealed

For example, Afu’s appeal is “Afu is essential oil”, which conveys the brand positioning message of “essential oil expert”. When communicating, Afu would simultaneously promote information that could have been used as positioning concepts, such as "For every 2 bottles of essential oils sold on Taobao, 1 is from Afu" and "No. 1 in essential oil sales on the entire network", and use this information as a selling point to support the brand.

Another similar example is that Xiangpiaopiao is positioned as the "pioneer of cup milk tea". At the same time, it uses sales volume as a selling point and spreads the message that "the cups connected together can circle the earth 10 times." Alibaba Cloud’s brand positioning is “digital transformation expert”, and one of its strong selling points is that its “market share exceeds the total of the 2nd to 5th place”.

2) Use “popularity” as a selling point

The herd mentality is an instinctive reaction of people's minds to seek security and save brain cells, and it is deeply rooted in their genes. In advertising, it is expressed as promoting concepts such as “more people use it, more popular…”

For example: Lux soap once claimed that "9 out of 10 movie stars use Lux soap to care for their skin."

3) Use long history as a selling point

A brand that has survived and thrived after a long history is trustworthy. This method is suitable for various time-honored brands and brands that have historical basis.

When Wanglaoji was first launched, its brand positioning was "a beverage that prevents getting angry". Its long history was used as a brand trust endorsement on its posters and cans: "It began in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 100 years."

For example, the brand positioning of AO Smith water heaters is "America's hot water expert", but its communication images also emphasize its 141-year history. Some images convey its quality stability and durability by saying "creating 52 years of miracles of use".

Just like Coca-Cola made full use of its status as the originator of cola in the cola war with Pepsi in the US market many years ago, making customers believe that it was the authentic product.

Even a certain bicycle brand can hype itself up as the first bicycle to climb Mount Everest, making people imagine how reliable it must be to climb Mount Everest. (In fact, it is just a matter of putting the bicycle on it through technical means)

5) Use the creation of new categories as a selling point

You can build trust by becoming a category pioneer or leader through innovation and focus.

For example, Shangpintang has developed a unique processing technology that makes the nutrition more than three times higher than that of traditional water-soaked sea cucumbers, creating a new category - fresh sea cucumbers. With the endorsement of “the pioneer of fresh sea cucumbers”.

6) Use leadership as a selling point

It could be market share leadership. For example, Hisense, Kuaweiwang...

It can be technological leadership. For example, Austria's Blue Jing Fiber did not have the world's leading market share at the time, so it claimed to be the "global leader in viscose fiber technology."

7) Use your expert image as a selling point

The appeal is focused and concentrated, which shapes the image of an expert. Experts are authoritative and easy to give people a sense of trust.

For example, in the ordinary yogurt market, Kashi is a small company, but through focusing, it has gained strong trust endorsement as a "high-end yogurt expert."

8) Use the secret recipe as a selling point

It means that the product contains ingredients in its formula or core components that others do not have. Consumers may not be familiar with this ingredient, but it sounds novel, mysterious and valuable.

For example, Orion potato chips are “non-fried”, Crest’s “fluoride anti-caries toothpaste”, and Sony’s “Trinitron” cathode ray tube.

2. Auxiliary selling points

1) Use company endorsement as a selling point

If a new brand is backed by a mature, big brand or company, it is like coming from a prestigious family, and people can't help but look up to it.

For example, new brands under Procter & Gamble can obtain P&G's endorsement in the first six months after listing, helping the new brands win the trust of consumers more quickly. People see an advertisement on TV about a new brand and product that they have never seen before. They are full of doubts at first, but then they see the P&G logo and hear the message "Proudly produced by P&G" at the end. Because of their good experience with other P&G brands, people will have more trust in this new brand and product.

2) Use high potential channels as selling points

Whoever you stand with, that's who you are. Some high-potential channel brands can also help new brands that have just entered the market to enhance trust. For example, if a new brand can enter Wanda Plaza, Walmart, Tmall... consumers will think that the brand is more powerful.

On the contrary, if a brand enters a low-potential channel such as a mom-and-pop convenience store in an urban village when it is first launched, it will not be conducive to the brand establishing a good initial impression on consumers.

3) Use supply chain as a selling point

Who supports you determines your level. With the support of top manufacturers and top industry leaders, the product quality of this brand will not be bad. For example, many small mobile phone and electronic brands use Foxconn manufacturing as a selling point.

4) Using brand-name products as a selling point

The most typical example is to hang out with big-name clients. Your ability to serve big clients proves that you have the ability.

For example, Huanshi Interactive is famous for serving famous brands such as Durex and Coca-Cola. There are also partners who can cooperate with big brands. You can organize activities with a big brand, become a supplier of a big brand, and then you can claim to be a partner of the big brand. For example, by entering the Bank of China Points Mall, you can claim to be a partner of the Bank of China.

5) Use custom standards as a selling point

Chu Orange's 24:1 candied orange with a golden sweetness and sourness ratio, Robust pure water with 27 layers of purification, and Wu Gu Dao Chang instant noodles that are non-fried.

6) Use events as selling points

Become a participant, supporter, and partner of major positive events and activities, and inject their high potential and influence into the brand. Big ones include the Olympic Games, World Expo, Asian Games, G20 Summit, etc. Small ones include some small events, industry forums, etc.

For example, the three-dimensional marketing carried out by Nongfu Spring at the G20 Summit (becoming a selected product and letting the summit chef speak for himself).

7) Use PR as a selling point

Advertising is like Wang Po selling melons and boasting about herself, it is just saying that she is good. Public relations is about getting a third party to say hello to you, which makes it more credible. When the advertising budget is insufficient, using more public relations can also achieve good communication effects.

For example, the paint brand Fu Ya is very environmentally friendly. In order to highlight its "environmentally friendly" characteristics, the company planned a public relations event of "Fu Ya boss drinking paint".

On the morning of October 10, 2000, in front of the exhibition hall of China Architecture Culture Center in Sanlihe District, Beijing, Beijing Fuya Decoration Materials Development Company carried out a publicity campaign titled "Real cats and dogs drink paint, real home safety."

Due to the intervention of animal protection organizations, real cats and dogs could not be allowed to drink paint on site. General Manager Jiang Heping opened a bucket of paint, poured half a cup, added some mineral water, and gulped down the entire cup in front of everyone. After drinking, he wiped his mouth with a smile on his face. ”

This incident created a huge news effect. At that time, Xinhua News Agency broadcast a 700-word article titled "In order to make a non-toxic advertisement, the manager drank paint". After that, the media followed suit. At least 200 media outlets across the country reported or reprinted this news. Fuya Paint became famous overnight, and consumers developed trust in the environmental protection promoted by Fuya Paint.

Author: Liu Guoqiang 1984

Source: Liu Guoqiang Demolition Marketing