Developing a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for Smart Home Device
By: Alexey Pelykh
Tags: Strategy, Consumer Electronics, Growth, Management, Smart Home

The industrial revolution and mass production changed the world forever. Since the first third of the twentieth century home electronics became an essential part of any house. Modern people even can’t imagine their lives without fridges, microwaves, washing machines, TV sets, and all that jazz. At the same time, customer demands for comfortable life continue to grow up.

The idea of a smart home became a new hope for many consumers as they seek a higher level of convenience and safety. As a result, a lot of manufactures of electronics try to enter this market. But it is quite new and unfamiliar for most producers of smart devices so it can be a big issue for them to find and understand the new paradigm of connected smart home, to outline the actual USP, or unique selling proposition for their new product.

Only A Good USP Can Make Your Smart Device Really Competitive

Dealing with the market of smart home appliances can be challenging at times. It is an industry which often requires unconventional approaches and advanced areas of expertise. Smart gadgets market is extremely competitive. Similar devices appear each month or even week. So it’s important for producers to stand out at any price.

Look at Lifx, Philips Hue, Samsung! All of these electronics giants bring disruptive lighting technologies into the customer’s house. But how do they differ from each other? This is the problem. Your unique selling point should be clear for your target audience at the very start of your promoting campaign.

Before You Started To Outline A USP For Your Gadget

At the beginning, it is worth carrying out SWOT analysis for smart home device providers. SWOT is a great starting point which will help you reflect on your product’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Remember, you are not trying to make your product “best of the best”, you are simply looking for unique qualities that will make it stand out on the market.

SWOT for smart home developers

Focus On An Exclusive Customer Experience

Producers who design progressive smart home appliances can use novelty as a basement for positioning of their production. But the global idea of smart home is not about pure novelty. It is about ultimately new user experience powered by high tech. Here is a common mistake for many companies which try to sell their smart home appliances only as innovative stuff. No wonder, their potential clients do not understand what they really mean.

Most customers are interested in “buying” an outstanding experience that smart gadgets can give them. So it is very important to highlight what kind of unique experience your product can offer to a client. Right words can play a significant role in defining your USP as they bring a meaningful message about your product to the masses.

How The Tech Giants Create Their USPs

Philips is one of the first corporations which introduced the idea of smart lighting to the smart appliances market and remains at the forefront of this technology. Its ad message sounds easy and far-reaching: “Philips Hue, smart home lighting made brilliant”. But it reaches the target audience because it reflects what customers will get purchasing its production. Philips Hue promises to make your home sweeter via transforming your home lighting routines. Now you can gently wake up in the morning and feel energized for the day ahead. Smart lighting also cares about you in the evening when you arrive home. While you watch videos, listen to music or play games Philips Hue Entertainment lighting makes your activities even more interactive and immersive. The company believes that the right lighting is totally essential for the modern home environment.

Philips Hue USP

Three Steps To Create Your Smart Gadgets USP

1. DEFINE THE TARGET AUDIENCE AND THE PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE

You can’t help all the people in the world but you can select a group with the same key issue and offer the solution. Avoid illegible features. While choosing your target audience and its problem try to be as specific as possible. For instance, smart clock for middle class sounds too wide. Сoncentrate on families with school-aged children.

2. DIFFERENTIATE YOUR PRODUCT FROM THE REST OF SMART GADGETS

Focus on 3–5 useful points your customer will get if they decide to choose your product and what they will lose choosing something else. Explore the market of smart devices, find your product niche, analyze your competitors and identify your distinctive benefits. Write down all details. It will help you to see the big picture.

3. MAKE A MARVELOUS STATEMENT

People get to know about you due to words. So in this step, you have to create a verbal pledge addressed to your target audience. Look through the list of your product advantages and form your statement. Think from the customers’ perspective. What do they want to hear from you?

In A Nutshell

If you know your product and understand your target audience, finding a real USP will not be a problem. Remember, your main goal as a smart devices provider is to make your electronics stand out from competitors and an excellent USP is a necessary tool for that.

Source: https://brainbeanapps.com/best-practices/developing-usp-for-smart-home-device/

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