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Making your product unique is as much a mind game as it is having a physically unique product for sale. Brand image and recognition is everything here, and it exists within the realm of consumers' minds. What needs to be done is that your product needs to have something attached to it that sets it apart in the consumer's mind from the competition. This is called a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), and its development requires a good dose of creativity along with some effective marketing communications.

Consider these examples:

* A local farmer grows a fairly common commodity: blueberries. However, he achieves notably higher sales than his rivals. The reason may be because he has marketed his blueberries as something extra special. While not organic in the full sense of the term, this grower uses minimal pesticides. He also fertilizes with a unique sawdust compost. He even goes so far as to grow the berries in special soil conditions. The result is large, sweet, juicy blueberries during harvest season. By communicating his unique growing methods through brochures, pamphlets, and other marketing communications, this farmer has set himself apart in the minds of many consumers. As a result, his booth at the farmer's market each week has a long line and he frequently runs out of blueberries!

* A small-town diner serves up typical diner food: pancakes, eggs, waffles, french toast, soup, and sandwiches. The food is good and competitively priced. What sets this diner apart from all of the others in town? You can go to another diner and get the same type of "greasy-spoon style" food for about the same price. But this diner has a porch overlooking Main Street. Through clever marketing and branding efforts, this diner has played up the ambiance of its open-air dining area. People flock to this diner, and often wait in line for a table on the porch.

So how does a business owner determine the USP of his or her brand/product? A common formula is the acronym FAB. FAB stands for Features, Attributes, Benefits.

The features are the things that the product has. It's an extra-sweet blueberry or the ambiance of eating breakfast on a quaint, covered porch.

Attributes describe the tangible look and feel of the product. What color is it? Is it larger than average? Smaller? Communicate what attributes make your product distinct in order to set it apart from the rest.

Benefits answer the, "What's in it for me?" question that consumers will be asking. You need to, as a marketer, let the

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