Even in the age of empowered buying, I am still a big advocate of going back to basics and looking at a solutions approach. Understand your target audience and their needs. It’s about what they need, not what you want to sell them. Craft the product according the those needs. Providing a true solution to why they need it. Check out what the competition is doing (but do not be tempted to just replicate and improve). Identify key differentiators, but always refer back to why the product is needed by the target audience and what solution it is providing.

My most successful product launches have been in BIG categories with Major Brands like Mattress Category with the 3 S’s Sealy Serta Simmons in the 1990’s A new startup company with memory foam material in pillows & mattress came along from Sweden A pillow & mattress is a Commodity product that consumers buy based on Brand name or price I found a very niche memory foam material an it was all about MARKETING this new material with Credibility (ie Chiropractors) it worked Then I created the HAND PRINT image in the foam showing how it Conformed to your body which is what DIFFERENTIATES the product Then we launched it at Brookstone as a quality specialty retailer as a $100 pillow 3 times the price of other foam pillows Contact me to learn more

Make sure your offering is meaningfully unique. Then overtly communicate the benefit your offering will provide customers.

How to pinpoint your unique selling points: - Conduct competitor analysis: Compare your product's features, benefits, and pricing against competitors to find gaps and opportunities. - Gather customer feedback: Directly ask your customers what they value most about your product. - Highlight unique benefits: Focus on the specific advantages your product offers that competitors don't, such as exclusive features or superior quality.

1. Conduct Market Research: Analyze competitors and identify gaps in customer needs or underserved areas. 2. Define Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP): Highlight what your product offers that others don’t—whether it’s a unique feature, better customer experience, or price. 3. Leverage Customer Insights: Use feedback to uncover what resonates most with customers, revealing valuable differentiators. 4. Test Your Positioning: Experiment with messaging that highlights these unique benefits. For example: If other products emphasize features, and yours excels in usability, brand it as the most intuitive solution in the market, directly addressing a common user frustration. This makes your product memorable and relevant!

Differentiation starts with understanding customer pain points overlooked by competitors. Go deeper than product features—what emotions do you solve? What values do you represent? Conduct competitor analysis, but don’t stop at the obvious. Look at gaps in customer experience, brand tone, or niche appeal. Storytelling can also set you apart—use origin stories, team insights, or mission-driven campaigns. Instead of just selling, focus on creating a movement. Build a community around your brand that fosters loyalty. In a crowded market, uniqueness is about owning a perspective, not just a product.

In a saturated market, pinpointing differentiation begins with understanding your customers’ unmet needs and identifying where competitors fall short. By conducting thorough competitive analysis and engaging directly with users, you can uncover gaps in features, usability, or support that resonate most. Highlighting your unique strengths—whether through innovation, superior customer experience, or exclusive integrations—creates a clear value proposition. Emphasizing these differentiators in messaging ensures your offering stands out, especially when combined with evidence, like testimonials or success metrics, that showcase the impact.

At any given point of time in your product life cycle, you will have to reflect How are you different/ better/ faster/ more affordable etc.. from your next best competitor? You would always do that exercise irrespective of saturation of market. We build product with a vision, set strategy to achieve business goal and track north start metric to measure if we are doing right or not. Follow the same until you have to change your vision or strategy

In my 12 years of experience with new product launches, I've learned that to distinguish a product in a saturated market, it’s essential to focus on either a Unique Selling Proposition (a feature competitors don’t offer) or a Unique Value Proposition (providing more features at a very competitive cost). For example, while launching a Sun Control Film for one of my previous firms in the aftermarket automotive segment, I conducted thorough competitor benchmarking to identify the gaps. I then developed a product with superior specifications, sourced it efficiently, and highlighted its unique features in marketing efforts. The result was a resounding success—our product became an instant hit and achieved record-breaking sales that year.

1. Conduct In-Depth Market Analysis to Identify unmet needs, analyse competitor offerings, leverage market trends 2. Leverage Organizational Equity: Capitalize on company's established reputation and brand values organization's resources. 3. Identify and Amplify Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and consistently reinforce leveraging omnichannel marketings. 4. Create an Emotional Connection by understanding patient’s emotions, with a compelling story and ensure Consistent Messaging