How to differentiate your product or service and which BRANDS are winning in leading the change

 A USP is a unique selling proposition! What is your product, service or brands USP? If you don’t have one, then price becomes the differentiator and you become a COMMODITY!  

So your marketing needs to get really creative when product differentiation isn’t obvious.  
In more commoditised categories, where products can look interchangeable and price quickly becomes the basis of choice, the challenge isn’t simply how to market the brand. The question is how do you create value where consumers see little difference? 
 
And this is where innovation and marketing communication (and the research of these) becomes so important! 
Look at a category such as MILK for instance. For many decades, milk was a household staple. A largely functional purchase. Today, the category has been innovated to many varieties – protein, lactose-free, A2, organic, convenience, functionality and premium. Milk didn’t change, but consumer needs did and those who understood this, innovated and are seeing the market share benefits.  

The other industry which is fascinating to me is the automotive industry in South Africa – who would have though consumer conversion would be so swift and brutal – I don’t think 5 years ago Toyota, Volkswagen, Kia and Hyundai thought so! 
Chinese car manufacturers understood the same category, but added a different (offering) 
 

Sometimes the biggest opportunity may not be to differentiate your brand within the category. It may be to redefine the whole category means to consumers. This is what is happening in the automotive industry. 

It is no longer a fuel powered vehicle – it’s a driving machine that can be powered a different way! And when you change the basis of choice, you can change willingness to pay, category value and ultimately the economics of the business. 

One in every five new vehicles sold in South Africa in the first quarter of 2026 was Chinese! This is staggering and most people would have laughed at this possibility a decade ago when Chinese car brands occupied a dusty corner of the market ignored by sceptical buyers. 

But around five years ago, Chinese manufacturers returned with a vengeance – and a winning formula. This is a huge industry disruption similar to what Telcom’s went through 20 years ago. It’s not a seasonal blip- this is a structural shift.  

Chinese manufacturers accounted for more than 19% of total new-vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from industry body Naamsa, with sales rising 75% year on year against growth of 12.7% in the passenger and light commercial segments. 
 
That’s when market research and really understanding consumer needs becomes a growth lever or an innovation strategy. 
 

How do businesses ensure they are not going to be caught unaware? We think research to understand trends and consumer behaviour is vital! 

 
• What emotional role does your product play in their live currently? 
• What emerging consumer needs are we still ignoring? 

• What are your competitors doing? And how does the consumer feel about these? 
  • Can innovation change the basis of choice? 
  • Which long-held category assumptions are limiting growth?