The family crowded in the living room; we were making plans for a holiday. No surprises what the big question was: where do we go?
Someone wanted to go to a hill station, someone wanted to go to Kenya, someone said Kerala… someone said, “Hey, let’s go that happy country – Bhutan!”
That did it. We were curious: why is it a happy country? Travel plans were pushed aside and we began talking about Bhutan. Soon, we were busy googling details for a holiday in the Himalayan kingdom. So, from Africa and South India, our arrows zoomed in on to this country, thanks to its USP: happiness.
Bhutan talks Gross National Happiness, instead of Gross National Product. Across the world, countries are scrambling to market themselves as holiday destinations. Their differentiators: a complete family destination, rich in history, culturally alive, blessed by nature… in this cacophony of oft-heard themes and ideas, ‘happiness’ is so fresh and different.
Marketers too need to look at their products and services to find this ‘fresh-feel’ USP. Consumer-centricity, quality, prompt service, aren’t differentiators anymore. Every business stakes claim to them. So, if you need to make your audience remember your brand, you need to find what makes it really different. Marketing the USP, then, will be a lot easier.
