What is Unique Selling Proposition? How brands fail to communicate it through meaningless slogans

Why do people buy Toyota, Because it is reliable. Even people who are not car enthusiasts know that a Toyota is super-reliable. I think it is probably more likely by you to get run over by a Toyota than it is for a Toyota to break down. The car makers tops the JD Power & Associates Initial Quality Survey for cars year after year.

SO how is Toyota communicating this USP ( Unique Selling Proposition ) that it has worked so hard and so long to own? With the slogan “Moving Forward”. Is it a bad slogan? Well, you are free to form your own conclusions but I think it is rather meaningless. A Toyota is a car. Whenever the care is in motion, it is moving forward 99.9 percent of times. This is why people buy cars – to move them forward.

Some of you may argue that the slogan refers to Toyota’s relentless march towards better quality, safety, productivity and sales ( it has ousted General motors form No. 1 spot, globally ). Nonetheless it is redundant. Just like quality is a giving, moving forward is also giving. Customers expect ( and sometimes demand) that a company should be moving forward all the times. 

In Nutshell

A true USP is hard to come by. IF you happen to find one, do not waste it with meaningless slogan. I am not saying that Nokia, Nike and Toyota  are not strong Brands. They are all great Brands and I have lot of respect for their achievements. But they atr also very big and as such, they can get away with using meaningless slogans. You are probably nowhere near as well established as they are. If you use a meaningless slogan tat does nothing to proclaim your USP, you will be putting your brand in jeopardy – unless you happen to have competitions who are nice enough or clueless enough not to take advantage of your mistake.

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