While I have written here about the need for newsagencies to have a point of difference, a unique selling proposition, my sense is that most newsagents ignore this, considering it to be a waste of time.

Sadly, I think too many newsagents live with the mindset that it is our channel which is difference and therefore our USP.  Certainly, we are unique in the world.  Okay, there are newsagencies in the UK, but they are not the newspaper / magazine / greeting cards / stationery channel that we are.

The reality is that our channel is not unique., not at all.

Everything we sell is available elsewhere, often in just one or two shops.  Check out your local supermarket or Big W, K Mart or target store.  I bet that around 90% of your non gambling product sales could be satisfied from these much bigger, more aggressive and better known competitors.

Twenty or thirty years ago we were unique.  We were protected and we loved it. The bubble of protection has burst.  We are on our own.

In today’s world and with our stronger than ever competitors, we MUST stand for something, each of us in our own newsagencies.  We can’t do it as a channel because we would never work together to an agreed standard.

I have a suggestion for you: take some time to stand in front of your shop and on your shop floor and contemplate what it is that your business stands for and consider whether you see and feel that point of difference being embraced in how you are running the business.

Your USP must be obvious from outside your newsagency and within.  It must be felt and experiences at the counter, on the phone, in your newsletter, in your community work, on your vehicles and through your product mix and your people.

Is your USP, your point of difference, obvious to your customers?

Now more than ever, with the national retailers pursuing our businesses with aggression we have never seen before, we, each of us, MUST nail our USP,  otherwise we will fade in the minds of shoppers and with that fading we will see a retreat of foot traffic.

I am concerned that not enough newsagents get the importance of this, of standing for something, of offering something which is unique … something so tangible and appreciated that your shoppers tell their friends about it.

I got hooked on the British comedy series The Inbetweeners a few months ago.   It’s hilarious.  The sitcom genre is a challenge, too often characters blend into each other and those involved in the show get lazy – this is true for many US sitcoms.  Also, laughs are often too cheap.  The Inbetweeners can shock you and make you laugh all at once, even after three series. I love this show so much that I told people, plenty of people.  I know that they have told people. You can see where I am going.  Word of mouth has a powerful ripple effect.

Don’t you want to unleash the power of word of mouth for your business?  Your point of difference is key to this happening.

You don’t get good word of mouth for your newsagency if you do not nail, embrace, live and drive your point of difference.  It is vitally important to loyalty.

So when you are in front of your shop or on your shop floor, think about this – what is it that you do or sell which is so compelling and appreciated that your customers will tell their friends?

I can’t stress enough the importance of resolving this for your newsagency.

No one can tell you what your point of difference should be.  You must discover this for yourself, from within your newsagency, working with your team.  Once you have made your decision, everything you do in your business should be done with your point of difference in your mind.

Sorting this out is one of the biggest challenges for newsagents and the channel as a whole.  Get this right and even the smallest of newsagencies can grow and know tremendous success.

FOOTNOTE: If you think you have your point of difference sorted out, check with your customers and find out what they think.