When you first start a business, someone is going to tell you to figure out what makes you different.

So you think about it.

You end up saying things like “I’m affordable and reliable” or “I actually care, unlike the big corporations” or maybe something more specific, like all natural ingredients, small batch, no shortcuts, nothing artificial or mass-produced.

And it feels right. You put it on your website, your bio, your pitch.

Then nothing changes.

Not because the product is bad. Not because you need to post more.

It’s because a USP, a unique selling proposition, is actually the weakest version of the strategy most people think they’re running.

Here’s the thing. Every business has a USP on paper. “We’re different because X.”

Okay, but so does every other business chasing the same customers as you.

The businesses people actually remember aren’t leading with a tagline. They built what’s called a Unique Mechanism. Which is the specific WAY they deliver results, not just what they sell.

P90X is a good example. Instead of just selling workout DVDs, it built its marketing around “muscle confusion,” a simple idea people could remember.

That message helped people remember P90X, and the program later earned more than $700 million in sales.

Same audience. Same goal. Completely different explanation of HOW their thing actually worked.

Chick-fil-A didn’t invent the chicken sandwich. But they made “My Pleasure” their signature response and built a customer service culture around it.

They sold something people already knew, but in a way people remembered. The “what” stayed the same. The “how” made the difference.

I’ve been thinking about this with my blog and also this newsletter lately, too.

For a long time I’d describe it as “plain language, no hype, real advice for beginners.” And that’s true.

But it’s also kind of nothing, if I’m being real. It says more about what I don’t do than what I actually do differently.

The more real version is closer to something like, I take business and marketing ideas that feel too hard to understand and explain them like a friend sharing real experience, not like a consultant or some expensive $997 course.

That’s the mechanism. Everything else is just the delivery format.

So the question is, do you actually know the HOW behind your business?

Not just what you offer, but the specific thing about the way you deliver it that nobody else does, or at least nobody else explains clearly?

Most people ignore that part. Then they wonder why “affordable and reliable” isn’t pulling anyone in.

Cheers,

Minosh

P.S. Also, if selling on Pinterest is something you’ve been thinking about, here’s how to actually set it up.