USP And Fragrance Oils

When we started as wax melt and candle makers we bought a lot of the popular fragrance oils but soon became bored with what was on offer. Our customers started asking for fragrances that they couldn’t find. We had a lot of requests for woody, mystical, oriental / ambery fragrances. We wanted something different to add a bit of interest to our collection which led us to becoming fragrance oil suppliers.

You will see new wax melt and candle makers on facebook groups ask "what is your best selling fragrance" and they'll get replies including mainly dupes and fabric softener fragrances. There are two issues with copying someone else's 'best sellers':

• Their customer base may be very different to yours and what works for them may not work for you
• If you sell everyone's best seller you are competing in a small pool with lots of other sellers
• Copying someone means you will always be one step behind rather than one step in front of your competitors.

Our advice is to decide on your brand and your USP. What is your USP? What unique selling point or proposition has your business got? What differentiates you from you and your brand from your competitors? In short, what have you got that the others don’t have? What is it about this USP that makes somebody want to buy from you? We will illustrate this later in the blog by explaining what our USP is. We hope you already know what it is if we are doing our job right.

Write a list of all the points that differentiate you from your competitors. You must do a lot of research in your industry segment in order to do this. With this list in mind, now think about the potential customers buying your product or services. How does your offering match up to their requirements? What demographic (age, gender, income bracket etc) are you aiming to be your customers? If your target market is too wide you are competing for the same slice of pie that everyone else is looking for. If your target market is too niche, too narrow, you will struggle to get enough customers. Aim for a slice of the pie not many people are serving but don’t make that slice too small. 

How do you want your products to be seen (natural, bright, country, modern, regional, comedy, mystical, eco-friendly etc). Have a similar look and feel to your products and your selling platform. Bear in mind that some themes will polarise people. Having an 'adult' theme will be amusing to some but turn off a lot of customers. Don't be afraid to shout about your products and your USP and use social media to promote your products. Be prepared to be copied. It has happened to us and it could well happen to you. Just keep in mind that someone who copies you is always a step behind you.

Can you tell what our USP is from our website? We supply new and unusual fragrance oils; some fragrances are unique to us, some unique to us in the UK. We are aiming to be as Eco Friendly and plastic free where possible. Our glitter is plant based and readily biodegradable. All our products are ethically sourced, we only sell synthetic mica for that reason. Synthetic mica is a little more expensive but much more sparkly. All of our fragrance oils are Phthalate free etc.