How super basic brands are breaking the differentiation clutter.

Last weekend, I voraciously ate my way through an enormous ‘Fixed Thali’ (a standard South Indian assortment of dishes that forms a complete meal). At the end of the meal, as I sat completely stuffed and glowing with satisfaction, I suddenly realized something. Me and 5 of my friends spent about 30 minutes standing in queue to get into a hotel that offered basic (vegetarian) South Indian food at premium prices. And as I put the last piece of coconut barfi into my mouth, I realized that about 60 other people in the queue outside and everyone inside the restaurant must be feeling just as good about the whole experience as I was.

There were 2 two things that are almost instantly noticeable:

1.       The simplicity of the product and the service: The food, the staff and the ambience were very basic. Absolutely zero fancy.

2.       Exorbitant pricing that people didn’t seem to mind: Prices were higher by about 400% higher compared to prices of same menu items in South India (Bangalore/ Chennai.. etc). A massive mark-up that people didn't really care about.

What this restaurant was doing is something that’s more widely observable across different B2C marketplaces. It is called breaking the differentiation clutter.

What happens when a new marketplace is created? There is a product/service, that addresses a set of previously unaddressed needs, that consumers purchase. Gradually, more suppliers of the same product/ service jump into the fray, giving reasons why their offering is better. We call these reasons points of differentiation. 

As more and more firms join the battle for the mind, differentiation becomes complex. And the reason it becomes complex is because firms add new features and benefits- that consumers often get fooled into thinking they need. Moreover each firm delivers its differentiation promise to the customer differently. Soon the marketplace reaches a state where the original product/ service idea has evolved into a variety of different avatars, as offered by different competitors. In such a state, the consumer is inundated with choices. The original need now lies somewhere lost among several other needs, created by differentiating competitors.

Then comes a player that rips off all the bells and whistles, and takes it back to basics. A player that differentiates itself from the clutter by returning to the original need, and focusing on it with extreme rigor. This makes the new brand extremely simple and tactical. And usually this immediately catches on. Consumers are suddenly relieved of the mental unease that was created by choices that they didn’t really need.

In a marketplace flooded with choices that are literally confusing your consumer, focusing on the basics is a great way to differentiate. You become the brand that addresses only their basic needs, but better than anyone else in the market. You become a super basic brand.

There are 3 traits that are common to all super basic products:

1. The ability to pinpoint the original needs behind a product or a service
2.  A simple but very strong focus on the basic original needs
3. A very high quality promise

Getting this right can mean premium prices for your brand that consumers are willing to pay.