A Perfect of Example of a Niche Small Business with a Crystal Clear USP and Target Market

Ever struggled with how to differentiate your business from your competition and capture that elusive USP in a sentence or two? Or agonized over exactly how to narrow in on a niche target market? If so, then I have an example that should help make both of these more clear.

High-end burger joints have been around for awhile. But lately it seems they’re springing up left and right. However most are just your typical ‘50’s style diner themed place, with maybe a special sauce or onion ring recipe to differentiate them.

Then, the other day I got an email from my dad with a link to the Website of a burger place that’s very different—the Heart Attack Grill http://www.heartattackgrill.com.

With a tagline that reads “Taste worth dying for” this clearly is not your typical burger joint. The menu offers a single double, triple or quadruple “bypass” burger and “flatliner” fries cooked in pure lard.

You can also choose from three kinds of soda, none of them diet, and cigarettes for dessert. To top it all off, the cute young waitresses are dressed in lingerie nurses uniforms.

This place certainly gives you more than one reason to eat here rather than at the place down the street. It’s got USP (Unique Selling Proposition) out the yin-yang.

And who do you think is their target market? It’d probably be safe to bet its manly men who like their artery clogging food just fine thank you…And like it even more with a side of eye-candy. Think Hooters crowd.

As is the case with most restaurants that decide to unapologetically defy healthy eating recommendations (not to mention employ scantily clad women), they’ve received a ton of PR. They’ve been on TV in France and Japan as well as on Fox in the States. And thanks to emails like the one I received, they’ve now gone viral.

Keep in mind, this is just one little burger joint in Chandler, Arizona. Not some big company or franchise with lots of advertising dollars.

It’s just that their brand and concept is unique, memorable and even a little controversial. And their target market is very, very clear and specific.

Clearly this is the place to go if you’re a guy craving a juicy, greasy, calorie-laden and I’m guessing/hoping delicious meal. Being waited on by hot chicks just puts the whole experience right over the edge.

Love the concept or hate it, owner Jon Basso, is a marketing genius! And honestly, if the burgers were really good, I’d eat there (though I’d only have a single bypass burger, hold the coke and smokes).

What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment below…

[tags] Small Business, Marketing Examples, USP, Target Market, differentiate from the competition [/tags]