In communist regimes, collective ownership meant everything belonged to everyone. But instead of everyone appreciating everything they had, the opposite happened, and no one appreciated anything. No one cared to care, and what stake did they have in caring for things that everyone else was supposed to care about? For all practical purposes, nothing belonged to no one.
Trying to be a brand that’s all things to all people is like that: it leads to being nothing to no one. It results in exhausting your marketing energy and resources on trying to reach too many people all the time. You will reach them today, sure, but will you tomorrow, while you’re running off to reach others? If you leave them hanging, they’ll fall off and never come back, and you’ll be forever chasing.
By contrast, nichecraft – honing on a narrow target market and satisfying their needs with your specialty – leads to being a lot to perhaps not so many, but those select ones will appreciate your brand all the more. Your customers – we all – need to feel special, all the time. Satisfy them, consistently and completely, and they’ll come back for more.
Compare and contrast a radio station playing all genres from all eras (they do exist) with one that plays, say, 1990s alternative rock. Which one will have a more satisfied, more devoted, and more faithful following?
PS: Read this post by Seth Godin for a different tack on this.
