No matter what business you are in, your brand can’t be for everyone.
- Not every consumer or business you target wants to pay the price you want to charge.
- Not every feature you add to your product or service, matters to everyone on your email list.
- Not every promo like free overnight delivery or frequent flier miles or 20% off coupon matters to all of your customers.
Knowing you aren’t marketing to everyone is a powerful way to understand your real target’s needs.
Your Brand Can’t Be For Everyone
You want to sell a very specific group of people who appreciate what you do and are willing to pay you for it. When you can sell your product or service at the right price, then you are reaching the right audience. When customers sing your praise and share your story, you are reaching the right audience. When customers help you market your product, by sharing the benefits they received from your products, you are on the mark.
Marketing should be an exercise in narrowing the target not making it wider.
- By making a restaurant focused on foods I dislike, means it isn’t trying to reach me. But it is reaching someone who will care.
- By selling a car with features that seem unnecessary to me, means they aren’t interested in customers like me. But it means they are attracting people who do care about the features that differentiate that brand.
- By selling a new food product with a flavor profile I can’t stand, means someone made a decision to reach people who do love that flavor. But it means that this brand is for those who do love a particular flavor and taste profile.
Every decision a brand makes is both selecting (and deselecting) a group of customers.
Being Sneaky
Everybody is a potential customer for sneakers. But marketing to everybody is a flawed strategy.
- Nike’s website and messages are about winning, sports and fitness.
- Converse says, “Shoes are boring, sneakers are Iconic”. Clearly, fashion is how Converse is segmenting the world of sneakers.
Love it or Hate it
Marmite, a vile substance made from brewer’s yeast, is one of those brands who celebrates that they repel some customers. Their Love it or Hate it approach is sheer brilliance. Pick a side. No sitting on the fence for these folks. The more polarizing, the stronger the fan ambassadors will be promoting it to friends.
Your brand can’t be for everyone. But it can be for the right people. Who is your brand for? And, who have you intentional eliminated from your target audience? Some brands will antagonize you. And that is a good thing from a marketer’s vantage point.
Go ahead, repel someone today. It’s good for your brand’s health.
Needs some help determining who will love (or hate) your brand and how that insight can help you grow your business? Let’s talk to grow your brand together.
