Focus vs. Inclusion

One of the hardest jobs for any marketing professional is the struggle between focus and inclusion. What do I mean? I'll tell you a quick story.

I once sat in a meeting with a new client who was absolutely passionate about their company and their target customers. They were NOT all things to all people. They existed solely to promote political candidates on one (proudly) extreme end of the spectrum. That's what set them apart from their wishy-washy competitors. Even their mailroom guy was a card-carrying member of their movement.

Great, I said, that kind of specificity is marketing Nirvana. Here's the angle you need to go with. You're about more than tactics. You're about "the movement." Brand yourself by branding the movement. Name it. Define it. Certify people as being inside or outside of it. Create a stamp for it, like “USDA Top Choice” or “The Real Seal.” If you grab this space quickly and aggressively, you'll cut through the clutter, be true to your brand and attract exactly the clients you’re looking for.

They agreed. They were thrilled. They went back to redesign their logo, retool their brand and redo their website. They were grateful for an outside perspective that gave them focus.

I checked the website recently (this was a client at my former agency), and what did I see? A much-improved design, yes, but accompanied by positioning that was abstract, unspecific and noncommittal. If you were to visit their site without knowing who they were, you would assume they were happy to promote any politician from Barney Frank to Dick Cheney.

Why did this happen? I imagine it was another case of inclusion defeating focus. Companies in myriad industries often reach a point where they want to focus the message. They go down that road—often led by the marketing VP, who understands the power of specificity—only to be forced into last-minute retreat by the powers above them (or by last-minute jitters about doing something aggressive that might cost them their job if it doesn't work).

This is where thoughts shift from “we need to go after x” to “wait a minute, if we say x, we’re alienating y.” Even though “x” represents 70 percent of the total market, or 100 percent of the desired market, “y” still represents potential revenue. The result: Focus withers. Inclusion reigns.

(That is, until a competitor successfully focuses their message and starts cherry-picking clients. Then the battle starts anew...)