Ralph Crosby's
Lessons Learned In A Lifetime Of Marketing
About
Ralph's Book
Businesses often are started by entrepreneurs with an idea, a product or service, or an expertise. Many of them fail, not because the idea or product isn’t good, but because their attention is overwhelmingly directed internally – e.g., what goes into the product – when they should focus externally, always reminding themselves:
“It’s The Customer, Stupid!”
That’s the premise of Ralph Crosby’s new book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing.”
Dive Deep for Customers, Not Wide
I was struck recently by this comment from a businessperson, “I want to do business with everyone, but recently it has been harder to find customers.”
The reason it struck me was that doing business with everyone is what I used to seek when my company, Crosby Marketing Communications, was young and hungry for any work to help spur growth. I quickly learned that was the wrong approach, especially for finding the right customers.
As all strong marketers know, narrowing the focus of your customer base does not mean limiting growth; it actually gives you greater growth potential.
Finding the right position — the right niche — for your company allows you to appeal to a specific type of customer, one looking for your distinct brand offering, not for a generalist.
For example, at Crosby we focus on three practice areas where we have deep experience and expertise — healthcare, government, and advocacy/social marketing. Through this positioning we positively impact people’s lives by influencing opinion and motivating behavior change.
The result: we’ve attracted clients, such as the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the EPA ENERGY STAR® Program, Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Relief Services.
Focused positioning doesn’t mean you can’t keep or take on that special client that doesn’t quite fit your niche. But for us it means keeping our focus on attracting and seeking clients in those three practice areas who have a natural affinity and need for our services.
And don’t think narrowing your focus means being small; just think of what Starbucks has done with coffee.
My consultant friend Tim Williams, who leads Ignition Consulting Group, sums it up: “Logic would suggest that you’d grow faster by targeting the ‘general market.’ But the most enduring brands are squarely focused on a particular segment of the market. The most successful brands deliberately cultivate a narrow line. They know that depth is a much more effective strategy than breadth.” So remember, keep diving deep, not wide.
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