Today’s guest post is written by Danny Brown.
There’s an old saying that too many cooks spoil the broth.
This is equally true for businesses, particularly smaller ones.
While it’s essential to grow to continue early success, it’s also important to keep realistic with your aims.
Whether it’s launching new products, starting a PR/marketing/advertising campaign, or adding sections to your website, taking on too much will leave you thinly spread.
And, ultimately, less effective.
Instead, concentrate on one or two growth areas, and make them as strong as they can possibly be. This will allow you solid ground for increasing activity at a later date.
Product Launches
Look at two of the biggest and most successful companies around today – Apple and Microsoft.
When they launch a new product, it’s usually no more than two different products. The iPhone, the iPod, Windows Vista, Xbox – although there may be different versions of the same product for different markets, essentially it still equates to one product line.
This is one of the main reasons why these two companies lead the market in their fields. They keep the new products launched to a minimum for a simple reason – don’t confuse the market. This ensures that people aren’t wondering which version is better – instead, all they need to decide is which colour to buy.
Keep your own product launches restricted to a minimum and build their brand loyalty first. Then expand.
Less Is More
One of the more common mistakes I’ve found in the past is from clients looking to have a huge PR or marketing campaign when, in reality, all that’s needed is a smaller, more targeted one. This isn’t necessarily the client’s fault – more the programming that we tend to receive that bigger is better.
However, unless you have a huge budget to employ multiple agencies or resources, or one that can provide you with dozens of bodies for your account, having a large campaign is invariably just pouring money down the drain.
Additionally, it can lead to a confused message – is Product A better than Product B? Why should I use Product C over A and B?
Instead of confusing your target audience with multiple campaigns, concentrate your efforts on your limited product launch instead.
Reach the audience – consumer and media – that you’re after, knock them for six with an excellent product and promotion, and you’ll find your results will be far stronger than if you throw everything you have at a wall and hope some of it sticks.
It Ain’t What You Do…
Sure, you don’t want to stand still in business. But you don’t want to run too fast or spend money unnecessarily either. If someone tells you that you need to spend so much on something, ask why.
If the answer is because bigger is better, say “Thanks, but no thanks – I’d rather concentrate on quality over quantity.”
After all, quality still counts. Doesn’t it?
Danny Brown is director of retention and social media at Jugnoo, Inc., and an award-winning marketer and blogger. His blog is recognized as one of the leading marketing blogs in the world. Danny is also the author of The Parables of Business.