Do you need every single penny that you can get out of your online marketing strategy? Conventional wisdom dictates the following: the more customers the better. But, is this always an effective online marketing strategy, or are there times when you’d be wiser to “fire” a certain percentage of your customers in order to deliver better and more focused attention to your core demographic?
The answer: it depends. Let’s consider an example of a type of business that benefits from having as many customers as possible.
Mass Market Retail
Wal-Mart benefits from having as many customers as possible. The brand once launched a loss-leader grocery chain, undercharging for bulk groceries in order to win customers over from Costco. Ultimately, Costco still stands strong as the nation’s bulk grocery leader, but the point remains that Wal-Mart was willing to pay a very high cost-per-customer in order to secure a larger customer base.
On the other hand, you have brands that benefit from having as few customers as possible…
Luxury Car Brands
For a car maker like Bentley to try and acquire as many customers as possible would mean lowering prices, which would mean producing cars that are merely average. The brand specializes in exceptional cars for those who can afford the highest standard of luxury. To reach out to the lower middle class mom who just wants to get to work on time, or the teenager looking to buy their first car, Bentley would have to turn their back on the customers who got them to where they are today. By appealing to a small demographic, the brand is able to focus on quality over quantity, and a Bentley dealership is able to earn from a single sale what might take a pre-owned car dealership ten sales to earn.
The real question is:
Who Is Your Best Customer?
When you take the attention away from “everyone” and focus on creating something really special for the minority of customers who truly understand your company’s vision, who will pay a little extra for quality, you are able to move away from average and towards extraordinary.
Applying This to Content Marketing
Stop worrying about accessibility, or turning people away, or going over their heads when developing content. Rodney Dangerfield didn’t earn a dedicated following by removing all of the pessimistic jokes from his act. When you know your audience, creating content that they will live necessitates creating content that somebody else won’t.
Don’t settle for one-size-fits-all content that will have limited appeal to everyone, and significant appeal to no one. Seek out writers and content creators with the expertise and unique voice that will draw your ideal customer into the fold.