I’ve seen it a million 
times. I’m sure you’ve heard it too. For example, “We’re going to serve a mass market and be a national brand of electronics”. Immediately I would ask, “With what cash and how are you different than Best Buy?”. This type of unfocused marketing strategy will put any business underwater eventually. This leads me to the next point….
Focus is the name of the game. Whether you’re trying to be get acquired or IPO.
Think of it like a new meat company sales person walking into a butcher shop and rolling out a laundry list of meats from every single country of the world…oh and they sell bread and cheese to round out the sandwich. If I were the butcher, my head would be spinning, and I would question the value proposition of the sales person.
Now let’s look at it from a different point of view. The new meat company’s sales person walks into the butcher shop and places a freshly packaged hunk of meat on the counter. The sales person gives their pitch, and then allows the butcher to open the package and sample a fresh cut piece of the meat. It is the most unique taste that has hit the butcher’s palette! The product and selling process is super focused, has market value in terms of taste, and the sales person derives economic value when the butcher purchases 8 packages of fresh, uniquely tasting meat. One piece of meat, a short sales pitch, and 8 packages purchased.
What is your one thing?
As John Jantsch says, clarity is the best strategy. What can you be identified by? What does Pillsbury sell? What is LinkedIn? You get the point? Their positioning is so tight that they are the market leaders to the audiences they serve.
Now I am not saying that companies can’t venture into additional lines of business or offer additional features to keep their active users/customers engaged, but you must be known for your one thing and be able to provide user value and extract business value from users. Otherwise, “dead in the water” would be the correct phrase to describe the situation.
KISS Model
“Keep it super simple” to attract users, plan your current and/or future revenue models, keep users engaged, and don’t spend too much to acquire these users! By the way, you thought I was going to say “keep it simple stupid” didn’t you?
I’m more polite than that.
image credit: Rio’s Blog