“Who’s your best friend?”
When I was a kid, my personal publicist (read: my mother) instructed me to always answer this question with poise, responding, “I don’t have one best friend, but a lot of other friends!”
Though these media-ready talking points may have come in handy during my brief run for fourth grade president, I now realize that—sorry, Mom—she had it all wrong. If you want to truly stand out in today’s media landscape, you’ve got to accept that your brand shouldn’t make you everyone’s best friend.
Don’t get me wrong—your brand can cast a wide net. At the end of the day, we’re marketing our products and services and, quite frankly, everyone’s money is good here. But, contrary to all common sense, narrowing your brand’s target market can actually help increase your returns.
Here are a few benefits of getting picky when it comes to identifying your brand’s inner circle:
1. You can remember who you’re here to please. Who doesn’t love a good buyer persona? List all the details and qualities of your ideal customer, right down to their made-up name. That’s the person you’re here for, and that’s the person you should keep top-of-mind with every piece of content or design you put out there. If you’re going back and forth on a marketing decision, ask yourself that tried-and-true question: What would our target buyer persona do? Write down their name and keep it in a locket close to your heart. (Metaphorically. Unless you actually want to, I guess. Then go for it.)
2. You can really get to know your people. If you don’t know their middle name, horoscope and blood type, are they really your friend? The more intimately you know your brand’s audience, the easier it is to offer them value. With a niche target audience, you can more effectively devote time to research that understands what inspires them and what grinds their gears. Then, you can align your value proposition to meet their specific needs.
3. You won’t get hung up on that one troll. I hate to break it to you, but someone will always have something negative to say on social media. Even consumer brands with the most mass-appeal—McDonald’s, Starbucks—see continuous pushback from ubiquitous trolls, both online and in real life. Though customer experience and accessibility should always be a concern (whether a customer falls within your intended audience or not), you won’t lose sleep over individual trolls when you know your target market’s got your back.
4. You reap the benefits of long-term loyalty. We’ve all learned over time that having a select few, loyal friends is better than having 100 flaky friends who will ditch you to stay home and watch Netflix. (And probably not even a good show, either.) The same is true for your brand. Repeat customers are profitable—they spend about 300% more than a new customer, on average. Remember who your real friends are and, even if you’re going through a rebrand, don’t leave them behind. As the old Girl Scouts song said, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other is extremely profitable and critical to your company’s bottom line.” (Or something like that.)
5. You have the opportunity to take risks. When you’ve identified who you want to please, you can afford to take risks that might not necessarily align with those outside of your target audience. Develop a tone of voice that is wholly authentic. Go big on a bold color palette. Publicly stand up for a cause you believe in. Yes, going out on a limb might turn away a few people. But, chances are, they aren’t the ones who would be investing big in your product anyway. Pay them no mind, and you’ll make your bond with your target audience that much stronger.
While my mom’s people-pleasing advice may not have held up over time, one of my dad’s favorite sayings certainly does: If you’re a jack of all trades, you’ll be a master of none. If you try to be everyone’s friend, you risk becoming forgettable. (And, not gonna lie, it looks pretty desperate, too.)
As nearly every reality show contestant so eloquently puts it, you’re not here to make friends with everyone–just those who matter.