sethgodin.typepad.com— Most modern businesses start out in a niche market. It's the only way to get off the ground. But as that business grows we must think about who are real audience is and who we want it to be.
May 5, 2008View in Crawl 4
Counter-intuitive to what most businesses aim for - the widest possible market - Seth suggests your business needs to be either 'pop' or 'passion'/authentic but avoid the middle ground between the two. This isn't about marketing to a niche as even niche businesses can feel the pull towards the watered-down 'pop' center ground and vice versa. Arguably though it would be easier for a 'passion' business to cross to the mainstream, even fleetingly, than for a 'pop' business to gain the credibility of the passion crowd.
Hmmm...I'm not sure I buy that a brand isn't subject to its own time cycle. Brands certainly evolve, and those who identify with a brand also change their tastes, associations, consumption, and loyalties over time. Seth's follow-up post even talks about a business' ability to invest in 'moving the curves'.As far as I can tell, the fact that Seth's curves 'move' just means that his X and Y axes don't incorporate time. If they did, the market would move along the series of curves as time elapsed, instead of the curves moving to find the market.More to the point, I think every brand starts out with its followers and fans being a small, passionate bunch. Those are the early adopters, and their motivations are all over the map. Often, their motivations are too difficult to peg and leverage, and that's why many brands never break into the mainstream.
mnagurskiMay 5, 2008
Counter-intuitive to what most businesses aim for - the widest possible market - Seth suggests your business needs to be either 'pop' or 'passion'/authentic but avoid the middle ground between the two. This isn't about marketing to a niche as even niche businesses can feel the pull towards the watered-down 'pop' center ground and vice versa. Arguably though it would be easier for a 'passion' business to cross to the mainstream, even fleetingly, than for a 'pop' business to gain the credibility of the passion crowd.
kazrogMay 6, 2008
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
nolinlechasseurMay 6, 2008
Hmmm...I'm not sure I buy that a brand isn't subject to its own time cycle. Brands certainly evolve, and those who identify with a brand also change their tastes, associations, consumption, and loyalties over time. Seth's follow-up post even talks about a business' ability to invest in 'moving the curves'.As far as I can tell, the fact that Seth's curves 'move' just means that his X and Y axes don't incorporate time. If they did, the market would move along the series of curves as time elapsed, instead of the curves moving to find the market.More to the point, I think every brand starts out with its followers and fans being a small, passionate bunch. Those are the early adopters, and their motivations are all over the map. Often, their motivations are too difficult to peg and leverage, and that's why many brands never break into the mainstream.
cussonsMay 7, 2008
It is a choice I have to make but should it be that diffilcult?