You’ve sat through these presentations.

You know: the ones where the guy spends the first half of their talk showing you how many millions of people are in a certain segment, using a certain tool, signing up on a certain website, etc.

“There are 400 million people on Facebook. If it was a country, it’d be #3 in the world.”

“There are 27 trillion boomers in the world, and they all have lots of money. ”

“Women make 85% of the buying decisions, and there’s a gajillion of them. ”

Sound familiar? It’s a common presentation tactic. The idea is to get you to think of how big the opportunity is in front of you, and to utter the famous words “What if we could just get a slice of that pie?”

Strategy Means Focus

I can’t stand strategies that are based on tapping into an emerging market simply because that market is emerging. In other words, you’re chasing it because it’s big. Not because this is an audience you resonate with. Not because you have a right to offer them something. Just because they’re big.

Don’t get on Facebook just because everyone’s on Facebook. Don’t chase the boomer market just cuz there are lots of ‘em. Many a company has been diluted and destroyed in an effort to tap into a growing audience and “get their slice of the pie.” Don’t fall for it. You’ll succeed when you are passionate about your audience. Not the size of the audience. Not the checking account of the audience. Just the audience.

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I recently posted about the genius of someone I met who was choosing pastry photography as her area of expertise. It’s a great example of the power of the niche.

Ironically, and appropriately, the post itself is proving its own point. I noticed the post is on the first page of results in Google for “pastry photography.” And trust me, it’s not a keyword phrase I was chasing. It just happened.

This is the ever-revered, never-adhered lesson of the Blue Ocean. The fact is there just aren’t a lot of websites out there with “good” content on pastry photography. So it’s easy for a marketing blog to rise to the top.

So here’s another lesson positioned as a question I’d love your feedback on: Is there ever a point where you can niche down too far?

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I promise that pastry photography is a rare theme on this blog. So don’t let that stop you from subscribing to the blog right now if this is your first time to visit. You can get it by RSS or email.

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While watching Obama’s State of the Union last night, I was surprised to find myself really enjoying his speech. For the record, I didn’t vote for Obama, and I’m not his biggest fan (nor his worst critic). But I couldn’t help but, at the least, enjoy his delivery, and beyond that, maybe even some of his ideas.

So it hit me that I could choose how I wanted to react to this speech. If I wanted to be an Obama-hater, I could find plenty of sound bytes and fact nuggets to support my case. If I wanted to be an Obama-lover, I could do the same thing.

We don’t rely on facts to help us make a decision. We choose what we want to believe, and then we go find the facts to support it.

We choose whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice, and then make our case.

We choose whether we believe in global warming or not, and then make our case.

We choose whether we’re a Mac or PC, then make our case.

Oddly enough, most campaigns, promotions and sales tactics concentrate on a group we like to call the “undecideds.” That group doesn’t exist, and they aren’t worth chasing.

Instead, find the people who have already chosen to believe whatever you’re promising, and keep giving them reasons to feel good about what they’ve chosen.

Stop thinking your in the business of changing minds and rather in the business of helping people make their case. That’s your market.

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Speaking of choices, you could make what some think is a great choice and subscribe to Marketing In Progress. Just sayin’.

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This can’t be good. I was reading through my Bible this morning and a scripture made a marketing point that I thought was worthy of another look here. Which means I’ve got too much marketing on the brain, but oh well. Here it goes:

Proverbs 28:26

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

You are susceptible to thinking you know what’s right, what’s best, what’s true. The problem with that is you have your own biases, your own baggage and your own beliefs. It’s what makes you unique.

It’s also what makes you a horrible representative of your target market.

How many times do we determine what’s right for our customers based on a personal preference of the boss? How many times are colors, shapes, prices, names, vendors, ads, pictures, deadlines, launch dates and websites changed because of what the big guys personally like? How many times is it based on what you like?

There’s nothing wrong with a hunch. A gut feeling. In fact, it’s necessary to act on them from time to time. But if your gut is too out of touch from your customers, then chasing it will get you in lots of trouble.

Proverbs often praises the counsel of others, noting that it’s a common characteristic of wise people. It’s your inner circle, your cabinet, that keeps you both grounded and informed. Trusting in only you is foolish. Find the people you can bounce ideas off of. Even better, find a way to get direct feedback from customers. It’s not a one-man job.

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