MaryEllen Tribby: Cigars or Hot Dogs, Same Thing – NOT! (Part I)

Photo courtesy of workingmomsonly.com

On the way home from visiting my pals over at Early To Rise, I saw a sign for a local business. It advertised both cigars and hot dogs for sale.

I found it so amusing that I said out loud, “Now, that’s funny!” Keep in mind I was alone in my car.

As I continued my drive home I could not get this bizarre sign out of my mind. My feeling about it went from funny to weird to sad.

Why sad?

Because the owners of the business were making the same mistake I see so many online entrepreneurs make.

Make Up Your Mind

They are confused about their identity and that of their target market.

Unfortunately, this is a common mistake. Business owners try to do too much… or be everything to everyone… and they can’t. Because of this, three things generally happen:

1. They fall victim to “Shiny Penny Syndrome. This is when they get distracted from their core product in favor of the next bright and shiny thing. I can just see the owners of a little cigar business getting caught up in the idea that hotdogs would make their business better. All of a sudden, instead of focusing their energy on growing the cigar side of the business, their attention is split. Because of this, their marketing is not as strong as it should or could be. And they wind up leaving revenues on the table.
2. They ignore the principle of “one step removed”. I have purchased gifts in cigar shops on several different occasions. Never once did I think to myself, “Man, I wish I had a nice wiener loaded with sauerkraut and mustard right now.” But what I did want – and have purchased – was a lovely lighter that complements my primary purchase – the cigars. The lighter is a product that is just one step removed from the cigars. The synergy is obvious. Hotdogs, on the other hand, are in a whole different league. They don’t mesh well with cigars. Not synergistically (they don’t make sense the way lighters and humidors would), not in customer terms (the people who buy hotdogs may not want to buy cigars, and vice versa), and not in marketing terms (you use different marketing tactics to sell cigars than you would to sell hotdogs).
3. They wind up damaging their brand. When you start a business, your name begins to stand for something. It could stand for top-notch products and excellent customer service… Or it could stand for a confusing store that sells an odd combination of things.

Clearly, our hotdog-and-cigar sellers have all three problems. They are in the middle of an identity crisis that’s threatening to destroy their business.

But, as I said earlier, they are not alone.

The fact is, a big percentage of new businesses suffer from the same image confusion. It’s possible that YOUR business could be confused as to what it should be. Fortunately, it’s simple to narrow your focus and, in doing so, strengthen your business, your marketing, and ultimately, your revenues.

Check out Part II for how to narrow your focus!