So says the author of best-selling business book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of business is selling less of more.
In the image, basic ‘for everyone’ stuff is on the left, and the specialty goods peter off to the right – into a long tail.
Here’s why should you care about this.
Do you have any special interest? Are you an audiophile, or you love tennis, are you a pianist, or is your health your number one priority?
Would you, as an audio nut, buy your audio equipment at Best Buy? As a tennis lover would you buy your racquet at Wal-Mart? As a health nut, would you shop at Safeway or Food Chopper?
Special interests are niches in the marketplace. Different people are nuts about different things. In fact, one’s person’s “good” could easily be another’s “bad.” Think choices of music, food, or night-time lifestyle for you and your kids, or you and certain friends.
If you love your weightloss or energy product and think it’s special you will pay what you have to for it. Because it matters to you. And others in your niche will be happy to pay for it, too, because they feel like you do.
But not those for whom weight or energy doesn’t matter like it does for you. They’ll buy the ‘for everyone’ version (if they bother at all). Here’s the difference between the plain jane variety and your special product line:
“If a producer (or a product) intends something to be absolutely right for one audience, it will, by definition, be wrong for another.
The compromise necessary to make something appeal to everyone means that it will almost certainly not appeal perfectly to anyone — that’s why they call it the lowest common denonimator.“
Aren’t you glad your product (or business) is NOT for everyone? They’d have to have been so compromised in quality that they’d only appeal to those who don’t mind getting the lowest common denominator stuff.
And for that they can go to WalMart or GNC or Best Buy.
What if you focus on your niche – those who care about your product or business values like you do? Niche products like ours are meant to appeal strongly to a narrow set of tastes, meaning tens of thousands, rather than tens of millions.
That would be enough, wouldn’t it?
P.S. They don’t tend to say “It’s too expensive,” either.
P.P.S. Yes there’s crud in the tail. There’s crud everywhere. 🙂
I finally feel like I “got it”. After your help in understanding that I am looking for others like ME…because they ARE out there. And, why torture myself dragging the rest over the “start line”? This model is such an honest approach and it is already helping me be more real (like I usually am!). Great stuff, thanks!
This is such a neat concept..really a truism.We are finally “getting it”.
I have been “different” all my life and so liked different things and ideas…… so why NOT attract those people LIKE ME.. And thats really who we attract anyway, isnt it? We just have been keeping on trying to “get ” the others.
Such an eye opener!
You introduce the neatest books ( and ideas) Kim… and since I am such a reader I just LOVE IT!
Thanks, as always, Kim.
Mary
A PS to previous comment.
And there s no “convincing” and not as much “it s too expensive” dialogue.They come into it knowing it will be expensive because it is different and special and will be worth it.
Yea!
Mary
Aha!
I finally get it too. I don’t know why it is so hard to let go of the fact that everyone does not need or want “it”. And… when you find the right one, they are actually looking for it. Thanks for sharing this stuff with us.
Jackie
Thanks for all the thoughts here.
It is hard to let go when we think they SHOULD do something that has helped us. It’s human. We like telling others what to do. Hehehe.
But they don’t much care for it…so when dealing with other adults, it seems more productive to find those who really have put certain things first in their lives like we did, e.g. their health, or organic products, or DOING something about their energy.
Like finding tennis partners…they already like tennis. Easier than convincing a ballerina to switch. Or getting someone who spends their free time lying around watching TV, to get up and start playing tennis.
So yes, let’s ask for our own “kind” in this way…those with the same values in these specific areas where you have good stuff to offer.