Everything is Nothing

I recently asked a client of mine "How do you respond when someone asks you what your company does? What is your elevator speech?" Two executives had completely different responses. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they were talking about two different companies! They went on to tell me that they were reluctant to focus because they thought they would lose revenue opportunities, so they tried to "be all things to all people".

This is one of the biggest mistakes a company can make. They think they'll be better off by casting the net wide. Unfortunately, this failure to focus efforts often results in generating fewer opportunities, and those that they do generate, come at a higher acquisition cost. If a company describes themselves too vaguely or too broadly (we can do anything), potential customers are likely to move on. Additionally, it's hard to brand a company that tries to be all things to all people.

What is your company's elevator speech? Is it clear and succinct? Does it articulate "who you are and what you focus on"? In other words, if you recite your elevator speech will people have a good idea about what the company does? If so, congratulations. If not, consider working on your elevator speech.

Otherwise, everything is nothing!

Katie Wacek is the President of Sandia Mountain Marketing, a marketing consultancy that provides strategic and tactical marketing expertise to small- and medium -sized companies, professional service firms, and thought leaders throughout the United States. Learn more.