Can software vendors be all things to all people?
March 8, 2009
Mark Ritson’s post certainly struck a chord with me. Perhaps it’s just in the nature of tech startups that a fair number are really a solution in search of a problem. Because of that, they start with a very broad addressible market, throw some messages out there and see what sticks. After a while, with luck, they have some early success and they can start to figure out where their sweetspot is in the market. That should lead those vendors to really hone and focus their positioning and messages – as Mark says, you can’t please all the people all the time when it comes to branding. However, I have seen many technology companies that just can’t bring themselves to do it. They are so anxious about losing part of the potential market that they continue with an overly broad value proposition, trying to be all things to all buyers. Frequently, the end result is clutter. The best approach may be to segment into many niche markets and ensure focused messages for each niche. Problem is, that is very resource intensive.
