By Rebecca Sorrels
I will never forget one concept that my marketing 101 professor reiterated almost on a daily basis! It’s very simple:
“If you are everything to everybody, you become nothing to nobody.”
It is great marketing advice because it emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience and becoming specialized. No matter how high profit margins are, this simple concept can make or break any business! It’s relatively logical and impacts everyday decisions.
Let’s use a slightly dramatic example. You have to choose who will perform your open-heart surgery. You are given the options of a surgeon who specializes in heart surgery or a general surgeon who has a couple of heart surgeries under their belt. Who will you choose? You choose the one who is specialized with more experience in your area of need.
In order to build a strong brand and a successful business, owners need to know what they specialize in and who their market is.
So, why am I talking about marketing on a human resource firm’s blog? The concept of being everything to everyone (then nothing to nobody) goes far beyond just marketing. It is related to management style, work-life balance, and even company culture!
When businesses start out it is very common for everyone on the team to be flexible and willing to help with just about any task that comes up, even taking turns cleaning the loo. One person will typically manage operations, finances and human resources. However, as the company grows there are times when the team needs to give up some of their tasks so that they can focus on the specialized work they NEED to be doing. Sometimes this growth means hiring an office manager to help with billing, or a receptionist to field customer service calls, or outsourcing human resources (wink, wink).
More often than not, business owners have a difficult time giving up those duties to become more specialized in their management role. After all, if you want something done right, do it yourself, right? That said, one of the keys to growth is simply knowing when to ask for help. With the time you free up, you can manage your company more strategically.
If companies do not recognize when it is time for individuals to pass the torch, they will often hinder their work-life balance and even destroy their company culture. No worries, if you are reading this and realize that you have already passed that point, that’s okay. Give us a call – we can help – I promise!
Maybe you’re one of the lucky businesses that is growing and thriving, but not quite to the point where you need help? That’s great, but keep a watchful eye on your company’s growth. How is your management style changing as you grow?
There will be a day when you need to ask for help. Growth is a good thing. Remember if you don’t ask for help, it is very likely that you are trying to do everything for everyone and be everything to everyone, which will end up making your business nothing to nobody!