Cyberspace allows marketers to be extremely specific. If you were interested in classical music, would you rather shop at a store that specializes in classical recordings, or would you go to just any old record store? Well, if you lived in a small town in west Texas, you might not have any choice. There might only be one record store in town, or, worse yet, the only place to buy CDs might be at the local Wal-Mart. But the information superhighway changes all that. Now, even consumers in rural areas can, through their computers and modems, visit virtual "stores" that are specifically targeted to their interest. Even within the specialty of classical music, there are many more levels of specialization that are now possible. A store specializing in Vivaldi, for example, would be viable in cyberspace because it could cater to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Marketers must learn to think in specifics, and forget about hype and generalizations. Even if you start out by appealing to a very narrow market, that is better than going too wide and missing everyone. Begin by narrow focus on a particular niche, and expand into related niches. The principle is, "don't try to be everything to everyone."
You have to remember that your potential customers will not just happen upon you. They will find you. In order to do so, you have to be as specific as possible as to what you are offering. No one does a search for generalizations, they search for specific topics of interest.
© 1995 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All rights reserved.