Lessons From a Six Year Old

My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Last week she knew that she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. This week she knows that she wants to be a professional singer.

Emily's not indecisive. In fact, she's a natural born marketer. Here's why:

? Emily Has A Laser Focus. Regardless of which career is the career of the week, Emily is behind it 100%. She's all teacher, then all swimmer, then all singer.

She doesn't muddy the waters by trying to embrace too many things at once, and as a result, the listener both understands what she wants, and remembers it.

Many businesses - small ones in particular - take an opposite approach. Working from the belief that, "the more services we offer, the more business opportunities there will be," these companies attempt to cast as wide a net as possible:

"We're executive coaches. We do everything from presentation training to life skills workshops to one-on- one CEO mentoring."

"We're painters. We specialize in residential and commercial buildings and projects of all types. No job too big or too small."

"We're executive recruiters. Sales, Marketing, HR, IT, and Finance are just a few of the areas we focus on."

The unfortunate result of this scattered approach however, is that potential clients and others associate these businesses with nothing in particular.

The single most effective thing I ever did to grow my business (other than naming it after a flightless aquatic bird) was to stop offering "web marketing services" in general, and to instead focus 100% of my efforts on the very narrow niche of electronic newsletters.

Not only does this allow me to become more expert on this topic than my competitors who only dabble in it, it also gives me a clear hook to hang my hat on. Clients, prospects, colleagues, friends - even my mailman - think of me as, "the E-Newsletter guy."

As a result, they are more likely to come to me when they need this particular service; more likely to trust from the beginning that I know what I'm talking about; and more likely to recommend my services to their colleagues (can you say, "viral marketing?").

Rather than reducing your opportunities, narrowing your focus has the effect of attracting business to you.

Michael J. Katz is Founder and Chief Penguin of Blue Penguin Development, Inc., (http://www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com) a Boston consulting firm that helps clients increase sales by showing them how to nurture their existing relationships, and that specializes in the development of electronic newsletters. He is author of the book, E-Newsletters That Work.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/WideOrbit-Welcomes-Angela-Bandlow-Chief/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B6911573C-60F3-4704-BC0E-9BF97BBB4758%257Dcid=1272701488ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNECcyB76K2hBV3Gxt5VD53lNfgSFQWideOrbit Welcomes Angela Bandlow as Chief bMarketing/b Officer/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WideOrbit Inc. is pleased to announce that Angela Bandlow has joined the company as Chief bMarketing/b Officer. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/JHA-Hires-Leo-Tinkham-Vice/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B8AC13C65-AF4C-4FD4-8C0E-6DB5338C72B9%257Dcid=1272673916ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFuc9suOkLVl_WAOC2RgnS5lGeUigJHA Hires Leo Tinkham as Vice President, bMarketing/b and Business b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1In this role, Tinkham will lead JHA#39;s bmarketing/b activities and be involved in the development and delivery of value-added services for reinsurance clients. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Boscobel-Marketing-Communications-Wins-Best/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BFFCF4F2F-ACB7-49E2-9D9D-EA3FE461FD24%257Dcid=1272584877ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFRsFfXO8qvOUWc8kluoKgaS6h1gwBoscobel bMarketing/b Communications Wins Best Overall #39;Stevie b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Boscobel won top honors in the category of Service Businesses Up to 100 Employees in Advertising, bMarketing/b, and Public Relations. Joyce Bosc, president of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Online-Marketing-Budgets-within-Industrial/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B72A9B762-C644-4EB5-AA9C-3BBD2C0AB402%257Dcid=1272564374ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNGJf9-l4-uoMddxG5TXu6nikIs0MAOnline bMarketing/b Budgets within the Industrial Sector Continued b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr19 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1TROY, NY, Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Companies within the industrial sector spent a greater portion of their bmarketing/b budget online in 2008, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Macys-Ace-Marketing-Promotions-Inc/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B43AF11A5-9737-4189-905A-83E2C9A81574%257Dcid=1272572772ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNH36lKPADRVUrd2LOPCimtsKWPxwQMacy#39;s and Ace bMarketing/b amp; Promotions Inc. Partner to Make the b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1the innovator of Proximity bMarketing/b(SM) -- representing the convergence of advertising and merchandising -- today announced that the Company has partnered b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/2020-Marketing-Offer-RewardStreams-Lifecycle/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B23E5D12F-F6ED-41D8-99DA-A87757885313%257Dcid=1272636684ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFUhF-sEacYupm6piIB8n-P2xcsUA2020 bMarketing/b to Offer RewardStream#39;s Lifecycle bMarketing/b b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The agreement allows 2020 bMarketing/b to execute a complete range of sophisticated loyalty and incentive and programs using RewardStream LMP as their core b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/10/f-sapieha-mediaplayers.htmlcid=1272624622ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFESwY08ZUXMxPg_HU6MGchntHz2wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Fy5jVDaCdMYJimgurl=www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/11/10/ipod-touch.jpg width=80 height=77 alt= border=1brfont size=-2CBC.ca/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_11034850cid=1272624622ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNGzk7AwFUEYJS4ceDUnWOssTUxCdgMicrosoft#39;s Zune jams to new bmarketing/b beat/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Jose Mercury News,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Zune#39;s latest campaign, said Chris Stephenson, a bmarketing/b general manager for the company, stresses that quot;mixviewquot; is designed to be quot;a reason to download b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388410_msftzune19.htmlcid=1272624622ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFHpEotGXa1qjs2rR54craTaOXiLQMicrosoft slashes prices of several Zune music players/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSeattle Post Intelligencer/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/ipod/showArticle.jhtml%3FarticleID%3D212100949%26subSection%3DAll%2BStoriescid=1272624622ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNF8gqwvpWPrR2HAq462-PRcpMyCZAMicrosoft Cuts Zune Prices For The Holiday/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInformationWeek/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/microsofts-gift-for-the-holidays-zune-price-cuts/cid=1272624622ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFlsPoWshCQAiPPqPcrD57aiJTkHAMicrosoft’s Gift for the Holidays: Zune Price Cuts/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272624622hl=ennobrall 42 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/11/17/daily70.htmlcid=1272722473ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNF5WYXHaH4KlnxzLwahtH1DRrvwywLazar mixes bmarketing/b savvy, financial expertise at Atheros/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1“I kid him that I think he’s actually a bmarketing/b guy in an accountant’s body, “ Szilagyi said. “I don’t have to explain to Jack what’s going on because he b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/11/17/gms_failure_would_bring_pain_new_landscapecid=1272783840ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFBILB2Xbwojms-59G6flPkwoRb7gimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=trSVf_sN4csJimgurl=cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2008/11/16/1226890250_5572/539w.jpg width=80 height=47 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Boston Globe (registration)/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081121/SPORTS0101/811210341cid=1272783840ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNEmZTWobXms6K9PeLYrT8x1UNPY2QCaught in the middle of a storm/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDetNews.com,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Steve Tihanyi, GM#39;s general director of media operations, said his department is examining the return-on-investment of all sports bmarketing/b and advertising b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://adage.com/article%3Farticle_id%3D132739cid=1272783840ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFFBCLJU1cgBeDZq8e-sbRjsSHliAWas Detroit#39;s Bailout bMarketing/b Blitz Too Little, Too Late?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAdAge.com (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm%3Fnewsid%3D20199418%26BRD%3D2737%26PAG%3D461%26dept_id%3D576361%26rfi%3D8cid=1272783840ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNG0BqXYTsjy5duvxluB0flhj7AWggFiscal Reckless Driving And The Proposed #39;Big Three#39; Bailout/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrEvening Bulletin/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news?btcid=e3abfae965230256img src=/images/news_comment_bubble12.gif alt=google news comment class=comment-iconComment bynbsp;Gary Chaison/afont size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnbsp;Prof. of Industrial Relations, Clark University/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html%3Fhpcid=1272783840ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNFvF53OLXlKFraZ7MMKwYB4UI4kkgnobrNew York Times/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272783840hl=ennobrall 1,225 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.eptrail.com/news/2008/nov/21/marketing-district-picks-officers/cid=1272821744ei=JnwmSbTBDILg6AP1ndlIusg=AFQjCNEQCGcfPaGFSI73mp0kJGshoEg9uAbMarketing/b district picks officers/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEstes Park Trail Gazette,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Juley Harvey Although the final tally of votes certifying the voter approval of the Local bMarketing/b District (LMD) is not due until today, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
marketing - Google News


Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

7 Simple Marketing Tips

Here are 7 simple marketing tips to help you boost... Read More

The Name Game

Pop quiz! If you have to say goodbye to your... Read More

Dear Friend: Dont Start Your Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters As A Stranger

Dear Friend:Don't do it.Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear... Read More

How to Conduct a Successful Fax Marketing Campaign

1. Focus your fax marketing on one objectiveFax is a... Read More

Self-Promotion on a Zero Budget

Recently, I've received a few e-mails from people asking me... Read More

Off The Shelf Software for Making Business Lists

Available to all small businesses are business lists, which come... Read More

Top 5 Design Tips to Create Eye-Catching Marketing Materials

Great graphic design looks effortless, but it requires lots of... Read More

Customers Are Like Vampires

No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and... Read More

Finding a Brochure Printing Company

A brochure can be a great promotional tool, whether it... Read More

Marketing Operations Elevates Public Relations and Communications Professionals

Is your marketing department taking advantage of MOM and MRM?... Read More

The Marketing Plan and the Four P?s

The Marketing Plan section of the business plan demonstrates how... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Secrets I Wish I Knew When I First Started Out

Secret #4 - Get very comfortable asking for paymentOne of... Read More

Small Business Bonzai Marketing

Do you own a small business? Do you wish to... Read More

Is It Time To Revisit Your Marketing Strategy?

Small & Mid Sized Business owners, have you revisited your... Read More

Effective Lead Generation

How to Gain your Prospective Clients' Attention and Generate the... Read More

How Toyota Captured the #1 Market Share . . . Through Solid Decision-Making!

How Toyota Captured the #1 Market Share . . .... Read More

9 Highly Effective Marketing Tips

Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to... Read More

How To Get To The Top of The Marketing Food Chain

Are you tired of living off handouts from big-name marketers,... Read More

Global Market in the Cyber world?Go and Get It !

With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global... Read More

Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in... Read More

What is a Marketing Plan Anyway?

Building a business that grows steadily in size and profits... Read More

10 Proven Ways To Accelerate Your Profits

1. Make copies of your web site in many different... Read More

Has the Free Report Had Its Day?

For years now we have been inundated with offers of... Read More

Lessons Learned at the Harvard Business School

"If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a... Read More

Small Business Marketing Tip - Get Attention and Be Remembered

We live in a world of noise ? not just... Read More