What Do You Stand For?

“The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.”

Richard R. Grant

Some time ago a local radio station announced that they were changing their format to news-only. I was delighted. For months I enjoyed being able to turn on that station knowing I would get just what I wanted: news. They had a slogan that they often repeated that promoted this focus.

But then they added football. Being far more of a news junkie than a sports junkie, I was disappointed. Now, when I needed my daily hit of news, I would sometimes get a football game instead. Making matters worse, they did not change their slogan, and would in fact tout that they were an all-news station right in the middle of a game! Evidently, this came to their attention, and they modified their slogan with an “except” statement. While at least now truthful, it greatly weakened their once clear and focused position in the market.

They have now gone too far: They now have talk radio for three hours each day! Their slogan has disappeared as has their clear position in the marketplace.

While in business school I remember learning about the “wheel of marketing”. The theory was that, wherever a retailer was on this wheel, they wanted to be someplace else, and they drifted in that direction. If they were a high-priced, up-scale retailer featuring brand names, they were concerned that they were missing the mid-price and low-price segment of the market, and drifted in that direction. If they offered bargain prices, they sought to create a more up-market image by carrying higher priced brand-name products.

No matter where we are, human tendency is to want to be someplace else. But the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence.

• What does your business stand for?
• Do your customers know this? Do your employees?
• What is the highly focused image that you want to consistently portray to your customer?
• Is it vague and ill defined?
• Does it change depending on the whim of the day?
• Do you chase the market or lead it?
• Do you find yourself chasing market segments only because you do not target them, or because your competitor does?