Especialistas versus generalistas (parte III)

Lembram-se do conselho de Alberto da Ponte?
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"Não generalizarás!!!"
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Escala, crescer... lembram-se dos dinossauros azuis?
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"If there is one culprit in how brands lose their uniqueness, our vote goes to the concept of growth. The desire to constantly get bigger seems to be almost a reflex action. We suspect that’s because it’s at the heart of how people get rewarded. CEOs pursue growth to ensure their tenures and increase their take-home pay.
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two bad things happen when companies chase the god of growth. First, they become distracted and miss the opportunity to pour it on and preempt that differentiating idea, or to make it bigger and better.
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When you’re the Porsche of computers, you don’t move into cheaper computers. You dominate the high-performance business by getting more customers to want high-performance computing. (After all, what wealthy company wants low-performance computing?)
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The other bad thing that happens is that in an effort to pursue ‘‘endless growth,’’ companies fall into what we call the line extension trap. It’s typical megabrand thinking: you hang your brand on as many related or even nonrelated categories as possible. It’s what we call ‘‘inside’’ thinking about a successful brand and how to make it bigger and better.
Unfortunately, the only thinking that works in the marketplace is the ‘‘outside’’ thinking that works in the mind of the prospect.
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Marketers fail to realize the long-term damage they do by growing beyond their original identity. They set up serious questions about a brand’s difference
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What happens is that by presenting yourself as something other than what you’re known for begins to erode your special difference.
You begin to cloud your identity. As you read earlier, minds can lose focus. Next, you force people to change their mind about what you are about. This is never a good strategy because people hate to change their mind. As psychologists will tell you, changing an attitude means that a person must change his or her beliefs. (Good luck on that one.)"
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Finally, you have the problem of becoming that ‘‘something else.’’ How is your new effort different? Where are your credentials for that new thing? (Good luck on that one.)
So what you end up doing is undermining your basic identity or difference while, at the same time, you have a hard time selling your new one. Can you succeed that way? Not likely.

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What companies often do is fail to recognize that maintaining focus on their basic business can work out a lot better in the long run.

If Volvo makes the safest car in the world, why suddenly move into sporty vehicles? (Moi ici: Recordar "Reflexões sobre o futuro das marcas") Better to look around the world and go where they need safe vehicles. Have you ever driven on a road in India? You sure do want the safest car you can find.

Trechos retirados de "Differentiate or die : survival in our era of killer competition" de Jack Trout, com Steve Rivkin.