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Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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Losing focus: 'Kiss of death' for a company.

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

How a business venture ultimately becomes successful is really quite a predictable process. The founder (or founders) identifies an unmet need within the target market, and then focuses the very heart and soul of the business on meeting that need, and doing so better than any competitor who happens to jump into the fray, which surely will happen.

Ultimately, many, if not most, businesses lose the tight focus of their "toddler" and "adolescence" stages [phrases we coined in the December 22, 1997, column in "Marketing Corner," entitled, "Like products, companies also have a life cycle"], and that loss of focus is virtually always the beginning of the end for the companies, the literal "kiss of death."

Briefly explained below are the various stages in the process that takes companies from an initial tight focus to an eventual loss of that focus:

• An unmet need is identified among the target market;

• A company is established which focuses its entire being on meeting the target market’s heretofore unmet need;

• As the target market becomes aware of the company’s offering, sales climb rapidly;

• Eventually, when the entire market is aware of the offering, sales level off;

• To get sales "up," the organization will wisely decide to offer its product to the same target market, but in other geographic locations, e.g., local to regional, regional to national, national to international. Ultimately, though, sales will again level off.

• Then, a company often makes what may prove to be a fatal error. They lose their focus. Not intentionally, but lose it they do! Perhaps, they think, we could attract a larger target market, if we simply also try and meet this or that additional need. (Of course, it most often seems to make no difference whatsoever to the company that some other business is already satisfying those needs quite well!) At this point, the company usually is on the way down, though they may not realize it at the time.

Having described the process that leads to lost focus, now let’s look at a classic example of a major company that clearly lost its focus and certainly continues to pay the price, McDonald’sÒ .

When the fast-food chain burst on to the scene in the early 1950’s, McDonald’sÒ became an immediate, long-lasting hit primarily because it was so narrowly focused on providing darned good hamburgers, French fries and soft drinks at very affordable prices, and their service was excellent. Those halcyon days are far behind the franchise nowadays, of course. After experimenting with every menu item imaginable (pizza, chicken, and ribs, at McDonald’sÒ , for heaven’s sake!), and after trying to "update" their image from "kid-oriented" (an image, incidentally, that took them to a position of prominence in the first place and kept them there for years!) to more "adult-oriented," it isn’t clear at all to growing numbers of Americans precisely what McDonald’sÒ stands for any longer. Over the years, they lost their narrow focus in an attempt to continue to experience the thrill of growth. Predictably, it didn’t work, and realistically, shouldn’t have been expected to work, either.

For people who wanted pizza, there was Pizza HutÒ . Would a person say to himself or herself, "I'm craving some pizza, I think that I’ll go to McDonald’sÒ ." Surely not, no more than they’d say, "I’m hungry for chicken, I’ll pass up having Kentucky Fried ChickenÒ for some good old McDonald’sÒ chicken." Get real! Instead of attracting more customers, defocusing their efforts (or, more nicely put, broadening their menu) merely served to alienate customers who had truly believed that McDonald’sÒ was really something quite special. The end result, then, was fewer customers, not more.

Now, some will argue that such moves by McDonald’sÒ (and others as well, of course) represent merely diversification dictated by the needs and desires of an ever-changing consumer market. Or, that all companies must attempt to continually broaden their product and service offerings just to stay even with the competition. And, to a certain extent, there may even be a grain of truth in such claims. Nonetheless, the net effect is the same: To the extent that a company¾any company¾attempts to "be all things to all people," it ultimately ends up being "nothing to anyone."

Are we advocating that companies should forever remain static, never even to consider, let alone implement, a change of direction when it’s clearly indicated by the dynamics of the marketplace? Of course not. Obviously, companies founded on a unique premise must change "focus" (or "reinvent" itself) if that premise ever becomes anachronistic. If they don’t, certainly they will soon wither and die. Moreover, we’re not arguing against logical product extensions, either, such as the "Big Mac" introduced by McDonald’sÒ .

But, just so it doesn’t seem that we’re unfairly picking on one company, McDonald’sÒ , to make our point, let’s take a look at a more "generic" example.

Suppose you were to open an Italian restaurant and feature only¾what else!¾Italian food. Obviously, right off the bat you know that you’re going to be catering to a rather narrowly focused clientele, i.e., those who regularly or periodically enjoy having Italian food. Two years into the business it’s flourishing and your restaurant is fast becoming known as one of the best Italian restaurants in your market. If you are wise, you will be content to simply continue providing the very best in Italian food dining. If you are unwise, however, you may decide to "tinker" with the menu and general ambience of the restaurant to attract all those customers who don’t now frequent your establishment, say, for example, the "breakfast crowd." How long do you think it would be before your restaurant’s image will have become so diluted, so nebulous, that you soon will be closing the doors?

A simple example? You bet. But, actually, it really is that simple. Companies that allow themselves to lose "focus," whether you’re talking about a small business or a multi-billion dollar business, simply will not make it in the long run. Trying to be "all things to all people" and ending up being "nothing to anyone" is in every sense of the word the proverbial "kiss of death."