Why a Business that Sells One Thing is Usually More Successful

A lot of businesses have a kind of multiple personality disorder, so to speak, that makes it really difficult for their customers to connect with them. Even if you are good at producing a lot of different things and know exactly how to execute all of them, you’re much better off concentrating the business on one product or service and do it better than anyone.

The Mind of Your Customer

As we always say, put yourself in the shoes of your customer to find out why they decide to patronize your business, or just move on. The bottom line is that everything you present to potential customers has to be simple because people want to know what you are, possibly even more than how good your product is.

This is why branding is so effective. When a potential customer comes across a well-branded business that presents concisely what kind of company they are (and why you can trust them) on the landing page of their website, then they know exactly what to expect right off the bat.

People need to understand the product or service you provide quickly and know firmly that you offer what they need. If your product or service is not immediately easy to understand, no one will take the time to figure it out; they’ll just hit the back button and click on the next Google listing.

The Obvious Reason

Anytime you find a business that is hyper-focused on producing one specific thing, you’re naturally gravitated toward it because you think, “This is all they do and nothing else; it HAS to be good.” Just so this doesn’t get too vague, let’s look at a couple of examples.

A food truck that only does hamburgers, really well (not as in temperature) is more likely to succeed than a food truck that has a massive menu with all kinds of different foods. The company that makes Louisville Slugger baseball bats is successful because it just makes baseball bats and has been doing that for a very long time.

A record shop that sells only vinyl records serves a niche market (more mainstream these days); and people who want to buy real vinyl records will go to that shop because they know exactly what to expect when they go there. The examples go on and on.

Simplify Your Process and Production Cost

If you are a product seller, then narrowing it down to one specific product allows you to set up suppliers of raw materials or manufacturers, customer support, assembly procedure, etc. that are extremely consistent so that you minimize surprises or unexpected changes in your production process that can be costly.

Those unexpected changes and resulting cost happen frequently when you sell a wide range of products, which is why the companies who do sell a huge line of products are typically very large with a massive budget to cover those production costs.

It’s no sin of course to sell a small variety of products for which you know there is an active market, and you can make them all with great quality. The point is that by simplifying what you sell, it’s much easier to do that one thing extremely well, as well as gain the confidence of your customers because again, that single thing is all you do, all the time.