To go deep or go wide- what’s the best for your business?

Posted by Tony Ozanne  at February 18th, 2013

If you are in business you obviously sell something- either a product or a service. The end game is to make the sale and generate revenue to fund the business and make a profit. No rocket science there!

When looking at your business and the success or lack of success of its current performance, have you ever spent the time to review the range of products you offer and determine how this fits with the needs and wants of your target consumer? Does your product meet the need or are you attempting to sell something that you think they want, but may not actaully need?

One line of thought which has some merits is to review your scope of products to determine how to reach the target market best, and to review how you actually sell to them. This brings up the concept of determining what is best for you- to go wide or go deep with the offering.

Let me explain.

To go wide, your product offering is broad and you are attempting to use the shotgun approach by firing into the air with many pellets, hoping to hit a few people. Your range may be related, but in most cases you are attempting to diversify and sell a bit of everything with the hope of getting that sale.

If you go deep, you are being very specific with the needs and wants of your target audience. Your range has varying input or entry levels at differing price points to gain a smal linitial  entry purchase, then sell something else related, then a higher priced item etc etc. This is the sign of a business that is clear on their niche and the items that their niche actually wants. A great example of this is Apple. They don’t go wide with product ranges and types, but they do go deep and get us in at an entry level then we continually buy and buy again and eventaully become completely embraced and entrapped by the brand.

The basic entry point is a free iTunes account to manage our music collection, then we can buy some cheap music. If we want to play it, we had the iPod, then they mvoed to the iPhone, iPad, iMac etc etc. Each as a different price point and increasing the life time value of us as users. Look at the depth vs width with Apple phones versus say Nokia. Nokia (if you Google their phones) have dozens and dozens of models- all are phones, but with various functionality and price points. They go very wide to capture all different types of users. What do Apple do? they have ONE- the iPhone…just one phone of the highest specs and the  best they can make in the deep range of related and integrated products.

It is a simple concept, and one which is worth looking at in your own business. Are you attempting to reach the masses with mulitple products that aren’t related, or do you have depth of offerings to allow you to simply re-market to your core clients?

It is worth a review..

Good luck,

Tony Ozanne

www.tonyozanne.com