Embrace Hatred of Your Product

Rick Nobles has a great article on MarketingProfs.com about focus and branding. Nobles contends that hatred of your brand or product is often a sign that your marketing message is working:

"A brand trying to appeal to everyone isn't a brand at all, just a watered-down commodity. And a commodity never attracts a raving fan—it attracts indifference. In a crowded marketplace, indifference will kill you.

So don't fear the hate. Embrace it. Maybe in your next brainstorming meeting, don't ask how can you appeal to X. Ask how you can annoy the hell out of Y."

It's a worthwhile exercise: when formulating or evaluating your marketing messages, ask whether they will offend somebody or turn them off. If they won't, then you probably haven't focused your messages sufficiently.

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