Say out loud who it’s not for
“For everyone” speaks to no one. Marmite turned the people who hate it into its slogan.
“Built for teams of all sizes, in every industry.” That’s not a target, that’s a shrug. When you’re for everyone, nobody feels like you’re for them.
In 1996, a young creative team at the ad agency BMP DDB started from a simple observation about Marmite, the British spread: Richard Flintham loved it and Andy McLeod hated it. That became the line “You either love it or hate it,” launched with two ads, one about people who love the stuff and one about people who can’t stand it. Creative Review notes that “like Marmite” is now regularly used to describe anything divisive. The brand didn’t hide its haters. It made them part of the pitch.
Add one honest “not for you if” line to your site. Not for agencies juggling 50 clients. Not for people who want 200 settings. The right people read that and lean in.
The example
- Instead of
- “The flexible CRM for businesses of every size and industry”
- Try
- “A CRM for solo consultants. If you run a sales team, you’ll hate it, and that’s fine.”
Before you flush
Add one sentence to your homepage that says who your product is not for, specific enough that the wrong people can rule themselves out.