Page 79 - Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing - PDFDrive.com

to escalator clauses in the Social Security laws. Now, Clinton hammered on
the economy repeatedly. And eventually he hammered that message right
through George Bush’s heart.

Clinton aimed at the core of Americans—their historic materialism and
their fears in the middle of a long recession—and repeatedly spoke to them.
He became the economy candidate, the one who would address that
problem. And despite all the rumors and all the suspicions, despite a
controversial wife and a style that caused many people to mistrust him and
dub him Slick Willy, Clinton won. Focus won.

Focus. In everything from campaigns for peanuts to campaigns for
president, focus wins.

When the Banker’s Eyes Blurred: Citicorp’s Slip

If innovation drove Citicorp to the top, a lack of focus almost knocked it all
the way back down.

In the 1980s, Citicorp resembled an overpaid and overpraised athlete
who had read too many press clippings. The company’s enormous success,
fueled by its string of innovations, apparently convinced the people in the
corner offices that Citicorp was above a fundamental principle of
marketing: It did not have to focus. It could reach out everywhere and
dominate the landscape, from high-volume consumer banking to global
merchant banking.

At the same time, however, several banks got the focus religion. Bank of
America left overseas and wholesale branches of banking to focus on
becoming the dominant consumer bank on the West Coast. Chemical Bank
moved out of international banking to focus on a large available niche: the
middle-market and small-business customer.

Citicorp continued to stumble; it became a case study in stumbling, in
loss of focus, in overreaching.

At this writing, the company’s survival seems likely, if only because
Citicorp now appears to have a focus: on the low-cost, high-volume niche of
consumer banking. But the company’s rise, stumble, and survival from its
fall suggest this lesson:

No one—not even the most innovative and remarkable company in its
industry—can be many things to many people.

No matter how skilled you are, you must focus your skills.