All We Need is One

To All Presenters:

The awesome Power of 1% has been making the rounds lately. Whether it be a business or marketing plan landing on my desk, or an article in a blog I'm reading - 1% is getting a lot of play.

Usually it goes like this - someone walks into a meeting and says, "Our audience is X, but if we get just 1% of X to use this product, we'll quite simply be the coolest kids since 21 Jumpstreet."

The failure in this scenario, and the inherent problem with the Power of 1% - is everyone conveniently forgets there are numbers smaller than 1.

Like zero.

Presenters, we have to compete and effectively (dare I say, compellingly) communicate to earn every user we have, simply putting product in the field is no guarantee of success. There is no hard line sitting next to 1% that prevents us from crossing into the dark void of .1% or worse yet .01%.

If 1% market share is where we want to be when entering a new line of business - when, arguably, there are many competitors who also have negligible market share - what do we plan to do when those competitors consolidate, or grow into the space left by those who inevitably get out of the game? Aiming for 1% is like planning to be non-competitive.

If you want to present a communication plan to me I may endorse - come with a scalable plan that targets a durable share of market. The Power of 1% may be impressive on paper, but it will not save you when boots hit the ground.

THE POINT: Often times the low road goes nowhere.