Imagine two stores sitting side-by-side in a popular shopping mall. One is your go-to shop for just about everything. They sell garden tools, candy bars, T-shirts, car parts and baby bottles.

The other is more exclusive. In fact, the only thing they sell is chocolate. Belgian chocolate, Swiss chocolate, dark and milk chocolate and chocolate covered nuts.  If it’s chocolate, they stock it. And if it’s not chocolate, you won’t find it on their shelves.

At first glance, you might think that the chocolate store is limiting itself. After all, there are lots of other things they could sell, right? The world is full of sweet treats that aren’t chocolate, and what about other items that complement chocolate, such as greeting cards and fresh flowers.

The truth is, though, if you’re thinking that the first store, the one that sells a little bit of everything, is the more business savvy of the two, you might be wrong. Here’s why.

When you clarify and reduce your offerings to only those that closely match your business goals, you will be in a far better position to attract your ideal client. Not only that, but you’ll have customers lining up to pay a premium for your services.

It might appear at first glance that the store with everything has more traffic. That’s because they do. Remember, no matter what you want, you can almost always buy it there. But because they stock so much and have to appeal to such a wide market, their prices generally need to be lower.

The specialty shop is different. They may have fewer customers, but the average client is far more loyal, spends more money per visit, and raves to her friends about the delicious treat she picked up this morning. The average client at the sell-everything store goes there when there is a rumor of a lower price at a new store across town. They may not ever go back, especially if the store is across town, but with the specialty store where you cannot get their particular product just anywhere, a customer will actually plan a visit at least once a month or whenever they happen to be in that area, like I do with my special stores I love going to.

So, what does this have to do with your business and service offerings? Everything.

It’s critical for you to know exactly what you want to provide, and to whom. If you simply create a mingle-mangle array of services and products with no clear direction and without a cohesive brand, you may make a few sales (especially if you work cheap) but you won’t gain a loyal following. You’ll be like that first store, always chasing after new customers, because the old ones keep wandering away in search of a better price.

Take a look at your store, office or online platform. Are your products all in keeping with your brand? Do they instantly tell a new visitor exactly what you do? Are they priced in line with your market?

Don’t be afraid to take a hard look at your current offerings and get rid of those low-priced, fringe products that are most probably diluting your brand. Focus on the core products and services, and work to make them better and more valuable, and before you know it, your brand will have a loyal following, too.

In Your Support!