“Eierlegende Wollmilchsau,” my friend quipped with a delightful German accent and a sly smile. She responded to my raised eyebrow, “It means egg-laying-woolly-dairy-pig.” You instinctively know what that phrase means. Trying to be everywhere, doing everything while doing nothing well. Just a mishmash of attempts to cover all bases. Trying to please everyone, which results in pleasing no one. Especially not ourselves.

Egg-laying-woolly-dairy-pigs don’t last long because no one can go in all directions at once.

You’ve noticed businesses trying too hard. They can’t succeed when attempting to be everything for everyone.
Some companies diversify into oblivion.
Others make promises they can’t fulfill.
Companies flounder when they lose sight of their original purpose.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. was the original “Amazon,” sending products to households everywhere. They diversified by purchasing financial, insurance, and real estate companies. They didn’t recognize the importance of the digital world, which led to their bankruptcy.

Harley-Davidson spun its wheels in the wrong direction when it added perfume and cake decorating kits to its arsenal. These sputtered and failed, which didn’t improve their roar.

Kodak’s focus became fuzzy when it diversified into healthcare and other markets. They were crushed by the freight train of digital instead of jumping on board.

How do you keep your business from becoming an egg-laying-woolly-dairy-pig?

Consider these questions:

  1. What does your business do well? Know your strengths.
  2. Focus on your super power. Magnify it.
  3. Remember your story. Do you tell it?
  4. Why are you in this niche?
  5. What problem(s) are you solving for your customers?
  6. Can you make this solution better? Remove the friction.
  7. Are there things you should stop doing because they don’t line up with your main focus?

These are good questions to keep you from getting woolly and laying dairy-eggs.

One good investment of your time is focusing on improving the quality of your customer service. What are you providing your customer? What does the customer actually experience? Can you remove barriers to make it easier for them to work with you?

This applies to your marketing message as well. How does your product or service make your customer feel?

“The best ads are about the customer and how the product will change his life.”

—Roy H. Williams

It is hard to look at your own company objectively. Your knowledge keeps you from seeing things as a customer experiences them. Get help from professionals to evaluate your company’s superpowers. You might not even realize what your true superpower is.

Roy H. Williams says, “People in business are uniquely unqualified to see their own companies and products objectively. Too much product knowledge causes them to instinctively answer questions no one is asking.”

Wizard of Ad partners are always available to help you get your message focused and strategic. They will make sure you don’t sound like an egg-laying-woolly-dairy-pig!

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