Marketing Is About Who You're Not For

Marketing is also about communicating who you are not for.

Two stores in Nantucket I’ve never heard of are fighting over influencers. Four Winds Craft Guild sells expensive shit like $1000 picnic baskets to the old money rich, and Dairy Boy is a fast-fashion popup that sells clothing to the young influencer crowd.

The Four Winds Craft Guild store put up a “no influencers” sign that’s made the Dairy Boy owner and the Nantucket influencers big mad.

It’s a simple business decision. Most of the old money Nantucket crew is against influencers and anything that takes away from the rustic charm of the Island. So the “no influencers” sign communicates to them that this is a place they want to shop, and a safe haven against the rest of the stores on the Island who cater to influencers. The crowd who are influenced by influencers aren’t relevant to a store that sells random expensive arts and crafts.

I love creators and we work with them at my company. I dream of being a creator someday (might have missed the age window). But the influencer crowd who are upset about the sign are missing the obvious reason it exists. It’s a marketing message to the customers Four Winds Craft Guild wants to attract and sell to.

Marketers get nudged the other way constantly. Add a segment, add a channel, write the line so nobody feels left out. The plan looks bigger. IMHO the message gets worse, because you never say who it’s not for, and the customer you want can’t tell you apart from the store next door. Four Winds said it out loud.

It’s as simple as that.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.