Finding Focus Using the 80/20 Rule
Whether it’s writing your daily to-do list or defining your business plans for 2024, when priorities compete, choosing the right areas of focus is essential. By concentrating on the most essential 20% of your tasks, you’ll achieve around 80% of your goals. If that sounds like tricky math to you, consider the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. In 1896, he observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by a mere 20% of the population. But this pattern of percentages is not limited to landownership. It’s a universal theory that applies in many areas of life, with roughly 20% of causes yielding 80% of effects. In the 1940s, engineer and quality control pioneer Dr. Joseph Juran named this phenomenon the Pareto Principal and coined the phrase “the vital few and the trivial many.” Applied to business, this means that 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of its products and 80% of revenues are generated by just 20% of customers. When it comes to marketing, 80% of a campaign’s success results from 20% of its communications.
Now that you see the power of the Pareto Principle, here are just a few ways to use the 80/20 rule to find focus and get more from your marketing spend:
Foster Loyalty: You likely have a hunch about which of your customers are driving the biggest chunk of your sales, but don’t rely on guesses—use data to identify your strongest accounts. Do not take these essential clients for granted. Cultivate personal relationships with key stakeholders, cater to their specific needs, and commit to providing top-tier service. Make it a priority to regularly update these customers on your whole range of services with a focus on developing opportunities for future business together.
Solicit Feedback: In addition, consider ways to solicit feedback from these key accounts to better understand your strengths as an organization. What keeps these clients returning again and again? According to AEC brand strategist Michael Racis, research like on-line surveys and in-person interviews offer understanding about where you shine and what you can improve. This information will not only maximize your relationships with top customers, but also deliver insight into how to position yourself with potential new clients.
Identify Common Characteristics: Once you’ve recognized your key customers, analyze the characteristics they have in common to better understand your model client. Do your best accounts share a geographic region, company size, or industry sector? How can you focus your marketing efforts on these specific characteristics to attract new customers? Clarifying your vision of the perfect customer helps to create compelling messages that hit home with your ideal demographic.
Channel Your Energy: With so many potential avenues for digital marketing, it’s vital to hone your message to the channels and platforms that appeal most to your ideal customer base. There’s no need to develop a presence on every imaginable platform. Instead, concentrate on refining your message on the small percentage of platforms that generate the most interaction with potential customers.
Hone Your Content: Just as reducing the number of platforms you manage will maximize your efficiency, applying the Pareto Principle to creating content ensures that your online presence is impactful. Analyze which of your webpages are attracting the most attention. That top 20% of content is what resonates with 80% of your audience. Focus on expanding and elaborating on popular topics and formats. Aim for a mix of original and curated content that educates and entertains. Do video interviews with industry leaders drive traffic. There are numerous ways to engage your audience through meaningful content. Continue to build on your strengths and watch your high-converting traffic grow.
No matter what approach you take, the goal here is to get the most out of your efforts by using information to understand what works. Can you think of other ways to use the 80/20 rule to maximize your efforts?
