So what happens when you chase that giant gorilla, i.e., seek to adjust your content or offering to attract the biggest following?

Chances are, you’ll lose your sparkle…

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There’s an ice cream shop on my block called Frankie & Jo’s.

It’s one of a few scoop shops in my Seattle neighborhood.

Frankie & Jo’s signature trait? It’s a plant-based ice cream shop.

Yup, everything from the ice cream to the cones to the toppings is vegan and gluten-free.

And delicious.

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So delicious that, even at a steep price point, there is typically a line out the door long enough to block the sidewalk while I’m walking home with my groceries.

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Now, most ice cream shops offer 1-2 flavors in a side case to accommodate vegan and gluten-sensitive customers in addition to their broader customer base.

But here, they’ve intentionally built a specialty business around a set of signature recipes, perfected for a narrow, underserved group of people (vegan and gluten-free dessert lovers).

And it works. As evidenced by that ever-present line.

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When my gluten-allergic cousin came to visit—someone who struggles daily to find safe foods to eat—she was in AWE, even saying, “I can’t believe I can eat anything in this store.”

In her, Frankie & Jo’s will have a repeat customer and fan for life as they’ve crafted an offering that fits squarely around her needs.

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For me, as a non-vegan, I walk by every day but only go in occasionally.

I mean, it’s good ice cream, but I also have a bunch of alternatives for a treat.

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Sure, if they sought to convert everyone who walked by, perhaps they could add some non-vegan options in a side case to match my tastes.

But in doing so, they’d abandon their differentiator and dilute their brand.

That sparkle they so delicately planted in my cousin’s head would be dampened in pursuit of the broadest possible appeal.

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No, they’re not throwing all of that away just for me.

Specialization is not just a strategy. It's a discipline.

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Simply put, they have an ICP, I’m not it, and they’re doing more than ok without me.

And my two or three visits per year? That’s just icing on their plant-based cake.

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💡

-Wes

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