Appealing to the masses doesn’t make any cents.

The model of attempting to sell to everyone no matter the product doesn’t make any sense in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Universal appeal is a fallacy. Attempting to appeal to everyone decreases the likelihood of establishing a true connection with any individuals.

Marketing campaigns that appeal to the masses are a massive mistake on every level but one: ego. Without the framework of balancing equal amounts of empathy and ego to serve the consumer, it is unqualified to think that bombarding the masses with popularity is as effective as serving individual markets that are most relevant to the offering.

Relevance is the key to attention. Attention is the lock that most do not unlock because they do not understand where to find the key. The key is found in relatability, which, in turn, makes one relevant. Relevance, in turn, makes others interested. With interest comes genuine attention. Genuine attention does more than attain a customer base. It maintains a base that finds loyalty based first on the relevance provided, not the product itself.

Celebrity is an analog for this pattern. Never in my life have I wanted to be a celebrity as that is not genuine attention, in general terms. It is a form of attention based on strategy, not relevance. To truly connect with another human, an individual must be relevant. Relevance is a prerequisite for a person to genuinely buy in, which is where real profit comes in.

In my view, true profit is achieved when both sides gain equal value without one side having to sacrifice more energy than the other to receive what they are giving and taking. In order to find order in operation in any transaction regarding appeal to a marketplace and/or individual consumer, the product/service must first serve a need. A want is a positive to pair with a need. Without serving what the market perceives as a need, however, serving the aspects the market wants versus needs out of order will never have sustainability.

The appealing aspect of business — especially business at scale — has not only been lost in translation, but it hasn’t properly and appropriately been translated for individuals to genuinely relate on the basis of individuality. The general/mass appeal concept will be antiquated by 2030 in most global corporate operations. Niche companies that are effectively gaining market share have arrived at this conclusion today.