There’s no question that personalization is everywhere in marketing: More than 90% of marketers employ full or partial personalization in marketing materials, including digital ads and text messages.
The fact that something is popular, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you should do it. For some brands, customizing marketing campaigns for individual consumers (or consumer groups) isn’t always the most effective marketing strategy—or the most efficient use of resources.
Undifferentiated marketing offers an alternative. Here’s what it is, how it works, and how to know if it’s the best choice for your business.
What is undifferentiated marketing?
Undifferentiated marketing (also called mass marketing) is a marketing strategy in which a business broadcasts the same marketing messages to all potential customers. Instead of segmenting an audience into multiple target groups and creating separate marketing materials for each (called differentiated marketing), a company targets an entire market with the same campaigns.
Undifferentiated marketing vs. differentiated marketing
Many ecommerce businesses use some type of market segmentation to customize marketing campaigns, an approach broadly known as multi-segment marketing, or differentiated marketing. If you maintain separate email lists for current and prospective customers and send each group different content, you’re already using a differentiated marketing strategy.
Here’s an overview of the difference between a differentiated and undifferentiated marketing approach:
Differentiated marketing
A differentiated marketing strategy involves dividing a market into unique customer segments—groups defined by common characteristics or traits—and then conducting research on them to develop and distribute separate campaigns for each one.
Differentiated marketing allows businesses to customize messaging based on customers’ specific behavioral or demographic criteria. A fitness supplement company, for example, might create separate customer segments for runners and yoga enthusiasts, research the fitness-related goals of each target segment, and then use unique marketing messages to highlight how their product meets the needs of each group.
Undifferentiated marketing
Undifferentiated marketing, on the other hand, uses consistent messaging for an entire market. Instead of developing distinct targeted messages for runners and yogis, the fitness supplement company would instead use a single marketing message with broader appeal.
Should you use undifferentiated marketing?
Ecommerce businesses can benefit from both differentiated and undifferentiated marketing strategies. The best option for you depends on your product type, target market, available resources, and business goals.
Businesses that are particularly well-suited to undifferentiated marketing include paper goods and cleaning supplies, pantry and grocery staples, over-the-counter medications, basic apparel, and basic home furniture and appliances. These types of businesses share a few common characteristics:
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Wide appeal. The company enjoys widespread popularity across a broad audience base.
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Simple value proposition. The company has a simple, clearly defined value proposition that resonates with diverse customer segments. For example, an affordable dish soap company offers a cost-effective way to clean dishes.
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Similar purpose for all customers. Most customers buy the company’s products for the same purpose. For example, all customers of an oral hygiene brand buy the company’s toothpaste to clean their teeth.
Here’s an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of choosing an undifferentiated marketing strategy:
Advantages of undifferentiated marketing
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Cost and time savings. Undifferentiated marketing allows businesses to forgo the segmentation process and develop a singular campaign, which can help companies save money and time.
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Access to a larger audience. Effective undifferentiated marketing campaigns use messaging with universal appeal, which can help you reach a wider audience of potential customers.
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More consistent brand image. Undifferentiated marketing allows brands to consistently reinforce key marketing messages, which can boost brand recognition and promote a coherent brand identity.
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Access to mass advertising channels. Companies using an undifferentiated marketing strategy can invest in distribution channels that don’t allow for personalization, like advertising on television shows, radio programs, and billboards.
Disadvantages of undifferentiated marketing
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Prevents customization. Undifferentiated marketing prevents businesses from tailoring campaigns to individual customer needs. This can be a drawback in a business landscape that increasingly features customization: A study from McKinsey found that 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from brands.
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Increases vulnerability to competitor challenges. An undifferentiated marketing strategy can make your brand vulnerable to challenges from competitors that create highly relevant, customized messaging for individual target groups. You might also lose market share to competitors that use a niche marketing or concentrated marketing strategy, in which a company focuses all of its marketing resources on a single customer segment.
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Not appropriate for all business types. Undifferentiated marketing is most effective when a business’s product appeals to a broad general audience and solves the same problem for multiple customers. It may be less effective for niche business types, including upmarket retailers and brands that sell specialty products.
Examples of effective undifferentiated marketing
Undifferentiated marketing can be a highly effective marketing strategy, offering a lower-cost alternative to a differentiated strategy and helping companies maximize reach. Here are three brands with effective undifferentiated marketing strategies:
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a legacy brand that sells a product with broad appeal. Although its audience includes a diverse range of customers, the brand’s products meet very similar needs across customer types. These factors allow Coca-Cola to treat its target audience as a homogeneous group, and the company has embraced an undifferentiated marketing strategy.
Coca-Cola’s undifferentiated marketing strategy includes investments in high-dollar, high-visibility advertisements. Examples include the company’s Super Bowl ads, its product placement in films like Back to the Future and E.T., and its long-standing sponsorship of the Olympic and the Paralympic games, which attracts viewers across the world.
McDonald’s
Like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s enjoys mass appeal (2021 data from the company showed that around 85% of Americans eat there at least once a year) and an uncomplicated value proposition (serving tasty, affordable food with speed and convenience). Both of these characteristics position the company to run successful undifferentiated marketing campaigns. McDonald’s places its advertisements in mass media like TV shows and uses outdoor billboards to reach its broad audience base.
Clorox
The cleaning product brand Clorox also uses an undifferentiated strategy. The brand experienced a jump in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic and responded by increasing its ad spend. Clorox also invested in consumer education strategies that provided information about how to use Clorox products to reduce the risk of viral infection—a great example of using an undifferentiated marketing campaign to respond to a universal market need.
Undifferentiated marketing FAQ
What is undifferentiated marketing, with an example?
Undifferentiated marketing (also known as mass marketing) is a marketing strategy in which a business forgoes audience segmentation, instead targeting its entire audience with every marketing campaign. Clorox’s COVID-19 consumer education strategy is one example of an effective undifferentiated marketing campaign.
What types of products are good for undifferentiated marketing?
Undifferentiated marketing (or mass marketing) is particularly effective for businesses that sell products with mass appeal to a wide audience. Examples include everyday products like paper goods, cleaning supplies, pantry staples, and over-the-counter medications.
Is undifferentiated marketing effective for ecommerce?
Yes. Undifferentiated marketing strategies can be a cost-effective way to reach a large audience with messaging relevant to a broad consumer base.