The Value of Targeting, Part 5: The Hidden Cost of Over-Targeting
Targeting sounds like an obvious good—but it has a limit. If you narrow your pond too much, you may end up fishing in water that’s nearly empty. Your bait may be perfect, but there simply aren’t enough fish to sustain your business. This is where many marketers get stuck: They choose between precision and scale, thinking they can’t have both. The solution isn’t extreme targeting or extreme volume. It’s progressive refinement. You start broader, observe who converts, then tighten targeting based on real data—not assumptions. Effective marketers don’t guess where the fish are. They test, measure, and adjust. Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up by putting an actual dollar value on smart targeting.