By Tim Bateup — Small business marketing strategist
The problem with “okay, I suppose”
Imagine describing a holiday to a friend. The food was alright, the weather was okay, and the people — yes, they were alright too. The hotel?…fine. It wouldn’t invite much follow-up. And while it wouldn’t be somewhere you’d actively avoid, it’s not somewhere you’d go out of your way to return to either.
But that quiet middle ground — “okay, I suppose ” — is where a lot of marketing content ends up.
Why generic content persists
Most generic content isn’t obviously bad, which is precisely why it persists. It reads smoothly, looks considered, and avoids saying anything that might feel out of place. On the surface, it appears competent, even professional. But underneath that, there’s very little that creates a sense of distinction or memorability.
The problem is not that this kind of content repels people, but that it fails to move them. It doesn’t create recognition, it doesn’t build preference, and it doesn’t give someone a reason to choose one option over another. When content sits in that neutral space, it becomes easy to overlook and even easier to forget. In practice, that makes it far less effective than it first appears.
The instinct to stay broad
There is a natural instinct behind this. Many owner-operators are wary of narrowing their message because it feels like closing doors. Broad language feels safer, more inclusive, and less likely to alienate potential customers. However, in trying to accommodate everyone, the message loses the very characteristics that would make it meaningful to anyone in particular.
This is why content that tries to speak to everyone tends to feel vague. It avoids firm positioning, softens specific claims, and leans on familiar phrasing that could apply almost anywhere. What remains is something acceptable to many, but compelling to very few. And it is that sense of relevance and recognition that ultimately drives action.
Why indifference is the real risk
There are very few successful bands that are widely described as “quite good, I suppose.” The artists who build real audiences are the ones people feel something about, even if that response is not universally positive. Some listeners become genuine fans, while others simply move on, but the distinction is what creates momentum.
Business works in much the same way. The people who sustain a business are those who feel a strong connection to what is being offered. Those who feel indifferent, whether mildly positive or actively disengaged, rarely take action. In that sense, indifference and dislike are not so different, as neither leads to meaningful engagement or purchase.
The difference between care and caution
This is not an argument for being careless with language or deliberately provocative in tone. Consideration, awareness, and respect remain essential, both ethically and strategically. Understanding the needs and perspectives of others is part of what allows good marketing to function effectively.
However, there is a difference between being considerate and being so cautious that the message loses all definition. When content is shaped to avoid any possible friction, it often becomes indistinct. Rather than making the business more appealing, it simply makes it less noticeable. In trying not to exclude, it ends up failing to engage.
How content drifts towards the average
When this happens consistently, the content begins to drift towards the average of what already exists. The language becomes familiar, the ideas predictable, and the overall impression interchangeable with countless others. Average is not inherently negative, but it is rarely compelling. People do not actively seek out the average; they settle for it when nothing clearer presents itself.
This is where clarity matters. In fact, this is explored more directly in this piece on why clear messaging beats clever messaging, where the focus is on saying something meaningful rather than simply saying something well. Without that clarity, even well-written content can fail to communicate anything of substance.
The limits of trying to do everything
There is also a practical limitation to trying to cover everything at once. When content attempts to cover too many different needs at once, it stops going deep enough to be useful. The focus becomes spread too thinly, and as a result, none of those areas are explored with enough precision to be genuinely useful.
A simple analogy illustrates this. A guitar that can also function as a piano might sound appealing at first, offering flexibility and efficiency in a single product. But in reality, it is unlikely to perform either role particularly well. A dedicated guitar will always serve a guitarist better, just as a dedicated piano will better meet the needs of a pianist.
Why specificity creates connection
The same principle applies to content. When it is designed to do too much, it often ends up doing very little effectively. By contrast, content that is focused and specific has the space to be clear, relevant, and genuinely helpful. That is what allows it to connect with the people it is intended for.
Specificity is what creates that connection. It signals an understanding of a particular audience, their context, and the way they think about the problem they are trying to solve. Rather than trying to appeal broadly, it allows the right people to recognise themselves in what is being said. That recognition is what turns passive reading into active interest.
Let the right people recognise themselves
In practical terms, this means being clear about what is being offered and who it is for. It means accepting that not everyone will respond in the same way, and that this is not a flaw in the strategy. The goal is not universal approval, but meaningful alignment with the people who are most likely to value the work.
Generic content rarely fails dramatically, but it rarely succeeds in a meaningful way either. By trying to be everything to everyone, it becomes too broad to resonate with anyone in particular. More effective content takes the opposite approach, focusing on specificity and relevance. That is what allows it to move beyond being simply “fine” and become something that actually works.