March 27, 2025
Platform Specialization - The Good Parts
Yesterday, I defined the term platform specialization.
As with all things, platform specialization has both pros and cons.
Today, I’m going to talk about the pros.
The Pros of Platform Specialization
Well, technically, there’s really just one “pro” of a platform specialization, but it’s a biggie...
When a platform is starting to take off, and there aren’t a lot of experts around yet, jumping on the bandwagon early can be a very good thing.
As the platform owners feel themselves gaining traction (and have money to spend), they invest heavily in marketing in hopes of reaching escape velocity.
Often, this includes doing everything they can to amplify third-party evangelists and early adopters through client referrals, partnership programs, podcast sponsorships, and more.
What this means is that if you’re early to the party, you will have a seemingly unending stream of great leads served to you on a silver platter.
In other words...
You don’t have to market yourself because the platform does it for you.
As Peter Drucker rightly pointed out, marketing is one of only two value-creation aspects of a business, so being able to draft off of a platform’s marketing efforts is incredibly valuable.
I’ve seen this pattern repeat firsthand with platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, Salesforce, Shopify, NetSuite, and tons of others, both large and small.
But wait, there’s more!
If/when the platform reaches cruising altitude, the direct amplification efforts of the platform company will slow down, but the small group of early adopters will have established reputations and be positioned as de facto platform experts.
As such, they will continue to get inbound leads from larger and larger clients who are new to the platform or have been on it for a while but are experiencing growing pains.
It’s great! The leads keep coming, and they keep getting bigger. And all you have to do is cash their checks and do good work.
The sun is shining, you’re making hay, and it seems like it’ll never end.
Which reminds me...
Tomorrow, we have to talk about the cons of platform specialization.
See you then.
Yours,
—J