Generally speaking, there are two main ways that you can go about marketing your company. On the one hand, you can try and specialize in only a small number of products or services. There are freelance writers who only do press releases and they do very well in this area of expertise. On the other hand, you can market your company is such a way that you become a one-stop shop for customers, offering all sorts of supplementary services. For example, a freelance writer may also offer services related to graphic design, web coding, and publishing.

There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to either strategy. Following the law of contraction, your brand can become very well known for a single product or a single family of products. Toys ‘R’ Us has done very well for itself specializing in toys, just as Starbucks has performed exceptionally well in selling coffee. Given the right advertising and marketing, people can come to associate a family of products or services with your brand. If they need product XYZ, they’ll know that they can get it from you.

Following the law of expansion, potential customers may appreciate the convenience of having to only go to one place to fulfill all of their needs. This is the nature of something like a department store or mega-store. If you walk into a Costco or a Wal-Mart, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to find everything you need there, from clothing to electronics, bedding to pet food. For many businesses, offering supplementary products and services can have a huge impact on the bottom line. Instead of referring customers to someone else, you can offer additional services in-house. Get your legal and accounting needs from a single business management firm, for instance.

Ultimately, one of the biggest keys to success for any marketing campaign is consistency. Decide from the beginning whether you want your company to be recognized for specializing in a single product or whether you want to market your company in such a way that it is known for selling a wide variety of products. The alternative would be to set up separate brands for separate families of products. Companies like Proctor & Gamble and General Electric have done well under this model.