When you start talking about niching, people start to panic. It’s a natural reaction. Why would you deliberately narrow your audience when there’s so much potential business out there? You’d have to be crazy to turn good customers away, right?
Well, maybe not. The trouble with marketing to the whole world is that you don’t end up connecting with anyone. A good marketing message connects with your customers in a way that gives them an ‘a-ha’ moment. They read your blog post or see your ad and know that you understand what they need. It all means that the more focused you are, the more likely you are to get that reaction.
Think of it another way
Instead of thinking about the word ‘niche’ think of the word ‘famous’. Not ‘what niche do I want to be in?’ but ‘what do I want to be famous for?’ It sounds better already, doesn’t it?
If you were going to shout from the rooftops about your business, what would you say? What would you like your customers to talk about when they recommend you to their friends? Do you want to be the first choice wedding venue in your area? Are you the go to venue for business conferences and events? Your marketing can focus on something that you’re great at but not famous for (yet).
You don’t have to turn customers away
Just because you choose to market your services to a specific sector it doesn’t mean that you have to turn everyone else away. A few months ago I started doing more marketing to travel businesses, simply because I enjoy working with people in the sector.
Since then I’ve had a steady stream of enquiries from financial services businesses, tech companies and insurance experts. They’re all great businesses with interesting projects, so of course I’m not going to turn them away. You don’t have to either, unless it’s genuinely something you can’t help with.
Become a niche expert
The real beauty of marketing your business within a specific niche is that you can become an expert in your field. Yours becomes the first name people think of when they need a specific service. That has huge benefits for marketing as you become the person the local news outlets call when there’s a news story relevant to your field. You can also build a network of people who work in the same niche as you. They’ll pass on work that they don’t have time for and you can do the same for them.
You’ll also benefit from getting to know a specific industry sector in depth. You don’t have to spread yourself thin trying to keep up with new developments across a whole industry, you can just keep up with part of it.
I hope I’ve convinced you to start thinking about targeting a niche market. If I have, next week’s blog is just for you. I’ll be offering some tips on how you can start thinking about choosing your niche and marketing to your new customers.
Do you niche already? Let me know in the comments!
Further reading
Some more advice on niching for success