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When Is a Niche Not a Niche?
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Has your professional services business defined its
market
niche? You may think so, but a closer look might
reveal that
your chosen niche isn't as effective as it could be.
You may
have selected a target market, but have no defined
specialty in
the services you offer. Or you may be clear on your
professional
specialty, but vague on who to target as prospective
clients.
A clearly defined niche for an independent
professional is one
that spells out both a target market and a specialty
needed by
that market. If you include both these elements in
your niche's
definition, you'll find that not only will your
marketing become
easier and more effective, you'll build a more
sustainable
business.
In ecology, a niche denotes the position occupied by
an organism
within an ecosystem, the point where conditions best
allow that
organism to succeed and thrive. If we translate this
idea to the
business world, defining a niche where your talents
and skills
are uniquely appropriate can create ideal conditions
for a
sustainable business -- one that grows year after year
with a
minimum amount of effort. Here are some examples to
illustrate
why this is so.
Sam, a management consultant, specializes in business
process
improvement. He helps his clients streamline workflow,
redesigning forms, systems, and procedures. If you
asked Sam
about his target market, he would tell you it was
"anyone who
needs my services." Sam has a solid specialty for his
consulting
practice, but no defined target market.
Maria is a computer consultant who works with small
businesses
in her local area. Her typical client has 2-25
employees and an
office within thirty miles of her home. If you asked
Maria what
she does for her clients, she would say "anything to
do with
computers." Maria has a specific target market, but no
real
specialty.
What Sam and Maria are missing out on is the power of
a
well-defined niche. Claiming a target market is
valuable, as is
defining your professional specialty. But when you add
target
market to specialty, what you get is a unique niche --
a
position in the marketplace that allows you to become
the go-to
expert.
Sam struggles to find clients because he doesn't
really know
where to look. Maria's marketing message is so vague
that when
she finds a client, she has difficulty communicating
how she can
help. Neither of them have been able to build a
reputation in
their field. Unable to attract clients through
referrals or
professional visibility, Sam and Maria spend most of
their
marketing time on random networking, direct mail, and
cold
calling. Landing clients this way is an uphill battle.
Compare Sam and Maria's situation to that of Frederic,
a
team-building facilitator for information technology
companies
and departments. Frederic knows both his specialty and
his
target market. He refers to his niche as "herding
cats." He
helps IT directors get teams of smart, independent IT
professionals to cooperate, communicate, and work
together more
effectively.
When Frederic describes his niche, not only can a
prospective
client immediately say, "We need that," but others who
meet
Frederic often say, "I know a company who needs that."
Because
Frederic's distinct niche makes it easy for other
people to talk
about his business, they do talk about it, and
Frederic's
reputation and referral base continue to grow.
Having a niche like Frederic's makes your marketing
efforts more
effective because you can focus on reaching particular
groups of
people with a tailored message. It allows you to use
marketing
strategies that have more bang for the buck, such as
public
speaking, writing articles, and targeted networking
within one
community. You avoid the labor intensive work of
attending
dozens of different networking events, or calling and
mailing
people who never heard of you.
The above examples describe independent professionals
with
business clients, but the same principles apply when
marketing
your services to consumers.
Greta is a life coach to busy baby boomers. She helps
her
clients find more personal fulfillment, make changes,
and
achieve goals. Greta has a known target market, but no
clear
specialty. Her offer is so broad that it's difficult
for
prospective clients to find a compelling benefit.
Greta is able
to locate plenty of prospects, but few of them ever
become
clients.
Liam, a hypnotherapist, helps people break unhealthy
habits such
as smoking and overeating. He has a well-defined
specialty, but
hasn't identified his target market. He spends a lot
of time and
money on hit-or-miss advertising and scattered
networking,
hoping to attract or meet people who might turn out to
need him.
Compare Greta and Liam to Sally. Sally is a
professional
organizer who helps homeowners with young children
find a place
for everything and regularly clear away clutter. She
has both an
identifiable target market and a specialty people can
remember.
Sally's unique niche enables her to generate a steady
stream of
referrals, build a wide reputation, and attract
prospects eager
to become clients.
With unique market niches like these, Frederic, the
herding cats
guy, and Sally, the clutter clearer, can determine
exactly who
might be a good referral source for them, and which
networking
events make sense to attend. They can also easily
reach their
prospective clients through credibility-boosting
strategies such
as writing articles or public speaking.
Sally writes for parenting magazines and web sites,
while
Frederic writes for IT journals and ezines. Frederic
speaks for
IT conferences and training industry meetings on his
"herding
cats" topic. Sally gives workshops at schools,
churches, and
community centers on the subject "Kids and Clutter –
Must They
Always Go Together?"
Frederic and Sally not only find their marketing to be
easier
and more effective, they're able to build sustainable
business
models around their respective niches. Frederic
returns to the
same companies over and over, as the makeup of teams
changes
over time and new members need to be integrated. His
introductory two-day program can be spun off into
quarterly
tune-up sessions, off-site weekend retreats, and
self-study
packages of audios and workbooks.
Sally returns to her clients' homes year after year as
their
kids outgrow clothes and toys, and their hobbies and
interests
come and go. Because the solutions she develops will
work for
multiple clients, she is a reseller for closet
systems, modular
shelving, and other organizing tools. Selling these
products not
only earns her some passive revenue, it creates more
billable
work for her as clients ask her back to help organize
their
items into the systems she sells.
So if you think your business has a market niche, look
again.
Have you defined both your target market AND your
professional
specialty? If not, maybe it's time you got more
clients by
getting more specific.
Wishing you the perfect niche,
C.J. Hayden, MCC
P.S. If you are a coach who would like to become the
go-to
expert in YOUR niche, check out my Coachpreneurs
Circle starting
Sept. 22 at http://www.coachpreneur.com
