Tip 30) To nIche or not to niche?

I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked this question, and my answer is yes and no!

Some marketing people go on about finding your niche and swear that once you do, business will flow to you easily and effortlessly! Being honest, I think this is pretty dangerous advice, especially for a start-up. 

​Why do 'experts' say we must have a niche market?
So we know exactly who our target market is. We know where they go, what they read, what they like and dislike...

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We know their pain, their problems and their hopes and their dreams. And when we know all of this information, we can create marketing pieces that talk directly to them. We can offer ourselves up as the solution to their pain or as the vehicle to their dreams. And once we have found our niche, apparently we never compete on price (as we are the only people that can offer this). Perfect. Love it. Yes I agree, absolutely 100%.

But...

What I don't agree with is that we should only have one niche market. I believe a business can have multiple niche markets. If the key reason we should choose a niche market is because of all the above, why can't we have more than one? The danger, of course, is that many small business owners will frantically flit from one niche to the other, not really focusing on any of them long enough to get results.  

I also believe that deciding your niche too early could be a complete waste of time and money, as you may find later that other target markets are more enjoyable, more lucrative and easier to market to. Not only that but how boring would it be? The thought of only working with one type of business for the rest of my life would drive me nuts! As a business coach, I have never niched. I have worked with businesses in around 30 different industries over the last ten years and have loved the variety. 

Here's my advice on creating your niche markets:

• Decide your first niche. Choose the one you think will make you the most money, that you will enjoy working with most, and that you think it will be easiest to market to.
• Find out everything you can about your target market. What are their challenges and how does your product or service help them? Create your website/web page/flyers so they talk directly to your target market. Be the expert by solving their pain or helping them to achieve their dreams.
• Think about how to market to them. Which will be the best strategy? Social media, networking, flyers, telesales, direct mail, etc.? Where do they go in numbers? Who are they buying from currently and why?
• Gain social proof. Have plenty of testimonials on your website or FB page that show how great you are. If you have to, find a couple of businesses in your target market and offer to work for free or at a reduced rate in return for glowing testimonials. 
• Create a marketing plan and stick to it. Map out the next six months and commit to your strategy. For example:
  • Social media: post in ten different groups, once x3 times a week.
  • Once a month: contact five non-conflicting businesses about setting up a strategic alliance where you can refer to each other. 
  • Month 1: 500 flyers. (Read this article about flyers)
  • Month 2: 20 posters.
  • Month 3: 500 flyers.
  • And so on…
• Once this is set up as a marketing process and happens month in, month out, you can think about whether you want to market to a second niche. Repeat as above. You may decide that your first niche is the one you love and want to stay with forever, but don't be afraid to try another if it's not. 

As always, please give me a shout if I can help or join us at one of the online Mastermind groups.

To your success

Jo Richings x