TO NICHE OR NOT TO NICHE?
Niching can feel incredibly uncomfortable for some business owners – especially intuitive and creatives who feel called to do as much good as they can.
I resisted niching even when my own marketing coach served me up an exercise to map out who I really wanted to work with. To satisfy this inability to niche I ended up completing two sets of too-broad target market research and client avatar exercises because I couldn’t decide.
As I’ve begun working with my own clients, turns out niching can be incredibly important for certain types of businesses –particularly intuitive and creative service-based businesses that may be able to help anyone and everyone.
This is especially true for early-stage businesses and businesses that aren’t seeing the growth that they want.
Niching helps create a baseline that can springboard your communications and decision-making and often helps provide more useful data as a result.
WHY IS NICHING IMPORTANT?
At a very basic level, understanding who you serve helps you tailor and craft your message to this person – and that’s going to cut through the very noisy digital realm we all exist in.
The clearer your understanding of who you want to serve, the clearer your message will be. This can help you convey your marketing message in a more intimate and personal way.
Niching also allows you to build authority and expertise in a particular area which can be very valuable depending on your offer and your audience.
Purpose-led business owners will often naturally identify their niche through their driving purpose which makes it easier.
For me?
My niche is less cause or industry-specific. I want to work with business owners who love what they do and impact people positively. It’s broad but still specific enough that I know who I want to reach and what their pain points are. This helps me create content and shape experiences that are most beneficial for this type of business owner.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF NICHING?
I recently worked with an intuitive service-based client who was really struggling to pick a niche for the next stage of her business.
She was feeling anxious, flip-flopping between several choices and panic spiralled a few times from fear of making the wrong choice.
Ultimately we realised her resistance arose because she thought niching was limiting which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Niching allowed my client to be more expansive within her business. How?
Once my client had clarity about the community she wanted to serve, she was pleasantly surprised at how much easier it became to take the next steps when it came to both her business and marketing strategies.
She was able to consolidate her energy and focus on building a program so specific to the needs of her chosen niche to serve in the immediate future.
We also identified that there are other niches she’d like to work with – and put that into a long-term strategy so she can see how she’s going to get there from where she is.
Niching allows you to build a strong, focused brand that provides value to your target audience.
TO NICHE OR NOT TO NICHE?
Not every business needs to niche (just to make things more confusing). You can be a generalist. You might be in an industry that’s essential. You might not know yet.
Niching is a place to start and it’s also a place to refine.
If you’re chugging along just fine in your business without niching – you likely don’t need to niche.
If you’re struggling to get started – maybe starting with a niche can give you a place to start, some momentum and provide a contrasting experience.
I find niches a great first step when you want clarity in your business no matter what stage you’re in. Doing activities regularly helps you pulse check not just your business but what you want.
If you’re struggling with niching and want a helping hand, I’d love to hear from you!
Drop me a line.