The ins and outs of finding a niche for your brand
It’s very rare these days to come across a business that is totally unique. One of the greatest challenges a small business can face is understanding how to stand out in a crowded marketplace. That’s where finding your niche can have huge benefits for your business.
I find that many of my clients come to me feeling confused about how to niche - or whether to. In this article I’m going to explain what niching is, why it might benefit your business and a few tips on how to identify your brand’s niche.
What does ‘niching down’ mean?
Essentially, it means focusing on a smaller, more focused area of your market. This can feel counter-intuitive because you’re ignoring a huge portion of potential customers by narrowing it down.
Actually, finding your niche helps you to differentiate your business from your competition and allows you to be more tailored and specific with your service offering, making it easier to sell your services. It enables you to be seen as an expert in your field.
The benefits of identifying your brand’s niche
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘jack of all trades, master of none’, and although it can feel pretty scary to narrow down what you do or who you do it for, it’s actually got some big benefits in doing so. Let’s take a look at some of them…
You’ll get more loyal customers
Getting to know your customers inside out leads to you building stronger connections with them. We all know the key to customer loyalty is long-term relationships because your audience knows you understand them and their specific needs. This means for them, you are their only choice as the relationship becomes about more than just what you do: people are attracted to why you do it and what that does for them.
It reduces your competition
By being more specific in what you do and who you serve, you’ll stand out as the expert and be seen as the go-to in your field. This gives you a competitive advantage. It also enables you to create a visual identity that’s unique to you and is centred around your audience. When you’re not looking and sounding like everyone else in your industry, you’ll increase your brand’s recognition.
It makes your marketing easier
Hallelujah! This is what every small business wants to hear. When you’re not trying to talk to everyone, your messaging becomes more specific. It also means you can really narrow down your marketing channels to be exactly where your audience is. This means the work you’re putting into your marketing becomes more tailored, and in turn will be much more effective.
It enables you to charge a higher price
Niching down can lead to increased revenue for your business. Developing your offering around your audience and giving them what they really want enables you to raise your prices. After all, it’s a service they’re not going to get anywhere else and your audience are more likely to pay a premium for services that answer their needs and bring value (and joy) to their lives.
Avoiding the pitfalls of niching
You need to make sure you’re niching for the right reasons and that your niche is right for your business. After all, there’s no point choosing a particular target market if they’re not going to want or need your service. And if you’re focusing on a particular audience that really doesn’t care about your brand’s reason for being, then forget it… niching probably isn’t going to work for you.
You’ll want to gradually niche down by really understanding the benefits your business gives your customers and where the sweet spot is. Here are a few tips on what to consider to avoid any potential niching disasters:
Your niche doesn’t have to be to a specific industry
Not all businesses specialise in a particular industry or type of person. If this feels like you, Niching based on values and problems rather demographics will help you to focus in on your niche. When we have a problem we need to solve, we search Google based on either what the problem is, or the outcome we’re wanting. If your niche is solving that problem, you’ll be high on the list of people to speak to.
Here’s a couple of examples. Smol specialise in cleaning products that are convenient and better for the environment > so their audience are busy people (problem) who are environmentally conscious (values).
WeWork was one of the original well-known co-working spaces > their audience is business folk who want a more flexible and collaborative working environment (problem and values based).
Don’t be so specific that you’re shooting yourself in the foot
Here’s the thing, you don’t want to niche down so far that you’re reducing your market to a handful of people. Make sure you’re giving yourself enough room to grow and evolve. If you’re keeping your eggs in one basket and the market changes, it could lead to potential disaster for your business. A business exists to make money. Make sure your specific audience is large enough that you’ll actually get enough customers… otherwise it’s probably too niche.
Your niche has to be right for you and your business
It might be tempting to say you work for a particular industry or type of person, but that doesn’t work for everyone and it’s not something you should do if it doesn’t feel right for you. Consider the values and needs that you align to and look at how this could be your niche, rather than getting stuck with an audience you don’t really care about.
Finding your niche can have huge benefits for your business. But don’t be tempted to move into an area that isn’t right for your business just because it’s popular right now or because everyone else is doing it. I find there is usually a natural niche with every business and sometimes it’s about thinking about it a little differently and looking at the way you really bring value to your customers.
If you’re wondering where to start when looking at how to be more specific with your offering? Book a virtual brew with me to discuss how we can work together to define your niche.