April, 2010

Nicely Niched
Trying to be all things to all people usually results in one becoming nothing to everybody. That’s why creating a niche for your business is so important. The main idea here is to find a market segment where you can become the expert ... the big fish in a small, but profitable pond.

So, what is a niche? The dictionary defines it as “A special place within the scheme of things. It sometimes denotes the function or position of a thing within a structure.” That works. But, for our purposes, let’s define a niche as a market segment that’s an inch wide and a mile deep. It’s that part of your market that’s either under-served, is an unmet client need or an area (type of service, specific expertise, etc.) that solves a particular and common problem for your clients.

A niche, or area of specialization, can be by industry, type of service or even geography. For instance, some designers might target healthcare, while others may target the legal industry. Some might whittle it down even further by targeting dentists or cardiologists. Maybe going for attorneys practicing in the area of environmental law is a just right fit. Some are identity designers. Yet others specialize in web design or trade show displays. Targeting by geography is a bit more wonky in these days of the Internet, Skype and overnight delivery. But, in smaller markets, a designer may be able to make their mark by positioning themselves as their town or county’s designer of choice by knowing the intimate ins and outs of a geographic arena.

Where to begin?
So, where do you begin to carve out your share of the market? It’s a good idea to begin by looking at your existing and past client roster. Is there a trend? Do you find your projects tend to be in a particular industry? Maybe you find many of your gigs are particular type of project.

If you’re just hanging out your shingle, odds are you don’t have a client history to reflect upon. If that’s the case, start reading newspapers and various business publications. Look at what trends are emerging. For example, people are always getting sick and the Boomers are aging. So, carving out a niche within the healthcare industry might make sense for you.

After looking over your history and current trends, give some thought to what you’re good at doing and what you enjoy doing. That latter item is pretty important. You might be great at doing a certain thing, but hate doing it. Sure, you can promote yourself and land a bunch of work ... and abhor going to work everyday. Independents and small business owners spend an awful lot of time working. Try to find something you enjoy.

I have much more to write of the subject of developing your niche-ability. So, check my blog on neiltortorella.com where I’ll be writing a series on this very topic.

Until next month ...

All the best,
Neil