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Finding Your Own Unique Niche
Clients
and audiences are constantly asking me, "How do
you find a niche?" To find your niche, you
must first, get a grasp on what a niche really
is. Once we have that covered, then I will
break down ways to uncover a niche which may
actually be staring you in the face right now.
A niche is a
specific way to divide up your target clients
into a category. It may also be a unique
approach you have to delivering your product or
services. It may also be a specialized
product or service that you offer. And, of
course, a niche can be a combination of all
three approaches.
Here are some
examples of ways to niche your company:
-
Murals for
children's rooms.
-
Planning
fundraising events events just for
charities.
-
Photography
for actors and models.
-
Website
design for consultants and professional
speakers.
-
Faux finish
and wall design for new home buyers.
Each of the
examples above shows a unique approach to the
businesses, which will help market more
effectively and efficiently. Without a
niche (or niches) you will have to work harder
to gain clients and pick up new business because
your efforts will be spread too think and your
clients will be too varied.
To find your
unique niche, take a look at the clients you are
already working with.
-
Do they have
something in common?
-
What makes
you enjoy working with them?
-
What makes
you dislike some of them?
-
Is there a
commonality to your past projects?
-
Is there a
link to your clients or the clients with
whom you'd like to work?
Here's a great
example of one of my clients (Barry) who
uncovered a fantastic niche. Barry
is a decorative painter who realized that the
majority of his "great clients" were wealthy and
owned more than one property. This was a
great start on developing a niche, but niching
in "rich people" is too broach and isn't really
very effective. So, Barry dug deeper to
find another connection and took a look at the
hobbies and sports that his clients participated
in. With this approach he realized that
many of his clients and the people he'd like to
work with rode and owned horses. Since
Barry had experience riding horses and once
worked at a stable, he had extensive knowledge
about this hobby. He now niches in
marketing his faux services to people who are
active in horse riding.
Of course on the
surface, horses and decorative painting have
nothing in common. But, horse back riding
is not an inexpensive sport and therefore tends
to attract wealthier people who can afford to
participate in the activity.
Plus, my client loves horse back riding himself,
so he know exactly where to find the people he
wants to market to.
You could use a
similar approach to your business and merge
something you enjoy doing with a niche marketing
strategy. Look at your clients or
the people whom you want as your clients and
find out what activities they participate in and
how they spend their time. Is there a way
for you to turn this into a marketing niche for
your business?
Look for common
themes in your clients or projects to start
unveiling a niche just waiting to be found.
By narrowing down your products or services or
tightening up the category of people to whom you
market, you will be able to spend less money and
time and see greater results for your efforts.
So sit down and dig deep to find your creative
niche!
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