Finding more customers by nicheing down
Being more specific in your niche, or target audience, is something that most of us resist. Particularly those of us who like to help others - we want to help EVERYONE and it can be really hard to feel that we’re turning people away.
But I was struck once more, in my interview with Web Template Designer Kate Scott that the same advice came up yet again. Kate said,
“It's been the key to my success and I think it's the key to any template shop success - creating something that has a unique selling point or something that separates. It it's not going to be for everyone but the people who are right for it are really right for it.”
And that’s fundamental. Ultimately, although you may be able to help a really wide range of people, you’re still going to have areas of special knowledge and expertise - and if you target those ‘zone of genius’ areas, you will produce something that is exactly right for your ideal client. At that point, considerations about price or logistics become secondary to your potential client or customer thinking, “Yes! Finally someone understands exactly what my issue is, and has a solution for it!”.
One way of looking at your niche is finding the overlap between your zone of genius and the particular needs of your target audience. This idea is beautifully summed up in Frederick Buechner’s definition of finding your vocation:
“… where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.”
And how do you go about finding out more about the ‘deep hunger’ of the people you want to serve?
Customer research.
You don’t need to second-guess what people might need or want - you can do good, solid research and just find out. That way your chosen niche is built on a solid foundation of an in-depth understanding of your customer base. If you’re truly offering something that meets people’s ‘deep hunger’, and you can describe what you do in terms that resonate directly with your ideal clients, you’ll never need to launch to crickets.
This is just one of the ways in which you can build a business that leverages empathy as a super power.
If you want to niche down, find your message and get lots of support with envisioning the next level of your business, check out my 1:1 services.