Niches have become a pretty hot topic in the online space lately. Some are very into having very specific Niches to whom you sell your offer. Others think they’re a waste of time and no one shouldn’t bother with them. Even the way the word is pronounced is up for debate! Today, I thought I’d go more into what a Niche is and some pluses and minuses for them.
A niche is a specialized part of a group that is the right fit for a type of product or service. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it’s traditionally been pronounced as Nitch, which rhymes with Pitch or Rich. The other common pronunciation, Neesh (which rhymes with sheesh), is a newer way to say the word, but is also currently considered correct.
Niches are great because they can be easier for you to market to. It gives you a specific audience to talk to and makes it a lot easier to create content and offers for them that they actually want and will buy repeatedly. When you’re a specialist in some particular area you’re also easier for people to refer their friends to you. A lot of the reasons niching your business is good is because of clarity. All of those things I just mentioned provide clarity for you and other people about what you do, thereby simplifying things.
Here’s an example for you, if your friend came up to you and asked you where to get the best plate of lasagna in your town, you would probably know where to point them. Most likely a local Italian restaurant. Why send them there over some other place? Here’s why – you have clarity on what the Italian restaurant sells! You know they’re going to have the type of food your friend asked you about. You trust that the food they want is going to be pretty good and they’ll like the place.
The flip side of these reasons is also what makes niches in your business not so great. Only having one audience means that you have a lot fewer people to sell to. Plus, it can get really boring talking about and doing the same type of thing all of the time. It also means that you are turning away potential clients (and their money) because you can’t help them. You also may come off as one-note and might give people the idea you can’t do anything else.
Back to my restaurant example…Your friend asks for the best plate of lasagna in town and you send them to the local Italian restaurant. Afterward, they tell you that they were so nice in accommodating their kid who only wanted fried chicken and not Italian food. You’re really surprised because you assumed all they knew how to make was Italian food. Why? Because all they sell and talk about is Italian food. You would never know the chef at this Italian restaurant used to work at a chicken restaurant across town that makes really good fried chicken and was happy to make something more “kid-friendly”.
There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Some people will tell you to niche and others will tell you it’s not necessary or a bad idea. I will tell you that you should only sell to one audience at a time. Also, stick to one type of products/services. It gives you the freedom to do other things that you’ll also be really good at without confusing people.
One last time, back to the restaurant example. Your friend asks you where they can get the best lasagna in town. This time let’s say the Italian restaurant also advertised that they were great at fixing cars, cutting hair, and making Italian food. It’s harder for you to understand exactly what they sell. If you weren’t totally sure they sold the lasagna your friend asked you about, you wouldn’t send your friend there. It’s way too confusing. Now if you know that the restaurant sells Italian food, but they also have a small selection of fried chicken and burgers too. This makes it less confusing because even though it’s a different type of food, it’s all still food. You’re still likely to send your friend who wants lasagna to this restaurant, especially if they tell you their kid only eats fried chicken.
Whether you choose to niche or not is totally up to you and any business partners you have. You always do what is the most authentic and truthful for your business and the customers it serves.
Alright, that’s all I got this week, talk to you soon!
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level through clear and unified branding book a 15-minute no-pitch consultation call today by clicking here