Everyone is Not Your Customer

One of the hardest things for new business owners to get comfortable with is the idea that everyone is not their customer. Trying to sell to everyone burns your resources, waters down your messages and sometimes compromises your product as you try to appeal to a wider audience.

The hard truth is that when you try to be all things to all people, you wind up delivering a product that doesn’t please anyone.

MAKE YOUR COMPETITORS IRRELEVANT

Your marketing will be more powerful when you define your ideal client and your niche. Ann Carden shared with me her belief that every business, regardless of size, possesses a distinctive quality that can set it apart. Building on that expertise creates a position of strength helping the business become untouchable in the market. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION

FINDING BALANCE WITH YOUR NICHE

Caroline Patrick talks about the balancing act when it comes to picking a niche. This is especially true for startups who fear limiting their potential client pool, not realizing that picking a niche gives you a much better pool to work in. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION

BIG FISH, SMALL POND

When everyone is going after the same customers it is hard to stand out. As a new player, you are a small fish in a big pond. Maybe you get 1% of the market, maybe that is enough. Or maybe you narrow your focus, select a subset of the market, where you can be the biggest or the only player. Gerard Gerard Doyle believes there is way more benefit in being at the top of a small market. LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION.

The bottom line, defining a niche allows you to develop deep expertise and an acute understanding of the needs of your customer. Which in turn will drive more specific and relevant marketing.

The process starts with a description of your ideal client and a definition of what makes you uniquely qualified to serve that client. When you put those two pieces together you are ready to serve your niche.