As many of my readers know, I really like to beat the “niche drum.” For the last six months or so, I’ve really thumped on about this because finding the right niche is one of the most important things a business can do. So it’s probably no surprise that I get excited whenever I see anything related to niche marketing.
Looking at the year ahead, are you confident your business will thrive or are you feeling closer to the brink of disaster? Writing in Forbes magazine, Marsha Layton Turner outlines five great reasons to specialize. She makes the case that specialization is the key to profit. But why would a customer be willing to pay a specialist a premium fee?
They turn to specialists with the expectation that someone who is an expert in a particular field is more likely to do a better job of diagnosing and fixing the problem faster than someone who is more of a generalist – someone who knows a little bit about a lot of things.
It’s definitely worth your time to read the article where she expands on the following five points:
- Specialists are considered experts.
- Customers prefer to work with experts.
- Specialists earn more.
- Specialists are more efficient.
- Remaining ahead-of-the-curve is easier.
One point the writer did not address is that finding your niche has a lot to do with following your passion. We spend a good chunk of our allotted time on this planet working, and it would be better to enjoy it. If you must work–that’s most of us–then why not work at something you love?
And while she does give several reasons why specialists make more money, she left out something I think is pretty important: Specializing gives us more control over pricing. If you can’t raise your prices when you want to, then maybe it’s time to take a look at your business model and tweak that niche.
Send me an email at Scott@doubledareyou.us if you’d like to talk about how you can find your own niche.
photo credit: postman.pete Greater spotted woodpecker via photopin (license)
