When you’re a small business (particularly in the start-up phase), the urge is there to “get going” as soon as possible. Get organised. Get up to speed. Get the clients. Get paid. Get a regular income etc. For many of us, we figure that the best way to achieve that “get more clients” goal is to market ourselves to the widest audience we can. So perhaps even though you specialise in this certain area or that particular aspect of your line of work, instead you present yourself as the “jack of all trades”. You figure that the more you ‘do’ the quicker that rise to success will be. The thing about being a “jack of all trades” however, is that you become known as a master of none of them (to paraphrase the old saying). The irony is, a wider scope/ focus means we can quickly spread our marketing message and our abilities too thin. We fail to distinguish ourselves from competitors because having a token presence across the widest scope we can, spreads our abilities and our marketing message too thin. Not only that, but it increases the risk of being left stressed, time-poor and wondering what else we have to do to get the customers rolling in?
A quick trip to sites such as LinkedIn indicates that there are any number of niche areas of business- with the number rising by the week. The Information Age has resulted in people being able to develop a more specific, discerning idea of what they’re looking for- and for more than a few people, your areas of particular expertise will be exactly what they want. The beauty of this is, that when people develop a specific idea of what they are looking for, their subconscious mind develops a radar to spot it. Notice how the names of certain people, groups or organisations almost leap off the page of written passages, news or online articles without you even looking directly at them? Think back to the last time you bought a new car- did all these other people suddenly begin driving the same model car as you, or was your subconscious mind playing ‘Spotto’?
I encourage you to take the time to think about what aspects of your business you especially enjoy, or have extensive knowledge/ expertise in. Could the difference between where you ARE and where you’d LIKE to be in your business journey, come down to narrowing your target market? Concentrating your message? Being more specific? The beauty of this is that, in time, you will establish yourself prominently as the figure of authority in that area of speciality. If I ask you to think of fine dining, does one restaurant name stand out, or do you think of a few names, with little differentiation? On the other hand, if I ask you to think of fried chicken, what name flashes in your mind? Who do we perceive as the go-to people when it comes to fried chicken? As a further example, Hyundai design and build cars for a wide cross-section of motorists with varying budgets. Enzo Ferrari and Feruccio Lamborghini both envisioned designing/ building cars for a specific type of person- the motorist with money to burn, who loved driving fast in style. In the past week, I couldn’t tell you how many Hyndai’s I’ve seen on the road. But I can certainly recall the red Ferrari 458 Italia I saw in the Valley yesterday, or the black Lamborghini Murcialago that cruised by me a few days earlier. I’ve seen two Ferraris and two Lamborghinis this past month- I know this because I remember them. My subconscious ‘radar’ spots them before my eyes do!
A quick trip to sites such as LinkedIn indicates that there are any number of niche areas of business- with the number rising by the week. The Information Age has resulted in people being able to develop a more specific, discerning idea of what they’re looking for- and for more than a few people, your areas of particular expertise will be exactly what they want. The beauty of this is, that when people develop a specific idea of what they are looking for, their subconscious mind develops a radar to spot it. Notice how the names of certain people, groups or organisations almost leap off the page of written passages, news or online articles without you even looking directly at them? Think back to the last time you bought a new car- did all these other people suddenly begin driving the same model car as you, or was your subconscious mind playing ‘Spotto’?
I encourage you to take the time to think about what aspects of your business you especially enjoy, or have extensive knowledge/ expertise in. Could the difference between where you ARE and where you’d LIKE to be in your business journey, come down to narrowing your target market? Concentrating your message? Being more specific? The beauty of this is that, in time, you will establish yourself prominently as the figure of authority in that area of speciality. If I ask you to think of fine dining, does one restaurant name stand out, or do you think of a few names, with little differentiation? On the other hand, if I ask you to think of fried chicken, what name flashes in your mind? Who do we perceive as the go-to people when it comes to fried chicken? As a further example, Hyundai design and build cars for a wide cross-section of motorists with varying budgets. Enzo Ferrari and Feruccio Lamborghini both envisioned designing/ building cars for a specific type of person- the motorist with money to burn, who loved driving fast in style. In the past week, I couldn’t tell you how many Hyndai’s I’ve seen on the road. But I can certainly recall the red Ferrari 458 Italia I saw in the Valley yesterday, or the black Lamborghini Murcialago that cruised by me a few days earlier. I’ve seen two Ferraris and two Lamborghinis this past month- I know this because I remember them. My subconscious ‘radar’ spots them before my eyes do!
If you’re feeling stressed from the demands of having to cover a lot of bases and satisfy a wide target audience in your business, perhaps it’s time to step back and unclutter your mind. When it comes to the products/ services you provide, what is it you’re really good at? What do you especially enjoy doing? Instead of diluting your expertise and your skillset to please everybody, why not pride yourself on becoming the specialist and concentrating your time into finding (and attracting) the people who are looking especially for you? If you want more customers, more work- and to enjoy your line of work more- perhaps it’s time to reposition yourself as the specialist? Instead of being another Mitsubishi in your line of work, take the time (and the thought) to have people regard you instead as the Maserati. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much new attention (and sales) you get as a result!
Connect with me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmackie1
Connect with me on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmackie1