I’m confident that every small business owner and service professional, just about, understands the importance of developing a specialty and then marketing that specialty to a specific target niche. But why is it that a lot of businesses these days still fall apart after just six months of operation?
Because after all is said and done, there’s only about 1 out of 3 chances your business will succeed. Let me elaborate.
Successful marketing, like a delicious cup of blended coffee, is a complex mixture of specialty and target niche marketing. Too much of one thing is doomed to failure, and the same goes for not having enough of the other.Great specialty, no market niche
Imagine a business consultant marketing his services in an online classified ads. He’s great, he’s done his homework, and he has more than enough work experience in his field.
Then he goes on to write that he is available for “anyone who requires his services“, that’s when he loses out to his competitors, which are a dime a dozen. He isn’t reaching out to anyone in particular, and the result is no one reaches out to him.
Specific market niche, no specialty
This time imagine a consultant advertising to small- and medium-sized businesses within 40 miles of her office in Calgary. So far, so good. When asked about her specialty, she says, “I don’t have a specialty. I can advise anyone about anything!”
Would you hire this person to advise you on your company’s finances? Not even if she pays me.
Like I said earlier, good marketing is 1) knowing what you can do and 2) knowing the right people to talk to.
There are several ways to achieve both. Join social networking sites and connect with experts in your field to develop your specialty. Enter into a business partnership with more experienced individuals and learn from their methods and mistakes. To focus on a target niche, use local SEO and search engine techniques to generate traffic towards your business or website.
The secret is to maintain a good balance of both efforts. Market niche and specialty are the two most crucial ingredients of success.
About Jon Orana
