The word niche comes from French which means, either a recess in a wall, or a place, employment status or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted, or a specialised market. There is also the habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species etc but we won’t go into that. (Merriam-Webster on Line Dictionary).

When you start your business, everyone shouts niche, niche, niche at you.  Is niching a good thing? It is your business so it is up to you to decide.

Deborah Brown-Volkman in Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice

Most ‘experts’ say it is the following of your passion as to who you want to do. Some people know in an instant, some people don’t. So ask yourself what are you passionate about?  Who are you passionate about?  It isn’t that the person you want to coach has to be passionate about it, they don’t know your passion.  It is your passion that will propel you and your client to success.

For a niche market to work well for you, the people within it need to have a few vital ingredients:

1. They need to believe you can actually help them with their problem, so you need to have some credibility in your particular niche area and you must believe you can help with their problem/need.
2. They need to be able to afford to pay you. This is vital to identify early on. It can be soul destroying to realise you will never make a living even though there is a huge need in your suspected niche.
3. They need to be able to relate to themselves as the person in your description.
4. They must be easy for you to reach, so you can get your message across to them.
5. There must be enough people within your specific niche for it to be viable for you to make a living.
6. It must be small enough and focused enough not to have been targeted by larger organisations. (Angela Dunbar)

How can you find out your niche:

1. Identify what you are good at, what are your skills, knowledge and experiences
2. What are you passionate about?
3. Think about who you want to coach
4. What sort of people do you naturally attract into your life?
5. Who have you helped?
6. Who do you enjoy helping?
7. What do people think you are good at?
8. Ask yourself what one thing would you concentrate on if you would be shot for doing more than one (Anthony Warren)
9. Which things out of all your options fit in with your overall plan of life?
10. Who do you know who can help you?
11. Who do you enjoy being with?
12. Who would be your ideal client?

 

The Advantages of Niching

 

• You maximise word of mouth marketing
• You gain re-use of coaching material
• You are more likely to gain referrals from your target market
• PR opportunities are more likely
• If you're active in a niche, you'll get known quickly
• Through understanding the niche's needs and wants you'll spot trends and be able to respondquickly to them  (Alun Richards)

 

Anthony Warren of Redshots says that “You will be successful faster and easier if you choose a suitable niche and market consistently to it”

1. By making a website based around a highly focused niche you reduce considerably the number of competitors that you are competing against. This makes it easier to stand out in the search engines i.e. get a good ranking (first 3 pages).
   
   You need  to offset this by the fact that you also reduce the number of potential visitors. However having a niche site means that that visitors to your site will generally have a greater interest in what you offer, as your product, information or service is highly targeted towards them.
2. Increased visibility. Community participation is a low cost marketing strategy that can yield enormous exposure for your business. Virtual communities provide free or low-cost gatherings that attract more people and create more prospects.
3. Increased credibility. The success of your niche community reflects upon your abilities as a service professional. It provides a chance for you to “show your stuff” and impress prospects who don’t feel like they need to ward off a sales pitch.
4. Word of mouth. Virtual communities stimulate conversation. They get people talking. Participants tell their friends more readily about your business as a “community resource” than a private service.
5. You’ll become a center of influence in your niche. By reaching more people through your virtual community, you will develop a platform to sell more products and services. Your community can open the door to multiple income streams through group mentor programs, information products and other passive revenue streams. (Steve Van Yoder)

 

Anthony Warren of Redshots says “If you cannot explain your niche in one sentence that can be understood and remembered by a thirteen year old, then it’s not going to get you business.”

Is it best to niche?  One way of finding out if it is better for you is by making a list of advantages and disadvantages in niching your coaching business. There are questions you can ask yourself in this way:

• What would I gain from niching/not niching?
• What would happen if I didn’t niche?

All points lead to the fact that niche marketing can be one of the best things you can do to maximise your success potential in a growing marketplace. 

Angela Dunbar – www.angeladunbar.co.uk

Alun Richards - alun.richards@siemens.com

Anthony Warren www.redshots.co.uk

Steve Van Yoder – Get Slightly Famous