How to Define Your Niche in 3 Essential Questions

Are you thinking of starting, or have recently started a business?  Or perhaps you have been running a business for a while and you are looking to narrow down or re-define your niche.

Niching your business can feel like a counter-intuitive and scary thing to do; that if you niche your business you will reduce the number of potential clients that you could work with.  So, why have a defined niche?

Meredith Hill says, "When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one", and I couldn't agree more.

Essentially, your ideal client needs to identify themselves with your message, your content, and your offer.  They need to know that you are speaking to them specifically, otherwise your message can seem vague and confusing.  In addition to this, having a clearly defined niche makes it so much easier for you to talk about your business, create great content, write brilliant articles, blogs and emails and create a website that converts into queries.

So, I have outlined three essential questions that you can ask yourself, whether you are thinking of starting a business, have a business and are considering niching, or you’re niching down further, to help you to define exactly who your business serves, so that you can reach your ideal client with ease.

Question 1 - Ask Yourself: What Is My Story?

When I left my previous corporate career and decided to build a business around helping people through coaching, I felt like I wanted to leave my old life behind me, and I have spoken to many people who have felt the same way as I did.  However, it didn’t take me long to realise the value of my experience, even if I didn’t want to continue in that role or industry.

My advice here is: don’t be tempted to ditch your previous life - the experience you gained before you decided to set up a business, whether it was a corporate career or something you’d rather leave behind - the experience will still be invaluable to you, and it is part of the story that you bring to your business today.  

What strengths did you gain? What skills? What knowledge?  Which industries did you work with or in?  What relationships did you build?  Use it all!

Even if you are motivated away from a previous career, that in itself can become part of your story.  I spent 10 years in a very male-dominated IT sales environment, but I recognise that this pushed me even more in my desire to support women in the creation and development of their business!  Your backstory can become part of your drive and your “why”.

Question 2 - Ask Yourself: Who Do I Love to Work With?

If you have them, consider past clients – who did you love working with the most?  What was it about them?  What were their values?  Who did you find most inspiring?

If you are yet to work with clients, think about the qualities of people you admire, or those who you have worked with to date.

You can use the grid below to evaluate any patterns in the clients you have worked with in the past:

Question 3 - Ask Yourself: Is There a Market?

This is all about research, research, research!  Join and spend time in Facebook Groups where you know your ideal clients hang out.  Make note of what people are saying and asking and what their challenges are.

Consider strong economic, environmental, and behavioural trends.  For example, the increase in the numbers of women starting businesses after having a family, or even since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Send out a questionnaire to friends, previous clients, family members, and through social media – collate your results and refine your ideas.

OK, so there you have it, three essential questions to help you to define your business niche and, in turn, reach your ideal customer with ease.  My advice?  Niche and then be prepared to niche again!  The more specific your business, the better.

Good luck and enjoy the process!

Vicki Messenger helps empower aspiring and early-stage female founders to confidently create, launch and grow purpose-driven businesses in harmony with their ideal lifestyles.  You can find out more about how Vicki can support you, along with further articles and heaps of complimentary resources at: www.vickimessenger.com.

You can also find heaps of insight and inspiration by grabbing a FREE copy of her e-book: ‘“What I wish I knew…” - Pearls of Wisdom from 10 Incredible Women in Business’ right here.

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