3 Steps to Create a Niche for Your Independent Business

A lot is going on in the marketplace today. We’re at the dawn of the AI era—or perhaps really at the pre-dawn stage—and many independent professionals are facing a growing need to reinvent their businesses

It may be tempting to add more services and target audiences to cope with the fast-changing business environment. In fact, and as counterintuitive as it may seem, concentrating on a well-defined niche is the strategy for success.

Today, many companies seek specialized independents across various skill sets, each including a wide range of specialized expertise. Creating a niche in your field means focusing very tightly on a specific space where your experience intersects with the needs of specific members of your target audience.

These steps will help you create your market niche. Even if you already have an idea of your niche, they can help confirm and possibly refine it.

1. Research

Research must be an ongoing process in your business, especially in today’s fast-moving environment. Areas to cover included (but not limited to):

• Business technologies – AI is the most obvious business technology to keep pace with, and, depending on your market and your expertise, there may be others you need to stay on top of.
• Your target demographic – This is the “umbrella” under which your target audience resides and sets the stage for the next research area. Delve into information like age, location, and income level.
• Your target audience – Dig into the demographic to find information that helps define your target audience. For example, a target audience could be senior-level managers in such-and-such industry who oversee a particular functional area.
• Status of your market space—Services engaged five years ago (or even a year ago, in some cases) are different from those engaged today. Make sure you understand the current environment you are selling into.
• Competition – Competitive analysis is crucial. Research independent professionals in your field and gather information like services offered, pricing, and past clients. Be as detailed as possible.

2. Define Your Ideal Client

Defining your ideal client is similar to building a buyer persona. Using the information collected in your research, build a detailed description of your ideal client. For example: Dennis, age 48, is a senior partner in a technology services firm and oversees sales to financial institutions. He is struggling to reach the right individuals within target companies and wants to devise innovative marketing strategies to address this.

The more detailed your ideal client definition, the better you can complete the next step successfully. This initial example could be expanded by including what products and services Dennis is focused on selling, what types and sizes of financial institutions he is targeting, what issues those firms are dealing with, and the types of technology solutions Dennis’s company is offering to resolve those issues.

3. Create Focused Solutions

Building a clear picture of your ideal client gives you a solid foundation for designing the services you offer and how you will position them in your marketing initiatives. If you are not already doing so, this step generates a solution-driven approach, showing prospects that you understand the problems they are trying to solve and have the right answers.