Niche
The narrow group you choose to be the obvious answer for — chosen by exclusion, not by topic.
A niche is the narrow group of people you have decided to be the obvious choice for. It is defined by who it excludes, which is why "small businesses" is not a niche and "dental practices with two to five chairs" is.
The resistance to narrowing is always the same fear: fewer possible customers means less work. The arithmetic runs the other way. In a wide market you are one of hundreds and win on price and availability; in a narrow one you are one of three, and the three things that make you expensive elsewhere — you have seen this problem before, you know the vocabulary, you have a case study from the same room — become the reason you are chosen. A smaller market you can actually win beats a large one you cannot be found in.
Narrowing is also reversible in a way people assume it is not. A reputation earned in one specific market is portable; anonymity in a broad one is not.
Worked: a generalist wins 1 in 8 proposals at $2,000 and spends 40 hours a month selling. Specialised, the same operator wins 1 in 3 at $3,500 and spends 15 hours selling. Half the market size, double the revenue, and 25 hours a month returned to delivery.
Also known as
- specialism
- vertical
- focus
Relevant for
- Creators
- A niche is what makes a sponsor pay more for a smaller audience — they are buying who is listening, and "everyone" is worth the least per head.
- Business owners
- Being the obvious answer for one kind of client beats being an option for ten; specialisation is what a larger competitor cannot copy by lowering a price.