Should you have a niche? How to attract your ideal client in your online service business.
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Mentioned in this episode:
What it means to “un-niche” and why my unique approach is probably the permission slip you’ve been craving
How crafting an “offer story” can take your launch from meh to record-breaking
Where you can find my fave messaging formula to position your program with the confidence and gusto you know it deserves
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To niche or not to niche.
As a business coach, this is a question I get A LOT.
Just recently I’ve had this conversation with 5 or 6 different clients who are at varying stages in their business.
And each time I share my thoughts around niching with them, it's a massive exhale moment.
It’s like I’ve given them a permission slip to do things differently in business, in an industry that has become pretty dogmatic about having a “niche”.
So today, I want to share with you my unpopular opinion when it comes to niching, or rather un-niching, in your business and my alternative strategy to niching that will ensure that you build a business that “loves you back”.
What does it mean to un-niche and how can this increase income and ROI in your business
In my work, I don’t teach you to niche down.
Most of us start a business because we don’t want to fit into a box and so deciding to then fit yourself into a box seems a little counterproductive.
In my experience, when we try and fit our multidimensional experience into a very specific niche, we end up putting all our offers into that one niche.
What happens as a result is that the messaging for all of those offers becomes the same.
They all sound similar, cannibalising one another, leaving the potential client confused and not buying.
Because confused people don’t buy.
For example, say you convince yourself that you must niche, and that niche is supporting established spiritual entrepreneurs to cultivate the necessary mindset to move through their income plateau.
You create a mastermind for those entrepreneurs, you also have a course about mindset for spiritual entrepreneurs, and then you also have another program about money for spiritual entrepreneurs.
The theme through all of them is “established spiritual entrepreneurs who are cultivating the mindset to move through their income plateau”.
How does that entrepreneur know which offer of yours to buy when they’re all seemingly about the same thing??
Now, before you come at me about niching, I have to say that I do have clients that are very specifically niched.
And niching can be a great thing in your business if you’re using it correctly.
For example, I work with a naturopath who specifically supports couples with preconception. That’s her niche.
That said, it’s also incredibly clear as to how and why certain clients would work with her and her varying offers.
BUT, what I really do believe is that niching isn’t necessary for a successful business.
Many of my clients work with a broad range of people and have highly successful businesses WITHOUT a niche.
But here’s what they do have…
An offer story and a clear niche for each of their offers.
So we’re not niching at that top end, but at the offer level. I’ll circle back to the top end in a moment.
So why do we create niched offers?
I can almost guarantee that you’re not the only one delivering the offer you’re delivering, but you’re the only one delivering it in the way you are.
This is part of your uniqueness, your point of difference.
I’m not the only business coach, but I’m the only one who is doing it in the way that I am; with a focus on strategy AND energetics through Human Design and Astrology.
And this is what formulates the niche and offer story for each of my individual offers.
But where to start with creating a niched offer and offer story?
You start with a Movement that informs every offer you create and the niche those offers seek to serve.
Your Movement
Declare and pioneer your MOVEMENT.
Your Movement is what you stand for as a business owner and the greater impact you desire to have.
Your Movement is connected to your own story as a business owner.
This is an excellent way to create more resonance of your message with your ideal clients. By declaring and pioneering a Movement that acts as the golden thread throughout your content, offers, Podcast pitches, lead generation… the list goes on.
For me, my current movement is:
“Richness Without Sacrifice”
But there was a time when my movement was connected to health before it evolved into “strengths-led business” before we ended up here.
All that to say, your Movement can (and will) evolve as you continue to expand and evolve.
Today, my movement is about supporting entrepreneurs to make more money without working more or abandoning their body. It is about being “Rich Without Sacrifice”.
When we can clearly identify the bigger picture of our WHY we can more effectively communicate this to your ideal client.
Because, at the end of the day, you’re not just selling a product or service. You’re selling a MOVEMENT.
Your ideal client needs to feel something when they make a purchase (and most consumers don’t even know this!).
So while I do have clients come to me and say that their problem in business is a lack of visibility, a lack of sales, a lack of customers, a lack of ideas for content etc...
What they come to realise when working together 1:1 with me is that the biggest problem they have is actually not being able to sell the movement that they stand for.
Once you have clarity on your overall Movement, it’s important to revisit your product suite to see how your current offers serve your ideal client.
In this process, you might realise that some offers no longer make sense in your business - and that's okay!
You might find that two offers that you thought were entirely different actually serve the same purpose and are cannibalising one another.
Or you might realise that there is a new offer that can be birthed to better serve your ideal client now that you have the clarity around your Movement.
It’s important to take the time to refine your product suite after you’ve declared your Movement and to be ruthless in deciding what stays and what goes.
Once you know which offers will remain, or which may need to be created, you can start to create a compelling “offer story” for each of your offers.
From here, each offer becomes its own niche with its own individual offer story that connects back to your overall Movement and story.
For example
My Movement
Richness Without Sacrifice.
My Story
Here’s the topline synopsis… I experienced burnout > decided to leverage my strengths instead > built a business with strong foundations and now help others to do the same > more spacious success
Constantly Converting By Design
creating a business that doesn’t require you to always be “on” by having strategies to create and refine your offer, messaging and sales so you can convert consistently.
Tagline: Over 12 weeks, you'll learn how to create, position and SELL your offers consistently and in a way that leverages your uniqueness and strengths.
Neon
using your strengths/human design/astrology so your strategies actually support your energy and make it easier to convert consistently now and over time
Tagline: A 9-month personalised 1:1 and group program for service providers who want the product suite, messaging, funnel and sales and marketing strategies they’ve been missing to create year-on-year growth (and a multiple 6-figure reality)
As you can see, both of these individual offer stories connect back to my overall Movement and my story, yet serve two distinct groups of clients at varying levels in their business journey.
This means that while my “niche” may seem different on the surface, in reality, my core Movement is the same.
But, why does this matter?
To put simply it ensures that;
there is a greater resonance with my ideal client (no matter what stage of business they are in)
there is a greater sense of congruence in my business while still being able to serve my clients at various stages in their business and,
ultimately it fosters a deeper sense of trust in that all roads lead back to my Movement…
…which ultimately is what my ideal client is seeking for themselves too.
So rather than being bland, beige, and having cannibalised offers, having a niched and specific offer allows you to create compelling messaging that:
Clearly articulates the solution your offer provides and
Positions YOU as the expert and the best person to guide your clients
Which you can then repeat over and over.
Let’s not forget the rule of 7; the idea that your client needs 7 touch points and 7 accumulated hours with you to make an informed and educated purchase.
The ROI increase
And this is where that ROI comes from.
Visibility and conversions don’t necessarily come from being everywhere all the time, or shouting the loudest.
Sometimes it's just about making the pathway clear for someone.
If your ideal client gets through door one - perhaps engaging in your Podcast, social media content or blog - then they are never going to enter through door two - signing up to a newsletter or a free masterclass - and especially not door 3 - where they actually purchase from you.
When you have a clear Movement and niched offers that lead your clients in this Movement, your content and messaging will become sharper and more precise ensuring that more of those doors are swung open!
And if you want to have your ideal clients banging on your door then definitely jump on the waitlist for Constantly Converting By Design 😉
All that to say, there’s a time and a place for niching.
And for me, the best time to niche is when it comes to your offers.
When we look at how you “niche” it's important to consider the overall Movement of your business and how that particular offer helps drive your ideal client to that outcome.
From here you can use your understanding of this niche, alongside your overall Movement, and consider how you are messaging and positioning your offer; knowing that the ideal client may vary.
It can help provide clarity on:
The problems they are currently facing (that you can provide solutions to)
Where they are currently at in their business and where they are seeking to go
What’s required in order for them to achieve their goals, relative to where they are currently at in business (this is a key distinction for Constantly Converting By Design and NEON.
So, if you haven’t already get curious about what your overall business Movement is and seriously consider if your offers are serving that current movement or if perhaps some things need to change.
FAQ
-
Yes and no. If you already have an idea of who your ideal client might be then that’s great. However, if you aren’t sure I would encourage you to sit with your Movement first and then consider who your ideal client might be off the back of that. And if you still aren’t sure, we also have a lesson in Constantly Converting By Design that helps you identify your ideal client.
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This is so common for so many of us who have been told that we need to niche down from the beginning. But just because you are currently operating with a specific niche in mind doesn’t mean you can't expand and grow beyond it. If you love this niche in your business but want to serve more clients, then again start with your overall Movement. Once you have clarity on this and how your current niche fits into it, you can position your existing offer as the solution to whatever problem that niche is facing. In creating your Movement, you may also identify an untapped client base and an idea for an offer could come through. This can start to be incorporated into your overall messaging, as you slowly tease this new offer.
Constantly Converting By Design
Want your business to convert consistently and predictably? (While your mind and body feel fully grounded and deeply regulated because you’re finally being guided by your unique Human Design Energy Type).
Constantly Converting By Design is open for enrolment!
Over 12 weeks, you'll learn how to create, position and SELL your offers consistently and in a way that leverages your uniqueness and strengths.
P.S. One of the things I teach inside Constantly Converting By Design is my whole content system which can be executed according to your Human Design and implemented in a way where you can easily repurpose content and leverage things more and more over time.
APPLY FOR NEON
If you’re desiring more intimate support from me and my team, right now, we’re accepting applications for NEON, where we can work closely to help you scale your business in alignment with your Human Design so you can create a profitable business that loves you back 🤌🏽
Get your application in asap, and you’ll gain immediate access to our coaching calls inside Slack, PLUS you’ll score an action-oriented onboarding call with me to plan out the details for your next successful quarter 🧠💸 (until the 19th of September)
APPLY TO WORK 1:1
I’m Jazze Jervis
Jazze Jervis is a business coach supporting high achieving service providers to increase their visibility, scale their brands and increase profits with *personalised* strategies, human design and astrology so they can experience “richness” without the sacrifice.
