Be known for something different
A few months ago we went to visit some friends in London.
Now I'm not a great fashionista, however my friend follows fashion with a passion.
And while we were up in London she took me to one of her favourite shops - French Sole.
For those of you who aren't aware (and up until our visit, I too was ignorant!), French Sole specialise in selling classic women's ballet flats along with other fashionable flat shoes. Not a heel in sight.
The shop is set out beautifully and even I was seduced! Not only were the shoes gorgeous but they were incredibly comfortable - beauty and comfort - what's to dislike! Apart from the price. These shoes retail for an average of £100 and above so they're not for the faint hearted.
...however since French Sole was set up in 1989, they've now got 4 shops in London and 1 in Bath and are now expanding overseas - from the looks of it, in very select locations. So obviously not too many people are put off by the price.
Now I'd never heard of French Sole which my friend just couldn't believe. Apparently they are all over the beauty and fashion magazines and 'you'd have to be blind not to know about them'. (Or simply not read the relevant magazines!).
But this brings to mind a very simple truth. French Sole have a very specific target market and product. And they've become very, very good at servicing that target market with a relevant product.
Dominos did the same thing. Their target market was the student population who valued speed over quality.
And it's a great way to start and run a business. Focus on a specific market and give them what they want.
We've done the same in our practice. We don't try to be all things to all men and women. We specialise in working with businesses turning over less than £500k - with many of our clients turning over less than £100k.
By specialising in a very specific niche, we've been able to refine our offering and make sure we've become experts at helping our target clients. And, whilst the practice is relatively young, we're beginning to build our reputation (see what our clients say about us here) and the referrals are beginning to come.
And we'd suggest you consider doing the same in your business. You may just be surprised at the results!