Turn away customers and get more business

Target a niche and you’ll never go hungry

Imagine for a moment you’re a small business. Maybe you don’t have to, because you are one. But imagine anyway. You’re looking for an accountant. First, you ask friends, but they say their accountants are all right, but not so great they’d recommend them. So you decide to search online. Soon, your head hurts. You’ve checked out lots of websites. They all make big promises, and talk about the things they ‘firmly believe in’. Maybe they even say ‘we pride ourselves on’ a few times. And they all say ‘we’, even if they’re just one person. But frankly, they all look the same. Then suddenly, you spot something. A firm of accountants that says we’re small. But that’s not all. They say we’re the small business specialists. Not only do they specialise in small businesses, they say they don’t and don’t want to handle big businesses. Convinced? I am. I’d use them. Give me their number now.

Go small, think big

If you specialise, people will flock to you. Don’t worry that you’re turning away people – you’re attracting even more. Once, I fell into conversation with a woman at a party. She was a life coach, she told me. A life coach who specialised in actors. A life coach specialised in actors, and especially gay actors. “How fascinating,” I said, munching a vol-au-vent and sipping warm chenin blanc. Secretly, I was wondering whether she’d painted herself into a very tiny corner. So how was business, I asked her. She knocked back a neat whiskey, and smiled broadly. “I’m rushed off my feet,” she said. “Never been busier. Since I started specialising, I’ve been inundated. Who would have thought?” Who indeed.

Kevin Communication, Marketing.