It’s time to niche up as a brand!

Hi there 👋,

One of the biggest mistakes I see in messaging is brands that are trying to speak to everyone. 

They believe anyone could be a potential customer, so they focus on a broad audience.

A founder will approach me to work together, and I’ll ask who their product is for. I’ll receive vague answers like:

• Women aged 24-45 who want better skin 

• Startups who want to grow faster 

• Office workers struggling with focus

As if that isn’t bad enough, they’ll then list a bunch of different countries. 

But by trying to speak to everyone, you’re actually speaking to no one. 

You need to find your niche, an actual niche, rather than a huge list of characteristics.

Find your audience so you can reach them directly and grow your brand.

What happens when we focus on a large audience?

I get it. I made a Message-Market Fit programme for startups.

I believe that most startups, heck, most companies, struggle with their message-market fit and could benefit from better messaging.

But if I focused on all companies, here is what would happen:

1. Vague and broad messaging that doesn’t actually resonate with anyone - the irony is not lost on me that I’m using a message-market fit programme as an example

2. I actually limit my growth as a result, because I don’t resonate with people

Rather, this is how I target my course:

It’s time to niche up!

Now it’s time to consider how we’ll actually manage this. How do you know if you’ve niched down enough? 

Firstly, you shouldn’t work with vague demographics like gender, age or occupation. Instead, you can know the following about your audience:

1. Their Jobs To Be Done 

2. Their pains and fears

3. Their hopes and dreams

4. Their questions

5. Where they look for things

6. What matters to them

The second part of finding your niche as a brand is to consider who you’re not for. This may seem absurd as a business. 

Why would you turn customers away? Why wouldn’t you try to get everyone? 

But these people aren’t going to purchase your product or service anyway, and if they do, they won’t be pleased with it. 

Clarifying who your brand is not geared towards will allow you to further carve out your place in the market.

For the third part, check out my complete article on finding your niche as a brand.

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

I mentioned my Message-Market Fit course as an example of finding the right niche, and it might also work as a solution to this. 

Most brands choose a positioning based on their original idea and move on way too fast. Then when they want to revisit it, the options aren’t great. 

But this is the first-ever course on Message-Market Fit, and it might be exactly what you’re looking for.

The crash course is available for £45, or the full course is available for £595.

Job Opportunity

I also have an exciting opportunity today for the Growth Waves community.

Jay Shetty Genius Community is recruiting someone to lead the growth marketing of Genius, a coaching and workshops app that helps individuals work on their well-being and reach their full potential.

Looking for someone with 4 years of growth marketing experience, specifically in Meta ads and website optimisation. You'll get to work with a diverse growth team to improve the full funnel.

You can view the whole job spec here.

I've been enjoying working with them the last three months and will be helping onboard and advising the new hire, meaning you'll get 1-on-1 support to be set up for success.

Apply below or forward this email on if you know somebody who might be a good fit!

Good luck 🌊

One final word on messaging…

It can feel unnatural to exclude so much of the population, but remember that you’re not banning them from your product. They might still find their way to you, and that’s fine. 

But you’re focusing your efforts and resources on audiences that have a higher chance of converting.

You’re gearing yourself to find customers that will turn into your biggest fans.

Finding the right niche for your brand is about believing in your product and knowing who will believe in it too.

Daphne