Specialisation involves defining the parameters in which your business operates. Once you do this...
- Your marketing becomes more effective. It will help you attract your ideal clients and exclude those that you are not interested in working with.
- It makes it easier to stand out from the competition as most businesses are generalists.
- You can develop deep expertise by recognising the patterns that recur in your client work.
- You can charge higher fees because you will be seen as the go-to expert in your field.
- It is easier for people to refer you to others in their network as they can explain exactly which type of clients you help and the products/services you provide.
How do I implement this in my expertise-driven business?
To reap the rewards of specialisation, the main two areas to determine are the target audience you serve and the products/services you deliver to those people.
Target audience
Focusing on serving a particular target audience is usually a good place to start because it instantly makes potential clients more receptive to your marketing. This is because they will see your messaging and think "that's for me". This is especially beneficial for businesses operating in competitive markets as focusing on serving one clearly defined group instantly makes you stand out from the crowd.
However, in order for a potential client to recognise themselves in your marketing, you have to use the terms they use to describe themselves. This could be their job title or a role associated with their personal life eg “single parents”. By addressing people this way, they will be able to see that your offering is specifically for them – which significantly increases the chances of them responding to your marketing.
Products and services
In terms of the products/services you deliver, it’s wise to position your business around the problems you solve, not the deliverables you provide. This is because a business’ offering is just a means to an end for a client. They don’t really care about what you do to get to the result, they just care about the result.
So consider the biggest problems your target audience experiences in relation to your line of work. You should select a problem to focus on that is either costing them a lot of money by not solving, or one that has the potential for a big financial gain. Once you have identified the problem you want to help your audience with, the next step is to reverse engineer your offering and position it to be the best solution to that particular problem.
By following this process of identifying the audience, then focusing on solving one of their problems they are eager to solve, it will ensure your offering is in demand. You now just need to communicate to them that you’re the best supplier to deliver it.
But specialising sounds kinda scary...right?
One common reason businesses resist specialisation is that people think it’s limiting and that they will get bored of what they have chosen to focus on. In reality, the opposite tends to be true. By solely focusing on a core offering and target audience, it enables you to go deep on that subject matter and develop true expertise.
It’s also worth noting that your specialism is not set in stone and you can always change or pivot it at a later date. You can also continue to take on projects you are interested in that are not directly linked to your area of focus. It is just that your marketing and messaging should be focused on your specialism. Your specialisation is all about the work you pursue, not necessarily what you do all the time.
