To Niche or Micro-Niche?

Why You Don’t Have to Choose

One topic I get asked about often is “niching.” 

My clients have questions like, “What is a niche?” “How do I know what my niche is?” and “Should I micro-niche?”

So let’s talk about it! 

What is the Difference? 

A niche is the segment of the market that is special to the product or service that you are offering. It is the common thread that ties your potential clients and customers together. For example, PetSmart’s niche is… you guessed it… people who own pets! 

Keeping PetSmart as our example, you can see that a niche can actually still be a pretty broad target market, which is why I like to break it down even further and dive deeper into the psychographics. This is more than just gender, location, age, and income level; this takes a look at what your clients value, what challenges they face, and what motivates them. 

At Lab Creative our niche is business founders and change-makers. They have a growth mindset, are ambitious, and are creating a legacy brand with impact.

By defining our niche in this way, I am able to drill down on the language that helps me speak directly to them, and attracts my ideal clients while repelling the clients we don’t want. 

In our case it doesn’t matter the exact industry our clients are in, as long as our values align. This works for us because we love variety, and what matters to us most is their mindset. 

A micro-niche on the other hand, is industry or demographic-specific. For example, I would have a micro-niche if I decided to only work with naturopaths, or financial advisors. If you are a wellness practitioner, you could choose to work with people in one single area of their health: only menopausal women, solely fertility, or just with gut health.  

Which is Better? Niching or Micro-Niching? 

The easy answer is… there is no easy answer. It really boils down to who YOU want to work with in your business. 

When you choose to micro-niche, you may do so because: 

• You can create laser-focused content that speaks to your ideal client each and every time you share 

• You may experience less competition 

• You may be able to more easily define your pricing 

• You are focusing in on your strengths 

• It is easier to pre-qualify your customers 

• You happen to really enjoy working with a particular type of person! 

You may choose not to micro-niche because: 

• You have a desire to serve and impact as many people as possible

• You like diversity and variety amongst your clients

• You love learning new things and working with new industries

• You want to be able to more easily pivot if need be

• Your content will be applicable to and reach more people 

• You haven’t honed in on your exact area of expertise yet 

Guess What? You Can Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!

When you choose to niche, rather than micro-niche, you can still have all of the benefits of micro-niching! 

After you have gotten clear on the values and challenges of your ideal client, you can then map out the micro-niches within your niche. 

Let’s use a marketing agency as an example. 

Suppose their niche is small businesses who are too busy to create content, manage, and engage on their social media accounts. These business owners are successful, open-minded, hardworking, and want to remain the face of their business. They just need help showing up. 

Within that niche, you can then create a list of micro-niches: 

• Coaches and Consultants

• Creative businesses

• Financial Advisors

• Real Estate Teams 

• Podcasters

• Etc. 

By mapping out these micro-niches, you can then create content and a brand that attracts your niche, as well as hone in on the specific pain points and challenges of these individuals as well. 

Begin by Getting Clear 

Whatever you decide is right for you: niching, micro-niching, or something in between, make sure that you begin by getting clear on who you want to work with. 

What do your potential clients value? What are they motivated by? What pain points and struggles do they have?

It’s always important to remember that you are in the driver’s seat of your business...you get to steer the ship and create the business that you want. And a huge part of that is the people you work with.

If you need support in this process, let’s get on a call!

You can also check out Brand Camp, my transformative branding experience for ambitious entrepreneurs, and I’d love to have you join us!