Marketing Mentor Tip #8: How to dominate your market
Author of this post: Ilise Benun | About Blog Authors »
Many designers believe that marketing the widest range of services to the largest possible group is the path to success. You’d rather be a generalist because you think you’ll get more business. And on one level it makes sense: the more opportunities you have to make a sale, the more sales you are likely to make. But in reality it doesn’t work that way. In fact, success comes to those who focus on the smallest number of activities most likely to yield the quickest and largest return.
Look at all you get when you specialize:
Fame: You’ll become known as an expert in your area of focus.
Fortune: You’ll command higher fees for your expertise.
Success: You’ll achieve your personal and business goals
Choice: You’ll get the work you want instead of taking whatever comes along
If you resist specializing, what you fail to understand is that your clients need you to specialize in exactly the service they need. They need to know they are dealing with an expert who serves their particular needs. That’s what will make them feel more comfortable choosing you. That’s what will help them sell you to their managers. So in reality, and in the long run, specializing gets you more business.
But focus doesn’t come naturally. Focus requires ongoing attention and discipline, which is why many people don’t do it. In fact, it’s not something you do once and then it’s done. Focusing means committing, and then recommitting, to your plan every day, refocusing your attention and reevaluating your choices on a regular basis. That’s the way to dominate the marketplace.
If you need help defining your target market and deciding what to specialize in, we have a worksheet that will help.
Send an email to ilise@marketing-mentor.com with “i need to define my market” in the subject line
and we’ll send it along.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
[...] (And if you want a copy of the article, “How to Become a Relationship Artist”, send an email to ilise@marketing-mentor.com with “relationship artist” in the subject line.) Read Ilise’s previous post Read Ilise’s next post [...]
September 25th, 2007 at 10:45 am
[...] In my last Marketing Mentor Tip, How to Dominate Your Market, I focused on what you get if you decide to specialize — namely higher fees because clients are willing to pay for expertise. [...]
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Great article.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
great article. niche marketing is the best way for a micro company.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Specializing and branding yourself as an expert in one field than trying to capture a broader market eventually would help you make more money, especially on the Internet. On the web we all want to learn from and hire experts for our projects. We want to find the best at it and do business with him and online if you are not that one, your competitor who is, is only a click away. Excellent advice.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
thanks.great article….