Many designers fear that by narrowing their focus, they will limit their growth opportunities. But the opposite is true! You can’t be everything to everyone, and trying to be often leads to burnout, watered-down branding, and clients that you don’t like working with. A niche design business is adept at attracting ideal clients, building authority, and promoting steady growth. In this article, you’ll learn why niching down is actually a good thing and the pitfalls of trying to appeal to the masses.
The Trap of Serving Everyone
It’s an understandable fear: by being more niche, you are inherently limiting your pool of potential clients. And if you’re already struggling to get clients, this seems like a terrible idea! On top of that, you want to be able to prove that you can tackle a wide range of design styles and be versatile.
But attempting to serve everyone has some major downsides. The first is that by being broad, you become generic. Interior design is a crowded market, and if you just offer a little bit of everything, clients have no specific reason to choose your firm over another. At that point, you can only really compete on price, and you risk dropping your prices too low just to get clients. You’ll be left with a weak brand that is difficult to describe or nail down, and you won’t stand out.
The Power of Niching Down
Brand Clarity: A niche design firm has a clear and consistent story. That story is the same throughout all marketing materials, because you know who you are and can communicate it with ease. Some distinct keywords should come to mind when you think about your business. If not, it’s time to do some deeper searching.
Becoming the Go-To Expert: Specialization builds authority. You want to be the first business someone thinks of when they think of a specific design style or type. If you try to appeal to everyone, you risk being just another generic design firm.
Stronger Client Relationships: By finding a design niche, you will attract clients who are interested in that niche. These clients will, on average, have a better experience than general clients because you are already aligned. You’ll spend less time sifting through unqualified clients who drain your energy.
Operational Efficiency: Many designers end up reinventing the wheel on every project or interaction. That can be solved with good processes and procedures. But it can also be solved by finding your niche, as your processes can be fine-tuned to better serve a certain clientele.
Higher Profitability: Niche design firms can demand higher fees because of their expertise. It’s easier to justify premium pricing when there is less competition in your niche. It’s harder to charge what you’re worth when clients can just go somewhere else with lower prices.
How to Find Your Niche
Choosing a niche isn’t always easy, since it feels like you’re diminishing what you can work on. Start by looking at your strengths and passions. What types of projects get you out of bed in the morning? Then look at your client history. Which projects were most successful and profitable, or which ones sparked the most passion out of you and your team? These might show you valuable trends in what makes you happy and successful.
What is the market demanding right now? Can you identify a gap in the market, especially locally? If you can identify an underserved niche, this could be the perfect opportunity to swoop in and be the only firm in the space. Similarly, consider style-based or sector-based design niches. Is there a need for modern luxury design, sustainability-forward design, or wellness-focused design? Or maybe there is a need for design in the medical field, or in hospitality, or for high-end residential. See what others in your area are doing, and see if something is missing that might be in demand. You can cross-reference this with local businesses or types of homes. If there are more hotels than average in your area, and few nearby hotel designers, that could be a niche you could take advantage of.
How to Make the Switch
Going from a general firm to a niche one can’t be done overnight. It requires some preparation and planning.
Start by auditing your current projects to see how they align with your goals. There is no need to cancel in-progress projects, but identify which ones are currently exciting you.
Then start defining your design niche. Create an ideal client profile if you haven’t already, then write down the style and sector you’ve chosen, in as much detail as you’re able.
Then comes the tedious part, which is adjusting your branding, marketing materials, and messaging to appeal to your new target audience. Then deploy your new look and new voice on your marketing channels, such as email and social media.
Employees, vendors, and past clients should be made aware of your new focus. Employees need to be educated on the changes and be able to articulate the messaging to new potential clients.
Specifying Success
A niche business is not about limiting your opportunities, but is rather a way to identify and make the most of the right opportunities. What kind of clients do you want to work with every day for the next decade or longer? Think about that ideal client, and contrast them with some of the hardest projects you’ve worked on. Wouldn’t it be nice if the next ten years could be totally devoid of those difficult clients and only be full of fulfilling projects? That is within your grasp if you can find your niche!
If you’re struggling to find your design niche, Pearl Collective can help you identify it, along with restructuring, rebranding, and scaling your firm around that theme.