Achieve World Domination One Niche At a Time (4/100)
I’m updating & posting the “Impossible” book in small bites over 2023 adding commentary after the book bit.
“‘From Impossible to Inevitable’ is on my top 10 books list. An outstanding read for all SaaS leaders!” — Michael Reid, CRO of ThousandEyes ($100m+).
Let’s address a misperception right now about the word “niche.” When you Nail a Niche, you’re not “thinking small.” You’re not limiting your dream. You’re not permanently shrinking your addressable market.
Niche here means focused. On a specific target customer with a specific pain with a specific solution. Regardless of how many types of customers you could help, or how many of their problems you could solve.
Don’t let your exciting vision or big, hairy, audacious goal get in the way of taking the daily baby steps needed to win customers today.
Hypergrowth doesn’t come from selling many things to many markets, covering all your bases (really, dividing your energies). Hypergrowth comes from focusing on where you have the best chances of winning customers, making them successful, building a reputation of results, and then growing from there.
These companies had global dreams, but started narrow:
- Salesforce.com started with Sales Force Automation
- Facebook began with Ivy League schools
- PayPal took off with eBay users
- Amazon started with books
- Zappos sold shoes
Where’s the easiest place for you to build momentum now? What’s the path of least resistance to money for you?
Focusing on specific industries or types of customers like banks, software companies, or large businesses is part, but not all of it. It also means focusing your unique strengths (not all your strengths) where they can create the most value (not any value), and:
- Solve a specific pain for
- An ideal target customer in
- A believable, repeatable way,
- With predictable methods to (a) find and (b) interest them.
Any kind of specialization that helps you to break through the clutter, stand out, be the best, win, or be unique is valuable.
For example: If you’re a company that creates customized solutions for every client (many consultants, agencies and dev shops), and you need to re-create the wheel from scratch each time, you’re going to struggle with a double whammy. First, it’ll be harder to market yourself, because really what problem do you solve?
So, someone asks you “what do you do?” You can respond with either:
- “We’re growth consultants” (because you don’t want to ‘limit yourself’), or
- “We help B2B SaaS companies improve their organic SEO placements.”
Second, unless you have some kind of repeatable solution, framework, or system growth is going to be hard. You have to be stubborn to grow that kind of company! (Speaking from experience).
If you focus on solving a single problem really well and can adapt as the market evolves, the sky’s your limit.
A catch: sometimes it takes a few years or decades to figure out what that single problem is. And then you think you have it… and the market changes. Or there’s a pandemic, European war, or AI avalanche.
Observations: AI & ChatGPT could change everything in your market… or not. It’s too early to tell. But something it won’t change: your trusted relationships. Whether you’re worried or excited about AI (both appropriate reactions!), know that what it can’t replicate, yet, are your trusted relationships. Trusted relationships will always cut through the noise of the world better than anything else. Whatever else you’re doing, double down on those, whether they’re friends, business or family.
The world will only get more:
- Chaotic
- Confusing and
- Commoditized
Navigate & stand out by focusing on what and who feels “right” [good / interesting / important]. Practice listening to your intuition more. In a confusing world of conflicting data and useful but misguided advice, it’ll be your north star.
