I want to tell you about fishing for your niche. Your very own niche. That avatar that you’re marketing too. But let me first tell you a story. I promise it’s relevant even though it is a travel related story. (side note — I learn a lot from travel)
Red pill or blue pill?
I once became very sick when I returned home from Vietnam. I decided a trip to urgent care was necessary when my “jet lag” wasn’t going away. They determined I had some kind of bacterial infection and should take an antibiotic. The first antibiotic they gave me made me feel worse. I became more nauseated and I wasn’t able to eat or drink anything without my stomach cramping. They told me to stop taking it and I had to go back and do some more tests. At this point I’m wondering how long I can last without food or water. Eek!
They finally figured out exactly what bacteria I had. I still remember the woman asking me the most ridiculous question, “Would you like to continue with the medication you have been taking or get a prescription for this new antibiotic that will treat your exact bacteria.” One, I felt like she should know I stopped taking the other one but two, who the heck wants to continue with something generic when you can have something exactly targeted to what you need. Needless to say I chose the new meds and was feeling better in a couple days.
Fishing for a niche
Another great analogy for picking a niche is when you’re going fishing. Do you want to catch and eat just any fish or are you really craving something specific? Did you pick up a fishing tag for a specific fish or go down to the supermarket for a specific fish?
Picking a niche is really important because you don’t want to fish for just any fish, you probably have some kind of flavor in mind or at least some idea of what you’d like. Just like you different fish are better attracted to different bait.
People want what will work best for their specific situation. Do you want the orthopedic surgeon to fix your knee or the general surgeon? Both could do it but I’d say you’d have a better success rate with the orthopedic surgeon.
What do you need to change in your business so that your niche is clear and you have the right bait? Colors, fonts, logos, graphics, photography and more all come into play here.