First, let me start with a quick case for choosing a niche. THEN I will go through all the excuses people have for not actively focusing their marketing on a niche and THEN I will build a case against each excuse for identifying your architecture firm's niche.
Sound like fun? You bet!
“Niching,” or segmenting, is the process of positioning yourself as a specialist in a particular sub-market. The benefits are:
- You can charge higher fees
- You can deliver your work faster
- Deals close faster
- People value your opinions more
- People seek you out
Why? Well, simple, my little furry friend: because you are perceived as an expert.
Everyone thinks his or her situation is different.
If you had a problem with your heart would you rather be treated by a GP or the heart specialist? Obvious.
Would you rather consult with a marketing specialist or an architect marketing specialist with all his or her pre-made tools and scripts and approaches that have already been proven to work for architects? Obvious.
Big spenders in any marketing want the BEST. And the specialist is considered the best because … “It's all we do.” We assume the specialist knows the pitfalls, nuances and secret methods for getting great results for our specific conditions. Sometimes they do.
So much for the theory, and I know you agree “in principle.”
“But, Richard, I like to do a variety of work.”
Let's eliminate a HUGE misconception. Marketing is about identifying various target markets and having a separate marketing approach for each one.
You can still do a variety of work; you can be a specialist in two different areas, and even a generalist as well if you felt you were going to miss out, but the two specialist niche clientele need to see, hear and feel you as the expert.
“What should my website say if I want to have more than one niche?”
Good question. You have a couple of options:
Option 1. You have a couple of doors on your homepage redirecting people off to the relevant specialist area.
Option 2 (my favorite). You have a website for each specialty. Ask our architect marketers for stellar examples in our private Facebook group! Learn more about the benefits of segmenting and find the best way for you to market your architecture firm's niche (or two!) through the AMI community.
Hi Richard,
Thanks a lot for such an informative blog. I understand that selecting a niche target is crucial. But what to do if I don’t have any experience in my selected niche? For example, I worked in commercial and public projects and now want to design small off-grid residential cabins, which I haven’t done before.
Thanks a lot!
Madina
Hey Madina! That’s a good question. I just checked in with Richard about this and he encourages you to become a thought leader on your desired niche. Review, comment, speak about that niche and people will assume you have experience. Have you heard of our Dirty 30 newsletter strategy? That is also a good way of building a network with a new target audience. Read more about that here: https://archmarketing.org/what-should-write-architecture-firm-newsletter/ Request to join our Facebook group of ambitious architects seeking better projects here: archmarketing.org/facebook