*Developing a Niche: What You Need to Know

Source: Partner Insights 

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by August Aquila.

The most successful niche practice is the one that starts with the client in mind.

Start off with these questions:

• What are the unmet needs of a niche?
• Who is currently offering services to this niche (the competition)?
• Are there a lot of competitors? Is there room for one more?
• What are the competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and positions in this niche?
• How large (market size) is the niche?
• Is it large enough to support your initiative?
• Is the niche growing, declining, stagnant?
• What are the trends in the niche?
• What types of professional services are most sought after in this niche?
• Who are the real decision makers in the niche — the business owner, an outside advisor, CFO, etc.?

The more information you gather here, the more you can tailor your program to the unmet needs of the niche.

Aquila goes on to discuss identifying your firm's internal capabilities, developing your firm's positioning, creating a marketing plan, and measuring success.

For the complete article, read “Building a Niche from Scratch.”

From Partner Insights, Aquila Global Advisors, LLC, March 2016, www.aquilaadvisors.com.