Should you market to residential or commercial clients? Here’s how to determine your expertise and your preferred clientele:
Most of us have our hands in many different pots.
Trying our best to cater to everybody, we offer our services to residential AND commercial markets, all while dipping our toes in a variety of different services like snow removal, tree removal, and garden and lawn maintenance. The thinking: the more we do, the more opportunities we’ll have to succeed. But, surprisingly, many experts advise against this.
Rather than attempting to do it all and never really succeeding in any area, experts stress the importance of finding a niche market and leveraging your skills so you can grow to be a specialist in one specific field. Here’s their thought: Focusing on a niche market will attract more clients and allow your business to thrive. You’ll have greater potential to establish yourself as a leader in one particular market, especially when you focus your attention on mastering your skills and knowledge.
Now, this advice doesn’t necessarily mean you have to limit the work you do. However, it does mean you should promote yourself as an expert in one particular field.
The benefits of establishing a niche market include:
- A greater potential to establish yourself as a leader
- A more successful marketing campaign due to a clearly defined target customer
- New services and products that appeal to target customers and are easier to develop due to a specialized market
So how do you determine what that one particular field should be? Take a look at your current clientele. Does your business seem to attract middleclass home owners or luxury estate home owners? Do your services cater to corporations or commercial buildings? Perhaps they cater more to public parks, resorts or golf courses? Take your most valued customers into account. This might help you discover what your expertise should be.
Next take a look at your services and consider what you do really well. Are you known for your interlocking, your water features, your concrete work, your irrigation systems, or your unique gardens? Does your best business come from your design and build landscapes or your maintenance work?
Once you determine your service compare it to your common customer. Ask yourself: will they use this specialty service? Say you provide most of your business to middle-class families; will they be looking for maintenance service? Or is maintenance service more attractive for commercial clients? Try and strike a balance between your common customer and your decided niche.
Asking yourself these questions will help you pick through your work and pinpoint your expertise. And, if you can’t determine your niche from your current services, carve a new niche out for yourself. The most important thing to take away from this exercise is the fact that narrowing your expertise will narrow your competition and your variety of clientele – and this is a good thing! As an expert in one market, you’re more likely to have the undivided attention of a particular clientele rather than a broad base of fleeting customers.
Landscape Management Network is a collection of systems, tools, and training to help great contractors build and manage great businesses. Visit the LMN website.
Comments