The fatal mistake of not niching your agency

“Should I niche?”

It’s one of the most frequently asked questions I receive from other agency owners.

Niching feels risky, and I was scared as shit to do it myself.

You’re worried that clients outside your niche will leave. You’re scared to turn away new business. And worst of all, you’re not even sure which industry to niche into.

When I first started niching, I didn’t choose a target. I wrote a blacklist of industries I wouldn’t work with. They were the obvious ones; porn, tobacco, etc.

Then, I converted to a broad whitelist; legal, medical, and home services. That was better, but still way too broad. Our messaging was off. It was hard to attract the right clients when we were trying to be everything to everybody.

So I took it a step further. We created one agency per niche.

• One for law firms.

• One for home services companies.

• One for elective medical practices.

With that, our messaging is now tight. The branding matches, and it was clear to us and the world what problem each of our agencies solves and for whom we solve it.

Brutal truth: the world demands niche solutions. Not generalists. People don’t want the “jack-of-all-trades” agency. They want an agency that’s built for their business. Staying a generalist is frankly lazy, and you’re fighting a losing battle.

If you’re afraid that once you niche that your current clients will disappear, trust me, you have little to worry about. When we started niching, I didn’t lose a single client, even legacy clients outside of the niche.

If you’re worried about a particular client falling outside your new niche, just call them. Tell them, “We’re focusing our outbound marketing to a new industry, but we’re still 100% partnered with you.”

You’re not abandoning them. You’re just getting more focused.

The fear of niching stems from a desire to say yes to every random inbound inquiry. When you’re growing your agency, every lead feels like gold, usually because you have few of them. But that’s not a strategy. That’s hope, and hope is not a great business model. Focusing on a niche is a strategy that will dramatically increase your deal flow.

You don’t even have to say no to everyone outside your niche. If a good opportunity lands in your lap, you can still take it.

The difference is that your messaging and your marketing will be focused. Now you know exactly who your ideal client is. It frees you to do things like start an industry-specific podcast, write thought leadership pieces that speak directly to your niche, partner with vendors who already serve the industry, and attend conferences where your target audience gathers.

Once I committed to niching, our agencies became more efficient, more profitable, and way easier to grow. Bonus: I could stop wasting my time at general business networking events. 💯

What’s stopping you from picking a niche? Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments.

I hope my experience gives you the confidence to make the change you know you need to make.

~ Erik