Get Specific
If I had once piece of advice to give new business owners, it’d be to get specific.
- Get specific about what you’re offering
- Get specific about who you’re serving
Let’s look at some examples, shall we?
Example A: A super specific company with a crystal clear goal
So this is an example where a single company got laser focused about what they do. They don’t offer eye tracking software for any Bob, Dick, or Smarry, right? They provide eye tacking software for depth-sensing cameras. WTF is that? I don’t know, but the people in the know will know and they’ll understand it immediately.
Their business idea is golden, but they can be a bit more specific about the benefits it provides. Why would someone want eye tracking software for depth-sensing cameras? What if they led with that benefit?
Either way, they passed the first test: create a product that fills a specific need. They are super specific about what they do, and no one can question that. Good work, Eyeware. Good work.
Example b: A clear offer with a targeted audience
They’re promoting this to specific people: startups. They’re not offering managed hosting for all businesses; they’re not offering super fast hosting for giant corporations; they’re offering managed hosting for startups. And what does that specificity do? It shows startups that Cloudways knows exactly what their audience wants. They work with startups for godsakes! They know about the trials and tribulations of trying to get a company off the ground. They know how damaging a security breach can be. They get what startups are trying to do, and they provide services specifically to those people.
So how can all of this help little ol’ you?
Well, for starters, you can get more specific about either your offerings or who you’re serving.
Specifying your offerings:
Design services > Custom Newsletters
Copywriting > Sales copy for Shopify
Wedding planning > Last-minute wedding planning
You don’t have to offer generic services. You can focus on a single category and shoot for that.
Use your specific audience to rule the market:
Selling design services? Cool. So is everyone else. Are you selling design services for wedding planners? Better. Are you selling promotional postcards to promote late-minute wedding planning offerings? Could be cool.
And here’s the great joy. You don’t have to offer it forever. You can do it for a weekend. For a day. You can offer a Valentine’s day design service to offer custom designed love letters to the broken hearted. You can offer anti-Valentine’s day stickers to all the love haters out there. And then you can see how it works.
If it doesn’t work, try again. Remember, the world doesn’t need another designer, coach, or writer. The world needs YOU and that special good good that only you can offer.
Go forth and provideeeee.
