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Win bigger and better clients

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21st Jun 2016
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Practitioners fail to win bigger and better clients because of their lack of accountability and inability to market, according to the Go-To Experts Heather Townsend and Jon Baker.

Advising on the latest PracticeWEB webinar, Townsend and Baker outlined how capitalising on niche clients can be the catalyst for growth, but to do this, practitioners should develop an effective marketing plan.

Having a marketing plan proved to be a stumbling block for many of the webinar’s attendees, as almost half admitted in a poll that they didn’t know how to market or how to choose a niche.

To guide those who shuffle their marketing plan down their to-do list, PracticeWEB’s Alex Tucker said: “The core principles of marketing is to understand your ideal client’s needs, as well as understanding what client’s you don’t want.”

Identifying your ideal client

So following Tucker’s advice, the first step for finding your niche client is through identifying who your ideal client is.

Those still unsure, Townsend asked attendees to consider which clients they are passionate about; or who are their lucrative clients.

To help, she suggested grading clients using a simple A, B, C, D ranking system, clarifying which clients are worth going that extra mile for and who you should ditch.

However, some practitioners, despite deciding on their niche, still falter. Townsend recounted a client’s struggles attracting their chosen niche, multi-million pound corporates. But when Townsend looked up her client’s website, it became apparent why he was unable to attract this type of client, as the website said: "we do all of this from tiny start-ups, to contractors, to multi-million pound corporates".

When pressed, the client said that he didn’t want to turn anyone down.

“It was no wonder he was struggling to pick up his ideal client because he was trying to go after everyone,” said Townsend. “When you try and go after everyone, the impact of your marketing message reduces.”

This feeling of not wanting to alienate existing clients is a common issue which prevents practitioners from choosing their niche. Baker explained how one practitioner was conflicted about fully embracing his niche because he too didn’t want to upset his clients.

Despite his doubts, this practitioner had generated success as a construction specialist. But he still was reluctant to adjust his website to publicise his specialism. As Baker advised, he didn’t have to overhaul the site, but just tweak his website to illustrate his new specialist path, replacing pictures of smiling businessman with diggers. 

He shied away from splashing his new specialism with new advertising. Instead, he focused on networking events in his chosen field, and speaking at events. By doing this, people within that sector felt at ease speaking with him, and he sidestepped pushing away existing clients.

Fees for expertise

While some practitioners may be wary of committing themselves to a niche, those that do are remunerated for their expertise. An international renowned expert can charge 13% more than the average professional, while a regional expert can get a 3% rise and a local expert will receive a 2% increase, Townsend explained.

Service framework

However, simply selecting a niche will not translate into an uptick of business. Baker concluded the webinar by explaining the following framework which practitioners should filter their marketing strategy through, in order to generate the right kind of leads:

  • Be specific: This gets to the bottom of finding your niche. You need to be able to communicate who your ideal client is. Whether it is through creating a buyer persona, practitioners should be able to know who they want to work with
  • Extraordinary client service: It’s not enough simply providing good service, says Baker. You have to go above and beyond the call of duty, so within your niche circle, you create a representation of being the ‘go-to’ expert
  • Initiative: It’s about being pro-active. Baker offered an example of one accounting firm who published blog posts for their website. While their blog posts attracted a slight boost in website traffic, the firm wanted more. So they printed the blog posts on quality paper, and sent them to prospects. This small endeavour translated into £100k work in a two year period
  • Education: Construction firm specialist, who Baker spoke about earlier, spent time at the building site, answering questions. This emphasises the importance of knowing your chosen niche, and underlines the importance of creating a marketing plan

For those who want to listen further about how to create a marketing plan and why you shouldn't procrastinate when it comes to building yours, Baker’s and Townsend’s Practice WEB webinar can be accessed here.

Have you found your niche? Have you seen an uptick in business through focusing on a specific sector? Comment below with your experience - good or bad - on capitalising on your niche. 

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