Make Money Mondays: Mommy-Doggie Sweaters Show Why Niche Marketing Works

Over the weekend, I did a little shopping for a couple of inexpensive sweaters to wear on casual workdays at my office now that the cooler weather is likely to stick around.  Casing the mall, I found a couple of possibilities under $25, but even then I couldn’t make up my mind.  In each store, I asked myself whether I might find cheaper options or a more flattering style elsewhere? As I was leaving the last store, however, a display of doggie sweaters caught my eye.  Since I like to keep my cute little Bijon-Shitzu Sadie well-dressed, I grabbed one of the sweaters without the same hesitation about style or price that I’d had when shopping for myself. In fact, I never even so much as glanced at the price tag – $22 and though it was on sale for $12, I’d have paid full price anyway.

That’s the magic of the niche – or as I like to call it, the “hocus, pocus of focus.” When a store offers a unique product that can’t be found elsewhere, customers like me who want it will buy it without a second thought. The same holds true for lawyers: if you offer a specialization or unique service that’s tough to find, clients will pay your fee, no questions asked.

But wait – there’s more. Once I saw the dog sweater, it clinched my decision to buy one of the women’s sweaters for myself so that Sadie and I could match.  The lesson here is that even when a provider sells a niche product, it can still drive sales of more generic offerings. Consider, for example an estate planning law firm that touts a niche in supporting disposition of digital assets. Some clients may come just for a consult or to have an existing plan updated – but others may wind up hiring the firm for all of their estate planning needs.

Still interested in a niche practice? Our SPOTLIGHT Program is accepting new members through the end of 2018 at the same rate of $297 – additional information and registration is available SPOTLIGHT .