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Submitted by virtual on January 30, 2023
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DON’T YOU JUST GROAN WHEN ASKED ‘WHAT’S YOUR NICHE?’

I recently saw a post from my client and PR provider Fiona Scott entitled ‘what’s your niche?’ and I sighed.

Fiona was talking about how she groans inwardly when someone asks her if she ‘niches’ in any particular area of PR - and I understand how she feels because I feel the same!

After more than 20 years running the Virtual Business Centre, and with a team of 20 + staff I still don’t know how to describe our ‘niche’?

In offering virtual business services such as telephone answering, diary management, follow up services and more – we can literally work with any type of business owner. It could be full-time, for a project or even for holiday cover for them or for one of their senior members of staff. We talk to them about the need they have and we make a plan.

We can work for a sole trader like a plumber, electrician or builder right up to a multi-million pound concern selling ‘widgets’ or a big company holding a major conference which needs us to manage tickets and bookings. We can be a customer service department or even a complaints handling service.

It does sound lame to many when we say we can work with any business – yet it’s true. We don’t have an ‘ideal’ client or an ‘avatar’ and I suspect there are other businesses out there which don’t feel they have to box themselves into a ‘niche’.

While I completely understand that there are some very specialist businesses offering specialist services – and there may be some business owners who want to work with very specific types of people – there are plenty more who don’t feel the need to put a label on their ideal customers.

Fiona’s answer was to say she focuses on ‘people’ stories within her clients’ businesses and I know this to be true – given that we’ve worked together for a few years now.

I could say the same or that we focus on people who use a telephone, answer a telephone, use a diary, need to book appointments, handle enquiries efficiently – these people will often be very busy.

Perhaps then ‘busy people’ could be our niche? However even that doesn’t always fit as sometimes we work with start-up business owners who identify within months that they need to outsource their telephone answering to focus on their product or service. They may not yet be really busy however they value the professionalism it brings to their brand.

I’m therefore drawing a line and saying we don’t have a niche – we aim to work with clients of all shapes and sizes who value and understand what we do.

What do you think?