Reading about niching your business is one thing. But having the guts to focus ONLY on that niche can be scary. And yet, many APN entrepreneurs have discovered the profitable power of niching their practice. Case in point – LexRx. This powerful NP duo has catapulted to success in a relatively short period of time thanks in part to a targeted, niche market (millennials) and a limited, niche service offering (neuromodulators and fillers only). Niching might be the missing piece to your practice’s success too.

So what is a niche exactly?

Well according to the good ole’ Webster’s dictionary, a niche is “a specialized but profitable corner of the market.”

The truth is, a niche market could be what gives your business power. A niche market allows you to define who you are marketing to. Knowing your niche makes it  easy to determine where your marketing energy and dollars should be spent – making your marketing efforts have WAY more bang for your buck.

Far too often Nurse Owners are too broad in both their target market and their offerings. They open their doors, and don’t immediately see the volume they want or get pinched for cash, so they assume the problem is a lack of service offerings. So, they start adding services.

Ever wonder why in the world your OBGYN is offering botox, allergy testing and immunotherapy? So did a friend of mine, as she sat in her OBGYN’s office for 2 hours, waiting for her appointment.

These ancillary services distract from a Provider’s core offerings, and result in a diluted message. Together, this makes it difficult to reach and serve your ideal patients, often resulting in a decreased quality of care and customer experience (as noted by my friend above). Remember, you can’t be all things to all people.

People buy from people they know, like, and trust. The best way to gain those is by becoming an authority in your marketplace. Demonstrating your knowledge on a SPECIFIC subject  is key to making people know, like, and trust you.

If you started as a real estate agent tomorrow, could you dominate real estate in 12 months? Highly unlikely!

But what if you only sold houses that were on golf courses, in Arizona?

Could you dominate that niche in a year? Absolutely! You would be far better off than being the “general” real estate salesperson; the world is full of those.

Defining your niche market before you embark on your marketing strategy is important for the following five reasons.

1. You can maximize your marketing budget by targeting your defined niche market. You’ll know exactly where to advertise. You’ll know where to look to find the places (businesses, communities, etc) that are catering to your market. It gives you a starting point.
2. Your website can then be optimized for search engines so that your niche market can easily find you.
3. You can cater your website to your niche market. You can develop your site to guide your visitors and help them find solutions or products that you offer for the specific problems your niche market encounters.
4. A defined niche market makes it easier to develop ideas for new products or services that inherently appeal to your specific niche.
5. You have an upper-hand in establishing yourself as a leader in your industry.
6. You will enjoy your work more and have more passion, which results in happier patients and more word of mouth referrals.
7. Because you’re focused and get more ‘reps’, you’ll be a better Provider and patients will receive better quality of care as a result.

Are you struggling with who your niche market is? If you answered “yes,” spend some time asking yourself the following questions:

• What is it that my current clients have in common?
• How do I set myself apart from the competition?
• What is different about the services or products that I offer?
• What are the “extras” that I bring to the market?
• What type of services do I like providing?
• What are the types of problems that I like to solve?

The best way to answer these questions is without analyzing them too much. Just write down whatever first comes to mind. Once you’ve completed them, analyze the answer, and it will be easy to define your niche market.