{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} Did your week get disrupted by the teachers' strike in the UK? Mine did. What I noticed though was the difficulty in which the teaching profession had in getting their message across. Many people were just not sympathetic - all those long holidays, harrumph....! What this is really about is perception. Because teachers are not visible during the school hols, we assume they are not working. The simple solution to that would be for teachers to be present at the school, doing all their planning and marking in the classroom rather than at home. The only time the teachers would actually be away would be their four weeks holiday entitlement. That way we would all see they were "at work" and they would then get a more sympathetic hearing as a result. But teachers are unlikely to do this; what they want to do is change our perception, rather than change their own behaviour. But as that old cliché goes, perception is reality. Until teachers change their behaviour, we will continue to believe they only work 30 weeks a year. So do people ever get the "wrong end of the stick" about your or your business? Rather than trying to change their view, it is often quicker and easier to alter your behaviour first - which will than shift their perceptions.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: How small should a niche really be? Niche marketing is all the rage online. Everywhere you look people are telling you to make sure you have a niche. But what exactly is a niche, I was asked this week. Let's imagine you are an accountancy firm, is your niche local small businesses, or is it florists? In other words, how narrow do you go? Much advice is to go really, really narrow. So you could be THE accountancy firm which deals only with florists that employ no more than two people and who are all specialists in roses. We would all know precisely to whom you offer your services, but you wouldn't get much business. Sometimes narrow is too narrow. Except online. Here's the problem; if you are a florist and you are looking for an accountant what you really want is an accountant who clearly specialises in florist shops. The trouble is, online, you only take fractions of seconds to give an accountancy firm the chance to tell you they really know about the peculiarities of your trade. If their website does not reveal within seconds that they know all about florist shops and have experience in that sector, off you trot to Google to look for someone who does. Online your niche has to be really, really narrow. But if you were to do that exclusively you would not get much business. So here's the trick - have a niche and then have several online "sub-niches". Back to our accountancy example again: our firm of accountants could decide their "niche" is local small retailers. They are not interested in "service" businesses, the self-employed, hotels, garages or whatever. Their main line of work is in local High Street shops. Online, though, they have several "mini-sites" - one for florists, one for shoe shops, one for butchers and so on. These only need to be one or two-page sites, but if they are called "accountancyforflorists.com" they "do what they say on the tin". Each site can be a "satellite" site to the main website, drawing in those specific "sub niches". The result is that in those few seconds the florist shop, or the butcher or the candlestick maker knows that "this is the accountant for me". If, however, they had to wade through the entire website of an accountancy firm who could help them, where a relevant case history was embedded deep within the site, they would not have the patience. The problem, however, is that many companies have not really chosen their true niche in the first place. Ask any accountant at your next business networking event. They'll tell you "we help all sorts of business from small to large, mostly local of course." OK, so, who EXACTLY is that? Niches can be "horizontal" such as "High Street Retailers" or "vertical" such as "The Motor Industry". Either way, choose a niche then create several online "sub niches". The narrower you go online, the better; but to do that you must already have decided your real over-arching niche in the first place.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: Don't make assumptions On Wednesday I took my son to the first of several visits to his "new school"; in September he starts secondary school and this week there have been a number of "induction events". We arrived at the school hall at the appointed time of 6pm to be met, of course, by 167 other eager children and their parents. It was noisy...! But where to go? What to do? People were standing around talking, children were busy running around and there were lots of curious looking faces. Eventually I saw a face I recognised, one of our neighbours whose daughter has been at the school for the past two years. So we went across the hall to her and I said "Excuse me miss, I'm a new boy..." She laughed and then asked my son, Elliot, "What house are you in?" He explained we hadn't been told yet. "But the list is on the wall in the cafeteria," we were told. It transpires that's where the list is "always" published on the induction open evening. But you only know that, of course, if you already have children at the school. It seems the school assumes that because "everyone" in the school already knows this fact, there is no need to tell anyone else. Wrong...! But it's not just schools. I was out this week and assumed the venue would have nearby electrical outlets or an extension lead. Wrong...! Whoops...! Assumption - it doesn't help...!
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Riches in Niches  A few months ago I was privileged to be in the audience when the author of this book, Susan Friedmann, was speaking. As she spoke I realised her advice was "top notch" so I immediately bought her book online and added it to my Kindle before she even finished her presentation..! Riches in Niches explains how to make money from "niching" your business - providing products and services to specific groups of customers. The book takes you through a seven-step process in which you can build your niche and ensure you become known as the leader in that particular field. Packed with examples and tips, this book is an excellent primer in niche marketing. To find out more about this book, please visit: http://uklik.me/richesniches
AND FINALLY: From my blog... 7 ways to annoy your website visitors Andy Murray annoys me; there, I’ve said it. The current centre-court darling makes my blood boil. SMILE for heaven sake…you are doing what you supposedly enjoy…and you are quite good at it….! And SHAVE….! Or grow a proper beard, but.... ....... Here’s the reason why these things are all annoying – the website owner fails to see things from the perspective of their audience. They are so focused on themselves, they ignore their visitors’ thoughts, feelings and desires. And that is exactly why we get annoyed with some Wimbledon.... Read More About how to annoy your website visitors at: http://uklik.me/lXXlRk
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Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web:
grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
