MARKET PSYCHOLOGY FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Are You Scared of Niching Down?
Think again. Nature shows us that specialization beats competence
For people that cannot pay for the Medium Partner Program: https://alvalead.medium.com/are-you-scared-of-niching-down-db941acd29c9?sk=f7163eb60b344744234bc122a8bc6046
Let me first tell you a story. An ancient story:
While serving under the Duke Ai of Lu, T’ien Jao, resenting his obscure position, said to his master, “I am going to wander far away like a snow goose”.
“What do you mean by that?” inquired the Duke.
“Do you see the cock?” said T’ien Jao in reply.
“Its crest is a symbol of civility; its powerful talons suggest strength; its daring to fight any enemy denotes courage; its instinct to invite others whenever food is obtained shows benevolence; and, last but not least, its punctuality in keeping the time through the night gives us an example of veracity. In spite, however, of these five virtues, the cock is daily killed to fill a dish on your table. Why? The reason is that it is found within our reach. On the other hand, the snow goose traverses in one flight a thousand li. Resting in your garden, it preys on your fishes and turtles and pecks your millet. Though devoid of any of the cock’s five virtues, yet you prize this bird for the sake of its scarcity. This being so, I shall fly far like a snow goose.”
-Ancient Chinese Parables, Yu Hsiu Sen, Ed. 1974
How to become a snow goose
Dear entrepreneur,
You can have a great offer. You can be the best coach in the world, have the best product. But still not make any sales or attract the wrong customers. You are a cock.
In my Chinese garden there are many birds, many cocks…
But a snow goose? That’s a rare sight!
An elephant in Zimbabwe, near my house in the savannah? Meh.
But an elephant in a city zoo in Germany? Wow. I’ll pay for that!
Who are you? What have you done so far in your life? What have you changed in your life that many people are looking to change? I’ll give you an example from one of my clients.
Maybe you are like Lindsay. She went from “I teach women pilates” to
“I know how hard it is for us retail cashiers here in the US to take care of our health. We are standing most of the time, and on our way back home, our back hurts and the next day is already around the corner, so we don’t have much time to fix our health problems. But I’ve discovered a set of exercises that are easy and can be done in just a few minutes per day. Dear fellow cashier, want to take back your health? I’m here to help! Only 20 spots left. Get yours today!”
As ridiculous as it seems, yes. There really are enough cashiers in the US willing to pay for pilates lessons. And they’ll trust Lindsay over anyone else, because she worked as a cashier for many years and knows exactly which pilates exercises, when and how they work best for the body aches that only a cashier experiences.
Reducing her target audience and niching down has helped Lindsay achieve 3x more revenue, more customer satisfaction and time freedom in just two months. She had to turn down clients, raise her prices, remove guarantees she made in the past. She became the snow goose preying on your fishes and pecking your millet and yet you DESIRE her services. Not one single customer said: “So unfair! I’ll ignore her and go to the competition!”. Or maybe there is someone who said that, but who cares when you have a three-month-long waitlist?
It’s not an isolated case
She’s just lucky! If I niche down, I won’t get enough customers, because I’ll go from a customer base of 2M people to 20K people.
Ok, you need more examples. There is a farmers’ market in my town. I spoke with one of the market organizers from the town council who has access to the market revenue data. I asked which registered stand is making the most money. He told me:
“You’ll be surprised! Do you know that woman who only sells blueberries?Yes, the one speaking with a Dutch accent. She’s actually from Belgium. She sells only blueberries and homemade blueberry products: Blueberries, jam, juices… And in the winter she only sells chestnuts and chestnut products. But somehow, she’s the farmer making the most money.”
It also reminds me of the effect it had, when I was a freelancer, to change my job title from “full-stack developer” to “React.js developer specialized in e-commerce”.
It also works the other way. A company where I was working previously was offering SAP consulting for retail firms. It was doing fine. They had one bad quarter and changed the entire strategy: “We’ll do Microsoft consulting, custom development, vendor trainings, IT support. And start offering to energy companies, chemistry industry, e-learning companies… All for the same price! Or wait, wait, we’ll lower it. Ha! No one will be able to compete with us!”. Soon after, they filed for bankruptcy.
When you know how market psychology works, and why you prefer to go to a mediocre dermatologist instead of a great general practitioner for a skin problem, then you realize, it’s not so surprising. And a dermatologist specialized in acne? My God. Shut up and take my money!
IKEA: It’s not an office chair. It’s a MARKUS!
Apple: It’s not a laptop. It’s a MacBook!
Levi’s: Mom, they are not jeans! They are Levi’s! (my own words as a teen)
A cock and a snow goose are both birds. Just like Lindsay and just another pilates trainer. Or a blueberry seller and another farmer. But one survives and one doesn’t. One thrives and one struggles.
As much as Switzerland serves as a good example of governance.
Don’t be a Swiss knife, please.
