Riches (or Quiches) in Niches

The advice today, whether you are launching a blog, podcast, services business or product, is to be as niche as you can possibly be, to avoid being nothing to everyone, but be something, really something to someone.

If you are selling something, this niche can’t just care about whatever it is you offer and love your “why” for offering it, they also need to have some cash to pay for it. So, when we look for our Ideal Customer Profile, there is, an economic consideration.

Let’s take the example of launching a new car, for reasons that will become apparent in a moment.

The average age of a new car buyer in the UK is around 54 years old, according to The Times (subscription needed), or 51 in the US, according to Cox Automotive.

In the US and UK, the mid-fifties demographic is significantly wealthier than the younger age groups (for example, this UK data from Money Week).

And according to YouGov in the UK, “premium brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW see stronger demand among new car buyers, with 32% and 30% of this audience say they will consider each brand”.

So, should that be our niche? A car that appeals to the mid-fifties is a little more expensive than average and is a bit premium.

Seems sensible.

The ideal customer profile for your product, service, podcast, or blog probably doesn’t have the same attributes as age, personal wealth, and brand consideration, but you probably have similar broad attributes to defining the pond you want to fish in.

However, this doesn’t create a niche; this is the mainstream. What’s obvious may not be the right strategy.

As I learned from an excellent interview with Rawdon Glover, Managing Director of Jaguar, by Jon Evans on Uncensored CMO, who broke down their product strategy, a peek behind all the hullabaloo, hyperbole, and bullshit that’s been written about what Jaguar has been up to.

You’d think the relatively wealthy in their 50s who like a bit of premium were Jag’s bread and butter, but this is the mainstream market. There is stiff competition, the margins are tight, and you need scale in terms of gaining awareness and trust, as well as serving and servicing the customer and product.

So, recognising their own fit for this market, as a relatively low volume, British manufacturer, with the cost base this entails, and a peek over the horizon at the invading horde of very good cars from China, they have pivoted.

Or, for the purposes of the narrative of this post, they have niched.

Realizing that there is a niche of the truly wealthy who are way younger, as evidenced by the President of Rolls-Royce North America, Jon Colbeth, who (in this interview with The Drive), stated that “the average age of an incoming Spectre buyer is just 35 years old”, they are aiming for their niche, basically the young that aren’t quite wealthy enough for a Rolls Royce, but want something more prestigious and interesting than a Mercedes Benz.

Of course, as the new Jaguar has not turned a production wheel, maybe this strategy will fail, sharing this case study will seem foolish, and, full disclosure, I also enjoyed the interview as I am a fan of the brand and own a Jaguar.

But I loved this lesson on niching.

When you identify your ICP, it’s so tempting to go for the mainstream, the dull money, the expected choice, and build these profiles with the broadest set of attributes. And to do this in isolation of what your strengths and weaknesses are as an organization in gaining awareness and serving this market.

As you know, I work in B2B, where the marketing is often called Boring 2 Business, but what could be bolder or braver than doing the hard thing, recognizing limitations, swerving the mainstream, and really building a proposition that is for our people.

Whatever you think of the Jaguar decision, the interview is well worth a listen. I hope they find their riches in the niches - which needs to be said with an American accent, as the only decent thing I can find that rhymes with niche, the way I say it (neesh), is quiche.