Specialisation creates maximum impact and helps people get clarity on who you help
Standing out in a crowded market
“The goal of business is to create a customer by convincing someone to [seek you out and] buy your product or service. The only way to achieve this goal is to truly understand the people whose lives you want to improve.”[1]
Part of setting up your NDIS business is deciding on the profile of your perfect client. It seems that more time and energy is usually spent developing the NDIS product or service, without the necessary research and thought in creating a clear profile of the ideal customer, and their needs and wants.
Differentiation helps you stand out
If you are providing a service that lacks differentiation or specialisation, you could appear like everyone else and make attracting clients a real challenge. “Ever hear the expression, “jack of all trades, master of none”? It essentially means that a generalist can do everything decently, while a specialist does one thing extremely well.”[2]To stand out, have a defined niche (or clear specialty). This lets the client know that you have a specialisation within the broader market and you address their unique needs, preferences, and shows that you are the perfect NDIS provider for them.
Attract clients who have specific needs
To attract clients to your business, its ideal if you can get clarity on their interests, needs, concerns and challenges that you can help with, where they live, their age, gender and other factors like having an NDIS Plan (and being self or plan managed), the roles they have – either as a single person, part of a couple or family group. Also, to have a niche or specialisation that serves this group’s unique needs.
When you promote your business as serving a targeted niche, it lets people know you have expertise, it differentiates you and sets you apart as being an expert or thought leader in your field. This gives people a reason to prefer your services over another. It doesn’t mean that you can’t help others as well.
Imagine you are trying to find a service provider who offers in-home care for your parent who suffers from dementia. When you look up service providers you are overwhelmed by all the choices and they all seem to look the same. However, when you find one near by that also specialises in Dementia, you know you have most likely found the best provider who is a better fit for your needs. By having a specialisation, you are giving people a reason to prefer, use or recommend your service.
Examples of Businesses and their Niches
Mental Health - Headspace
"Acts as a 1 stop shop for young people aged 12-25 who need help with mental health, physical health"
Early Intervention - EACH
"Children aged birth to 6 years and we are the first point of contact for families who have concerns about their child’s development"
Supported Accommodation - Empower Living
"Specialise in empowering people living with a disability and mental health issues - Assistance with Daily Living"
Assistive Technology - Mobility Matters
"Specialises in the sale of rehabilitation and hospital equipment to Canberra and surrounding region"
Specialised Disability Accommodation - MS Queensland
"For people who need SDA with High Physical Needs"
"Right to Work For young adults with intellectual disability"
Having a niche ensures you are setting yourself up as the ‘go-to’ person for a specific target group, with established credibility and an opportunity to corner that part of the market.
Answer these questions to help develop your niche
What are the top 10 topics that interest me the most?
What do people seek out, but cannot get in my industry?
Considering your specific skills and experience - who have you worked with most, and had the most success with? Who do you seem to attract to your business? How would you describe them?
What problems can I solve for my clients?
Ask your target market what specific problems they find difficult to solve (do market research)
Review Forums (such as Facebook NDIS Groups) to see what consumer discussions are happening, what questions people are asking and the problems they have.
Review keywords on Google trends and Google AdWords. These can let you know popular search terms.
Define your specialisation and ideal client
Search for gaps in the current market. Begin by researching your competitors’ offerings. What aren’t they offering that you could? Where is the gap in the market, or a lack of service offering? Log this into a spreadsheet.
Describe your ideal client profile – who has the problems/needs you want to solve by creating an avatar. This is a fictional persona with:
A name
Real pain points or challenges
Demographics – age (stage of life), gender, location, single, couple or family
Likely attitudes, beliefs and values
Specific services they will need and why
What stops them currently tapping into available services?. What makes it difficult for them to access the service? Why they should access the services?
If you already have NDIS clients, you could analyse your client base to determine these characteristics and then create a description you could then say to others. If you are new in business, then think about who you believe would benefit most from your business.
Now start testing your niche with your market and gauge the response. Go through this process again until you can determine the niche and seek input and support from others.
If you would like assistance with your business or to connect with Nurturing Your NDIS Business, click here. Claim your free EBook - How the NDIS Works for Business Owners https://nurturing-your-ndis-business.mykajabi.com/ndis-for-business.
References:
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ideal-customer-profile-icp-how-create-comprehensive-myk-pono-/ (Accessed 28/5/21)
[2] https://www.shopify.com.au/blog/niche-markets (Accessed 27/5/21)
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