Conventional business wisdom states that the more unique your company’s niche, the more potential for success.
And at its core, this makes complete sense. Finding a niche usually results in a lot less competitors, along with a loyal group of customers.
But you must also keep the future in mind.
Where do you see your business in 1 year? In 5 years? In 50?
Envisioning the Future
Example: Let’s say you’re passionate about parakeets. And after some market research you determine that an e-commerce store marketed towards parakeet owners is a smart move. (caveat: I haven’t done this research, parakeets randomly came to mind)
You include parakeet in your brand name. You go out and buy a domain name with parakeet in it. You do every generally accepted strategy to let people know you’re all about parakeets.
And after a couple years of building brand awareness, business is booming. You’re considered the place to go for parakeet supplies.
Your Brand’s Glass Ceiling
But what happens after you become the biggest? How do you grow from here?
Having branded everything as the place for parakeet owners, you may become stuck. Because there are only so many parakeet owners. You’ve hit a glass ceiling that will take some clever tactics to overcome (if it’s at all possible).
Or you could start planning today for the long haul. Thinking logically how you proceed with marketing decisions.
It’s important to think of both the short-term and long-term effects of choices you make when continually branding your company.
The Biggest Fish Prepared for the Biggest Bowl
In the above example, instead of including parakeet in the brand, domain, and what not. A better long-term strategy would be to use more generic wording. Maybe even replace parakeet with bird. And then use a tagline to explain the niche.
In other words, you’d find better success by designing your brand around the most general possible niche. And use your marketing skills to initially narrow down into a tightly unique niche.
So ask yourself, “how am I branding for the future?”
About the Author: Bradley Gauthier is co-founder of New Methods. And is passionate about helping big thinking entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. He has been a serial entrepreneur since the age of 12 when he created an online marketing firm. Connect with him on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn & Facebook.
