Many wellness coaches are initially skeptical about developing a niche for their business. They think, “What if I lose out on potential customers?” They fear it will limit their success or prevent clients from considering their business. And, one might argue, you already have a niche as a wellness coach.
True, wellness coaching is its own specialty. However, there is value in getting even more specialized. Consider how you can distinguish yourself from other wellness coaches. What makes you unique? Why would a new client choose you over another wellness coach?
Taki Moore, business coach and author of Million Dollar Coach, says, “The more you try to appeal to everybody, the more nobody pays attention to you.” This same theory holds when you’re looking at developing your niche within wellness coaching.
What Is a Niche?
A niche is simply the portion of your target audience that shares specific characteristics, needs and preferences that you have decided to market to. Your potential clients want to know how you will help solve their problems, and a niche allows you clarify and communicate how you will do that to them.
Your niche answers these two questions:
1. What is the problem you solve?
2. Who has that problem?
Benefits of Determining a Niche
Defining a niche helps you clarify your marketing message and focus on a very specific audience. Clients who fit within your niche profile will view you as a specialist in their area of need. Without a defined niche, your business may get overlooked by looking for someone with specialized knowledge.
When you serve a more specific set of individuals, your message and your services can be focused on what’s best for that group. The quality of your interactions improves, and your clients feel like they are getting more specialized services.
A niche also helps you stand out from the competition. It becomes a key differentiator from others who provide similar services.
What’s the Difference Between a Niche and a Specialty?
There are some businesses who think they have their niche nailed, only to realize they have a specialty. So, what’s the difference? A specialty is the type of work you offer to support clients. A niche is the problem that you solve for a certain group of people. While a specialty can help determine what your niche is, they are not the same. In yoga, Bikram, Iyengar and Kundalini would be specialties. A possible niche would be to use yoga to help executives relieve stress and live in the moment.
How Do You Determine Your Niche Within Wellness Coaching?
It takes a bit of thoughtful consideration to determine your niche. First, brainstorm who you’d like your ideal client to be. Build out a persona for that client that includes key demographics. Think, what they do for a living? What do they do in their spare time? Do they have a family? How much do they earn? Re-visit your persona and tweak it periodically. If you know someone who fits the profile, take a few minutes to ask them specific questions. The more specific you can be, the better.
Then, spend some time remembering why you wanted to start your own wellness coaching business. What problems were you trying to solve? Who were you trying to help? What is the same or what has changed with your own WHY?
Brainstorm niches that would interest your ideal client, and then select niches that resonate the most with you. For example, after going through this exercise, you might realize you want to work with stay-at-home moms who need to prioritize their health with an easy-to-implement wellness program. Therefore, instead of appealing to anyone who needs health and wellness coaching, your programs and messaging will specifically appeal to stay-at-home moms who need an easy way to prioritize their health. Or maybe you want to work with athletes to improve their performance with customized plans. Or perhaps you’re interested in helping senior-aged patients generate more mobility and more energy. There are plenty of options!
Here’s a good formula to use:
I/we work with _____________________ (your niche), who haven’t/need to ____________________(their problem). If you’re ready to/it’s time to___________________ (your solution), I/we can/will _____________________(your promise).
Once you have developed a niche, test it out. Moving forward, your efforts should be focused on reaching this particular niche that you’re testing out, so all marketing efforts — from emails to social media posts — should be crafted to speak to this particular audience. You should also have specific solutions and programs that appeal to your niche market.
If you’re speaking the language your niche target responds to, they will start engaging with you. Once you start working with them, you’ll know if you landed on the right niche market. So, test it out and see how you feel. If you find that this first niche isn’t working for you, you can always tweak it or develop a new one.
Defining a niche is worth the effort for most wellness businesses. Are you ready to get started? Contact Coaching Catalyst Institute to find out how our targeted programs and nationally accredited certification classes can give you the specialized skills you need.
[button id=”” class=”” align=”left” link=”/certification-pathways/” linkTarget=”_self” bgColor=”accent2″ font=”14″ icon=”” icon_placement=”left” icon_color=””]Learn More[/button][button id=”” class=”” align=”left” link=”/training/certification/register/” linkTarget=”_self” bgColor=”accent2″ font=”14″ icon=”” icon_placement=”left” icon_color=””]Register today[/button]
