Standards & Structure
Chris Out
The fear behind choosing a niche is simple: if I choose, I exclude revenue.
That can happen. You'll start saying no to work you would have accepted before.
The upside lies somewhere else. People understand more quickly who you work for, clients can refer you more easily and you build knowledge faster around the same type of problem.
Look, the problem with 'we do everything for everyone' isn't that you don't deliver good work. It's that nobody thinks of you when it really matters.
Say someone is looking for an e-commerce marketing agency. They search online, ask around and speak to their network. Who do they mention? The agency that does 'digital marketing, social media, SEO and branding,' or the agency that has worked exclusively with e-commerce companies for five years and has three cases that look like theirs?
The generalist is cheaper to replace. A specialist is easier to remember and easier to refer.
That feels risky because you exclude people. But excluding people is exactly what gives a position its strength. You don't have to be the only one. You need to be clear enough that a client immediately understands why they should call you. Being broad means you're fine for almost everyone and the first choice for no one. And 'fine' doesn't win pitches.
Most agencies do choose a niche. They put it on their website and pitch it in conversations. Then someone calls who sits just outside it, with a decent budget, and they say yes.
That isn't weak. It's human. But in one conversation, it undermines what you've spent a long time building. Every exception confirms to the market that you don't have a real position.
In the SHARP method, this is called Hold Your Ground. Choosing a position takes one day. Holding that position is daily work, and it's hardest when things aren't going well. Saying no to a client who doesn't quite fit is the standard in action. Do that consistently and you can build a position in one year that takes a competitor five years.
Most agency owners don't do it because they're afraid the phone will stop ringing. What happens in practice is different: the phone rings less often, but the conversations you do have are better. A shorter sales cycle, higher conversion, clients who know why they're choosing you and don't just want to negotiate on price.
There's another effect you don't see coming: your work gets better. If you keep working in the same sector, you build expertise faster. You see patterns you would otherwise miss. You know what works and what doesn't. That expertise is exactly what separates your position from a generalist who's also giving it a try.
And expertise is what justifies higher rates. Not a better story or a better website. Deeper knowledge of one market, built over years. That's what makes you hard to replace. The Agency Standards give you the framework to document and hold that position consistently.
Take your client list. Look at the three clients who give you the most energy, produce the best results and are the easiest to serve. What do those three have in common? Sector, company size, type of problem, way of working?
That's your niche in rough form. Not the final answer, but the starting point.
Then the question: the next time a client comes along who doesn't fit, will you say yes or no? Because your niche only becomes real the first time you say no.
Want to get clear on which position fits your agency and how to hold it under pressure? That's what we do in the Standards Assessment.
How Do You Choose a Niche as an Agency?
Don't look at what you would like to do. Look at what you already do. Which three current clients give you energy, produce the best results and are the easiest to serve? What do they have in common? Sector, size, type of problem or way of working? That pattern is your niche in rough form. Not the final answer, but the starting point for the choice.
Do You Lose Clients When You Specialise?
Sometimes, yes. But you lose the clients who weren't the best fit anyway. What you gain is shorter sales conversations, higher conversion, better referrals and the room to charge higher rates. Specialising can temporarily cost you revenue. That's why you don't choose blindly. You first look at where you already have proof, margin and repeatable results.
Why Is It So Hard to Hold a Niche?
Because the pressure to make an exception is highest when things aren't going well. An attractive client just outside your focus is tempting when the quarter is disappointing. But every exception confirms to the market that your position isn't real. Saying no when things are difficult is the standard in action, and that is exactly the work.
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