Are You Special? Why a Niche Can Be Critical to Practice Success

We were driving through a small town earlier today and I noticed a solo law office in a cute building on the main street of the town. The sign said "The Law Offices of Robert Roberts (name changed to protect the innocent) Specializing in Real Estate, Divorce, Personal Injury, Worker's Compensation and Probate." Phew, I thought, that is a lot of Special. Now I get it, small town practices often need general practitioners. Those who can handle a broad range of matters in order to have enough business to be sustainable, but this is truly an antiquated approach to business that doesn't serve most practitioners seeking success in the modern world.

These days popular wisdom is that you need to specialize or find your niche in order to stand out and for most, it does make sense. With a few exceptions, like our small town solo practitioner above, your niche can be your ticket to success.

If you look up the word “niche” in the dictionary, you’ll discover the following definition:

Niche (n): a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted (Merriam-Webster)

There are two key aspects to finding your niche that can help you as you build and grow your practice:

1. For most, your niche is where you shine. As the definition states, your niche is that employment for which you are best suited and when we are doing work we love and are good at, we generally excel.
2. Knowing your niche helps you to identify, attract and find your most viable potential clients. Think of the solo practitioner above who is available for a wide variety of legal issues. He is throwing a very wide and general net in the hopes of pulling in enough fish to eat because the pool is small. However, in a world where digital marketing is one of the main sources of outreach to potential clients, this has the effect of throwing spaghetti at a wall and hoping that some sticks. You never know what strands will end up in you bowl.

I have an example from my own practice. Back about 8 years ago I opened my first fully online practice called Connecticut Family Law Online and advertised unbundled and mediation services in that state. A pretty broad stroke and although the phone did start ringing (or the inbox started filling) there were very few potential clients who were actually viable for my practice. Most of the outreach that I received was from people seeking free advice, a cheap divorce or thought I was legal aid. Now part of this was the fault of my messaging but I also failed to identify my niche. I wasn't selling to my target audience.

For 20 plus years prior to opening that online business, I had been handling high net worth and high profile family law matters. That was my niche. I understood the particular nuances of that type of case and the needs and concerns of a certain clientele. When I honed my message and targeted my niche clients, well business instantly picked up.

So, while you are building your practice take the time to consider what makes you special. What is your "employment to which you are best suited?" Be proud to be special - it will set you apart and be a critical component in creating your success!

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