Niche vs. Vertical Strategy

Is your niche strategy failing?

You may need a vertical strategy instead.

A good target vertical has:

•Vertical conferences

•Member associations

•Online communities

For example, dentists:

•Greater New York Dental Meeting is attended by 9,692 dentists

•American Dental Association has 161,000+ members

•"Dentists in Facebook"--a Facebook group--has 36,800 members

Why?

Because it's difficult to market to a niche that's hard to find.

Question to ponder:

1️⃣ Does my target niche have vertical conferences, member associations and online communities?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why might a niche strategy fail where a vertical strategy would succeed?

Because a niche without existing conferences, associations, and online communities is difficult to actually find and market to, no matter how well-defined the niche is conceptually.

What are the three characteristics a good target vertical should have?

Vertical conferences, member associations, and online communities, all concrete gathering points that make it possible to actually reach and engage the target audience effectively.

How does the dentist example illustrate a well-structured vertical?

The Greater New York Dental Meeting draws 9,692 dentists, the American Dental Association has over 161,000 members, and a Facebook group called "Dentists in Facebook" has 36,800 members, all concrete, accessible touchpoints for reaching that specific audience.

Why does it matter whether a niche is easy or difficult to find and reach?

Because even a genuinely underserved niche is hard to market to effectively if there's no clear conference, association, or community through which to actually access and engage that audience.

What's the practical question worth asking to evaluate a current target niche?

Whether it has real vertical conferences, member associations, and online communities, concrete signals that the audience can actually be found and reached, not just theoretically defined.