Webinar Recap: Growing Your Firm Through a Niche Market Strategy

By Dawn Wagenaar, Ingenuity Marketing Group

On our most recent AAM High! webinar, Bill Penczak of Briggs & Veselka Co. shared how to grow your firm through a niche market strategy. Here is our recap of the session.

To set the stage, Bill shared the results of a recent survey for AAM member firms. 52 firms responded and 85% of those firms report under $50M in annual revenue. Larger firms offer more diverse service offerings – which isn’t a surprise. What is surprising is that family office is underrepresented among smaller firms.

Biggest takeaway: smaller firms have a strategic opportunity to invest in some of the same services that bigger firms offer.

Identify existing skill sets within the firm and determine what is unique among smaller firm competition. A smaller firm is likely to be more cost competitive than larger firms – while still offering a great service and value.

How to build a niche marketing strategy

Look at where your firm is now. What industries make up current revenue sources? From there, look at your competition to determine where there is a gap in services and how your firm can fill the gap. Then, do an inventory of skills within the firm to determine what you are working with. Put some order and structure to it and start your niche teams.

Bill shared this article about why team selling is more successful than individual selling. https://hbr.org/2014/01/why-the-individual-no-longer-rules-in-sales

Then, look at your firm’s business plan AND marketing plan. A marketing plan is not a business plan, according to Bill.

Build, Buy or Build-Buy

One thing to ask is, “What do we do now? What do we do well?”. The way to grow is by building or buying additional service offerings. Your firm may choose to invest in an individual – for example, a niche-market leader from a Big Four firm may come at high price but will bring the firm exponential growth.

What It Takes To Succeed

Your firm’s managing partner and/or executive committee need to support this initiative and be willing to offer resources.  Regular meetings are KEY – pipeline meetings during busy season must happen in order to keep momentum and meet goals. And, the marketing efforts need to be tailored to the market and the growth cycle for your niche.