In our attention economy, audience engagement is scarce. It’s not just difficult on the consumer side; keeping the focus of B2B audiences has only gotten harder. While we might rush to blame a lack of engagement on waning attention spans and a proliferation of channels, our audiences are savvier than that. The real challenge behind closing the attention gap is value. Audiences are time-poor and more choosy than ever when it comes to finding and consuming content that provides immediate value.
For B2B marketers, if you are not creating content targeted to address specific pain points or job functions, you’re wasting your word count.
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According to Google, people are 40% more likely to spend more than they’d planned when their experience is personalized. But a 2020 CMO Council report highlights that this presents a challenge: Only 12% of marketers think their content marketing programs reach the right audiences.
Considering brands spend an average of 11% of their annual revenue on marketing, their messages must reach and ultimately convert audiences whose specific problems are solved by their products while conveying authenticity and industry expertise.
That’s why B2B marketers are increasingly relying on niche marketing strategies.
What is a niche in marketing?
Niche marketing means speaking directly to a target segment by creating a conversation around their specific problems and needs — while showing how your brand has the authority to help.
Imagine you are selling scheduling software for commercial trucking routes. While you could run a series of ads focused on the positive financial impact of digital transformation, you would be missing out on the nuances of how digitization is impacting the logistics companies you want to buy the software. To capture their attention, you’d want to get to the heart of what logistics managers care about, like a study on how AI and automation are changing how human truck drivers plan long-haul routes.
“Niche marketing allows you to identify your buyer and to really pinpoint what those personas care about so that you can provide a message that will convert,” says Sean Griffey, CEO and co-founder of Industry Dive.
The benefits of niche marketing
Focusing on a niche can help brands demonstrate they have the expertise and knowledge their target audience needs to keep up and stay relevant. B2B marketers in particular can use niche marketing tactics to grow this authority and trust into commercial, revenue-generating relationships.
But don’t forget that B2B decision-makers are humans, too. While they’re evaluating your solution for its value to their business, they’re also weighing the personal risks of a potential partnership. Can you make them look good? Can you score them a promotion? These aren’t benefits you’re going to display on your product pages, but they’re the important subtext behind crafting a marketing program that’s specific enough to win your audience’s trust.
This prioritization of specific audience needs will also give your teams an advantage when it comes to account-based marketing, as that demonstrated industry knowledge will make it easier to nurture specific accounts down the line. If those high-value accounts already trust that your brand knows what their audience cares about, you’ll begin your engagement with a higher chance of converting.
It pays to lean into the specifics. A customer survey by Informa Engage¹ across 13 verticals found that topic specificity will not only increase leads and engagement but is also what many customers expect. The survey found that when attending or making a decision to join a webinar, 65% of respondents are most likely to consider topic specificity. In the same survey, over one-third (35%) of respondents said they are seeking B2B content personalized by role, industry or topic.
How Industry Dive builds audience trust through digital marketing niches
Griffey says authenticity and context are critical to succeed in niche marketing. He added that marketers must be where the audience is – at any point in their customer journey. That emphasizes targeting specialized channels.
Industry Dive, which is part of Informa Tech, is a perfect example of how this approach comes to life. The B2B media company has built a reputation around niche editorial strategies across 29 industries (and counting), producing breaking news and deep analysis of the most pressing issues for its readers — at the right place and time. Similarly, other Informa Tech brands like InformationWeek and Dark Reading provide niche news and insights to the IT and cybersecurity communities, respectively.
“If I’m a software professional reading sports scores on a Monday morning, I’m not evaluating software for my company. So in marketing terms, there is no contextual reach,” Griffey said. “What would be better is finding those audiences where you’re selling solutions to problems when people are thinking about their industry, jobs, and careers.”
How to find your niche
Finding your niche starts with knowing the customer, what they care about, and their unique challenges. The next step is to segment those customers by shared goals, challenges, or industry, for example. Compare these audience cohorts to your brand messaging, product value proposition, and how you differentiate yourself in the market and determine which cohorts are either underserved currently from your marketing or best align with where you can offer support and expertise. Validate whether this cohort is the right priority by measuring how much of your Total Addressable Market (TAM), they represent.
“Marketing is a science that continues to evolve,” says Griffey. “And I think one of the things modern marketers have gotten much better at over the last decade is understanding the buyer personas.”
Griffey has a checklist of questions marketers should ask themselves as they try to establish their market niche and positioning strategy. “Who are the people that are appropriate as customers, and how do I reach them authentically?” he says. “How do I reach each in ways that suit them? And beyond the buyers themselves, who are additional influencers to consider?”
Brainstorm with your sales team
Get a sense of your sales team’s goals, where they’ve struggled to reach potential customers, and the types of marketing assets they believe will draw in the target segment.
Reviewing metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV) can also help you better understand whether a smaller, more targeted customer base represents more of your revenue (a good sign that your niche marketing is working) or whether you benefit from a higher volume of sales. Weigh this against your current marketing budget and return on advertising spend (ROAS) to see how each strategy will impact your budget.
Match product to pain points and personas
This is the most important aspect to evaluate. All products solve a problem, so it’s essential to identify who feels the problems your product solves most acutely. Detail is your friend here, so listen to clients, as well as the sales and product development teams, to uncover pain points you may not have considered. For example, there may be industries that are underserved by your product, your competitors, or the market.
When you’ve answered those questions, start experimenting
Once you know what your customers truly care about, start creating content for them on the channels they frequent. Set realistic short- and long-term targets on these campaigns (niche marketing works, but not always overnight) and don’t hesitate to double down where you get traction. Your audience won’t turn their back when you’re providing value.
Niche marketing in the spotlight: IBMIBM has mastered the art of reaching niche communities within the tech sector. IBM’s Security Intelligence site targets cybersecurity analysts with news and insights that go far beyond the headlines about the latest system breaches. The site – which regularly shows up in industry-related Google News searches, alongside major news publications– creates content that serves industry professionals who have a passion for learning and advancing their careers. Going several layers deep on industry problems and nuances keeps IBM at the forefront of those key decision-makers, even when they aren’t necessarily in the market for a new purchase. |
Niche marketing matches audience needs with brand values
Niche marketing strategies connect your brand’s values with your audience’s needs.
A more targeted segment allows you to identify underserved areas and better gauge and adjust content to increase engagement. Beyond assessing the audience, your brand’s goals, and the product, it’s essential to approach your segment with authentic and culturally relevant messages throughout their customer journey.
With a thoughtful niche marketing strategy, your audience will feel understood and valued, and your brand can create a sustainable competitive difference.
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