There is no doubt in my mind that the more focused you can be about your ideal clients, the more likely they are to recognise you as the accountant they should approach
Similarly, if you have a clear focus, it also becomes much easier for the people you meet and who know you to recognise opportunities to recommend and refer you.
But having a niche or specialist area is not the only route to success.
If you find the idea of focusing on a single niche or target audience too limiting, you are certainly not alone.
Perhaps it feels premature because your existing client base is too varied.
Maybe you don’t want to restrict yourself to one type of future client, or you’re concerned about alienating existing clients who don’t fit that description.
And maybe you’re doing fine thanks with a good stream of referrals and new clients that are exactly the sort of people and businesses you want to have as clients.
These are all perfectly understandable reservations. And the last one especially suggests that you can afford to ignore the advice to choose a niche.
Having said that, I’ve seen how developing a clear niche or specialism has helped many firms and many accountants build successful practices. Equally, I accept that not every accountant is comfortable taking that route.
In reality, a lot of accountants have a rather limited idea as to what counts as a niche.
For example, there are more ways to focus your marketing than simply choosing a business sector niche.
The important point is that being more focused almost always makes it easier to stand out than promoting yourself in much the same way as every other accountant offering the same services to anyone and everyone.
There are many reasons why accountants resist the advice to narrow their focus.
Some of those reasons stand up to scrutiny, while others are based more on perception than reality.
The considerations are also different if you already have an established practice and want to attract more of the right clients than if you’re still building your client base and deciding where you want to position yourself.
For now, let me simply remind you of eight practical ways to focus your marketing messages.
1. Business sector
This is the most common type of niche and often the hardest to choose if your clients work across many different sectors. It involves highlighting your experience with businesses in a particular field, such as hairdressers, doctors, solicitors, dog groomers, restaurants, construction, contractors or property investors.
2. Client size
Perhaps you enjoy working with businesses below the VAT threshold, or with companies already generating turnover above £1 million, £5 million or £10 million. You may particularly enjoy helping start-ups, or you may have decided they’re no longer the right fit for your practice.
3. Business structure
You may prefer working with sole traders, owner-managed companies, family businesses, franchisees or companies with more complex ownership structures. Each represents a different opportunity to demonstrate relevant expertise.
4. Geographic focus
Unless you have a strong sector specialism or highly distinctive expertise, you’re often more likely to win clients within your local area. Even though much of our work is now delivered online, many business owners still prefer appointing an accountant they see as local.
This will also be especially relevant when you attend local business networking events. Whilst you are never just networking TO the room, but THROUGH the room, chances are that most of the people there will be local and will know other local people.
5. Specialist services
Your focus might be around tax planning, outsourced FD support, audit, succession planning or another service that distinguishes you from general practice competitors.
6. Financial goals
Some clients are looking for an accountant who understands their ambitions. Whether that’s improving profitability, accelerating growth, reducing debt or preparing for sale, speaking directly to those goals can be very effective.
7. Ethical or sustainable business
Business owners who place a high value on ethical or sustainable practices are often drawn to advisers who clearly share those values.
8. Retirement and succession
Many experienced business owners are looking for support with succession planning, exit strategies, pensions and retirement. Positioning yourself around these conversations can be a powerful way to attract exactly those clients.
A niche isn’t for life
One point that’s often overlooked is that a niche doesn’t have to be for life.
Once you’ve established yourself with one audience, there’s nothing to stop you broadening your appeal later. In fact, many successful practices evolve quite naturally over time.
Many guests on my podcast have shared how their niches developed. Some chose them deliberately, while others found that their reputation gradually attracted more of the same type of client. Many, though certainly not all, are sector-specific.
My advice is to reduce the pressure by thinking of your niche simply as your current focus. It might last a year, five years or much longer.
The important thing is that as it’s your business, you can change direction whenever it makes commercial sense to do so.
The key is to focus your marketing on a clearly defined audience because that will almost always make it easier to attract and retain the clients you most want to work with than trying to appeal to everyone.
Less focused marketing
Having said all that, I’ve also worked with plenty of successful accountants whose practices remain relatively general. Others appear to have a focus that is, in reality, still quite broad.
One description I would always discourage though, is claiming to specialise in SMEs.
Many accountants use the phrase almost by default, but it says very little. An SME covers the smallest micro one-person operations up to organisations with 250 employees and turnover of up to €50 million.
That definition includes well over 99% of UK businesses, so describing yourself as an SME specialist rarely differentiates you in any meaningful way.
Alternative but similar terms, such as owner-managed businesses or family businesses are broader than true niches too, but they at least paint a clearer picture of the types of clients you enjoy working with.
No niche for me
Ultimately, some accountants simply don’t want to limit themselves to a niche or specialism. Even when they understand the logic and potential benefits, they’re reluctant to make that commitment.
Whilst I think that’s often a missed opportunity, it isn’t fatal. And for plenty of established practices it’s never been a problem.
There are other ways to stand out from the crowd, and that’s a subject for another day.
If choosing a niche feels more stressful than helpful, don’t overcomplicate it. Think instead about who you most enjoy serving right now and where you can add the greatest value. That simple shift in thinking is often enough to bring much greater clarity to your marketing.
This is also a conversation I have regularly with accountants I mentoring 1-2-1 and it also comes up during online group discussions within the Sole Practice Club.
Rarely is there a single ‘right’ answer. The best approach is the one that reflects your strengths, your ambitions and the sort of practice you actually want to build, rather than the one someone else tells you should have.
