Why Speaking to Everyone Attracts Nobody
One thing I hear from clients all the time is:
"We don't really have a target audience."
Or:
"We work with lots of different people."
Or my personal favourite:
"We don't want to exclude anyone."
I completely understand the thinking - I used to feel exactly the same way.
When I first started my design business, I thought I needed to appeal to every possible client. I tried to keep everything broad, neutral and flexible. I didn't have a particularly strong visual identity (still don’t to be honest) and I certainly wasn't sharing many opinions.
The logic seemed sound.
If everyone could see themselves in my brand, surely I'd attract more work.
What actually happened was the opposite.
The Problem With Trying To Appeal To Everyone
When you're trying to speak to everyone, you often end up saying very little.
Your messaging becomes vague and your positioning becomes blurry.
Your website starts describing a business that could belong to almost anyone.
You end up using phrases like:
Purpose-driven businesses
Ambitious brands
Organisations that want to make an impact
These statements aren’t wrong but they don't mean much.
Almost everyone wants to think of themselves as ambitious.
Most businesses believe they're making an impact.
Very few people read that kind of messaging and think:
"Wow. This business really understands me."
Why Specificity Builds Trust
The businesses that stand out tend to do something different.
They speak directly to a particular audience, challenge or situation.
Instead of trying to attract everyone, they focus on being highly relevant to someone.
That doesn't mean they only work with one type of client, it simply means their messaging is focused.
People trust businesses that seem to understand their world.
The fastest way to demonstrate understanding is through specificity.
My Own Shift
For a long time I described myself as a designer for purpose-led organisations.
That wasn't inaccurate - I've worked with charities, coaches, consultants, startups, community projects and all sorts of businesses doing meaningful work.
But "purpose-led" was far too broad to build clear messaging around.
Over time, and lot of experimentation, I found it much easier to talk about the challenges faced by one particular client (that at the time was my favourite!)- coaches and consultants.
I understood the transformation they provide.
I understood the role trust plays in their businesses.
I understood what happens when their expertise outgrows their branding.
Focusing on one type of client allowed me to really focus on that messaging.
The Surprising Thing About Niching
Here's what nobody tells you.
The more specific your messaging becomes, the more people outside your niche often start paying attention.
That sounds backwards, but I've found it to be true.
I edited alllllll my copy and messaging to be focused around coaches and consulants (don’t go and check cos I’ve changed it now) - and low and behold, clients outside that niche started to take notice and relate to it too.
Today, I talk a lot about:
Accessibility
Inclusive design
Branding
Coaches and consultants
And yet I still receive enquiries from businesses outside those categories.
Why?
Because people aren't only attracted to services.
They're attracted to perspectives.
When someone agrees with your values, your opinions and the way you think, they assume you'll bring those qualities into your work too.
You Don't Need To Talk About Everyone
Many businesses try to solve this problem by creating messaging for every possible audience.
One page for startups.
One page for consultants.
One page for charities.
One page for agencies.
One page for everyone else.
The result is often confusing.
Instead of helping visitors understand who you serve, it creates more work for them.
A clearer approach is to focus on one audience in your marketing while remaining open to opportunities outside it.
You don't need to be everything to everyone.
You just need to be highly relevant to the people you most want to attract.
The Real Value Of A Niche
A niche doesn’t limit opportunities.
When your audience knows:
Who you help
What you help them achieve
What you believe
How you're different
It becomes much easier for them to understand why they should choose you and your message is SO damn focused that other people find the idea of working with you irresistable.
How To Narrow Your Focus Without Boxing Yourself In
If the idea of choosing a niche makes you uncomfortable, try asking yourself:
Who do I most enjoy working with?
Whose challenges do I understand best?
What transformations am I most excited to talk about?
Which projects consistently produce the strongest results?
Start there.
You don't need to rewrite your entire business overnight.
You don't need to refuse work from anyone outside your chosen audience.
You simply need to become known for something!
I really wish I’d known this in the first year of business, but hey ho.
Final Thoughts
Trying to appeal to everyone feels safe.
In reality, it often makes your brand harder to remember.
The businesses that stand out aren't the ones trying to attract the largest possible audience.
They're the ones with a clear point of view.
They know who they're talking to.
They know what they stand for.
And they aren't afraid to say it.
Ironically, that's often what attracts people outside the niche too.