In 1997, David Steele was making the transition from a professional therapist to relationship coach. Part of his strategy was to become a center of influence and THE Relationship Coach for his community.
David decided to launch his own virtual community as a weekly "Friday Night Social" singles gathering. After a one-month pilot program and some market research, he designed a community for the singles in his area, unlike any other setting available, that would meet their need to meet other singles in a safe, fun setting.
The community also furthered David's mission to provide relationship education and position his firm prominently within his target market.
Almost seven years later, his Friday Night Social continues to be a vibrant singles community that supports the practices of the four coaches who collaborated to make it happen. "It is a lot of fun, and the time and effort needed to make it happen is minimal," says David.
"We feature a guest speaker each week, a local professional who is usually a good referral source. We've become well-known in our community and have a loyal following of singles who sometimes continue to attend with their partners when no longer single!"
From Therapist to Singles Guru of Silicon Valley
Slightly Famous entrepreneurs are learning that in today's world, given that most of us have an unmet need for community, one of the greatest services you can offer your clients and prospects is simply to get them together.
The goodwill, contacts and status David has developed as a leader of a niche community has boosted his business. It has minimized the need to aggressively market his services by transforming into a guru and center of influence and trusted advisor to his target market.
Why does this work? There is a basic human need for community. We survive and thrive in relationships. We are social beings and cannot be fully successful or happy alone. Ever since we lived in caves our social environment largely determines our fate.
In today's world, given that most of us have an unmet need for community, one of the greatest services we can offer the clients and prospects in our niche is simply to get them together.
Think about it. A niche is a group of people that share common situations, needs, and goals. When these people get together, they immediately feel a common bond; they understand each other and can easily provide mutual support.
Targeting The Right Niche with the Message
Like David, you too can establish yourself as a trustworthy resource whose reputation and work is beyond scrutiny. The secret to success is targeting a group of people with specific interests. And that group of people can be your target market!
Examples of groups that would be attracted to, and benefit from, participating in a niche community include:
You get the idea...any niche you can think of for your practice is a candidate for a niche community.
How a Niche Community Can Benefit Your Business
Once you establish a niche community around your business, you can enjoy the following benefits:
Increased visibility. Community participation is a low cost marketing strategy that can yield enormous exposure for your business. Virtual communities provide free or low-cost gatherings that attract more people and create more prospects.
Increased credibility. The success of your niche community reflects upon your abilities as a service professional. It provides a chance for you to "show your stuff" and impress prospects who don't feel like they need to ward off a sales pitch.
Word of mouth. Virtual communities stimulate conversation. They get people talking. Participants tell their friends more readily about your business as a "community resource" than a private service.
Transform a "practice" into a "business". By reaching more people through your virtual community, you will develop a platform to sell more products and services. Your community can open the door to multiple income streams through group mentor programs, information products and other passive revenue streams.
Getting Started
The first consideration is how you will structure your community and bring people together. You have two choices: create a "live" community that meets in a physical location; or establish an online community that meets virtually through telephone and the Internet.
Live communities are straightforward. Taking David's cue, develop a statement of purpose for the group. Then, market the group to niche market prospects within reasonable physical proximity to one another, choose meeting times and a location, and bring them together around a structured agenda.
Whereas live communities are more limited by location, virtual communities offer the possibility of attracting members from all over the world.
Online or virtual communities gather people in an online 'space' where they come, communicate, connect, and get to know each other better over time. The idea is to bring members of your niche together virtually where you combine on-line interaction (e-mail, web forums) with telephone conference calls and classes, as well as information and support services.
Online group interactions do not always 'happen' spontaneously. They require care, nurturing and facilitation.
The core of facilitation and hosting is to serve the group and assist it in reaching its goals or purpose. Some describe this role as a gardener, a conductor, the distributed leadership of jazz improvisers, a teacher, or an innkeeper. It can be this and more.
If you take the plunge, be patient. Online communities don't happen overnight. Often they take time to coalesce and form themselves into something valuable and sustainable. It's crucial that patience is exercised, since it WILL take time for momentum and a critical mass to develop whereby the community becomes solid and established.
About The Author
Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort. Visit http://www.getslightlyfamous.com to read the book and learn about 'slightly' famous teleclasses, workshops, and marketing materials to help small businesses and solo professionals attract more business. http://www.getslightlyfamous.com
Batchtown Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareHuman beings are rational agents. Rationality endorses one to take... Read More
A recent conversation started with a typical question, "How's business?"... Read More
Obviously, there will never be an actual water shortage since... Read More
This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More
Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More
Diversify - to make diverse, give variety, to balance, to... Read More
One of the most important initiatives in the domain of... Read More
A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will... Read More
If you are in the parking business and own or... Read More
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals,... Read More
If you own a pressure washing business one of the... Read More
Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More
Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in... Read More
As a business owner, you've likely created a hurricane plan... Read More
A significant advantage of some business ideas is that the... Read More
Making money doesn't make your reputation... your reputation makes you... Read More
"Most great plans aren't. They are just nice, high-level ideas."That's... Read More
If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More
David E. Gumpert, author of Burn Your Business Plan, often... Read More
How often does your company make a quantum leap forward?... Read More
You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More
Do you work in or own a business that's affected... Read More
Ask a small business owner about their strategic plan and... Read More
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron,... Read More
A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join... Read More
shuttle from Midway Munster are ..Cassy was an employee of a nonprofit who had been... Read More
Strategic planning and consulting is the strategy roadmap to manage... Read More
Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More
Business owners and entrepreneurs are, by nature, risk takers and... Read More
What gets measured gets done.How do you keep your business... Read More
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More
In this small article we'll concentrate on farmers associations and... Read More
More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to... Read More
Is there really anything as a problem? Does chaos or... Read More
Scenario OneDuring a recent presentation, a business owner was given... Read More
If you are a successful franchise of a large franchise... Read More
Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is... Read More
Writing a Business Plan these days is tough, venture capitalists... Read More
Can you imagine going on a road trip without knowing... Read More
One of the most important initiatives in the domain of... Read More
Here's a really simple way to make sure your plans... Read More
Business plan financial projections seem daunting because they are so... Read More
A well known, national chain of restaurants discovered that certain... Read More
You know you need a business plan. You probably realize... Read More
If you're a solo professional like I am, you know... Read More
Writing a business plan can be tricky when all the... Read More
Growth through acquisition should not be considered an option reserved... Read More
Many very successful business owners may never have had a... Read More
With the help of balanced scorecard strategy map, it is... Read More
A recent conversation started with a typical question, "How's business?"... Read More
Strategic Planning |