Developing an Iron Clad Niche

Niche marketing is designed to target a specific target audience with the goal of providing a higher level of expertise. And when the barriers to entry are restricted, then you have an iron clad niche that will pay dividends for years and years.

Here are the typical reasons why developing a niche is highly desirable:

• More personalized customer relationships – When your clients truly respect and appreciate your expertise, then the engagement is more engaging and personalized.
• Less competition – When your expertise is rare, there will be fewer competitors that you have to worry about and this supports a higher fee for your service.
• Increased visibility – It will be easier to get in front of your audience (online, print, speaking engagements, etc.).
• Word of Mouth and Referrals – When you excel at your niche, you will generate more referrals and word of mouth advertising.

One example that comes to mind is Defense Contract Audit Agency compliance (aka – DCAA Compliance) which is distinctly different than how costs are classified, allocated and reported for a commercial business, versus a governmental contractor. Simply said, all governmental contractors must comply with the specific guidelines established by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and failure to comply with DCAA standards come with severe penalties. This is a perfect scenario for an accounting niche because accounting standards are very different than most businesses and the cost implications for a mistake are severe and costly.

As a result, many of CPA Firms offering DCAA Compliance services are former employees who worked for the federal government in the Defense Contract Audit Agency and understand requirements from the inside. Essentially, this depth of knowledge about the complex DCAA rules limits competition and makes the niche iron clad.

The demand and complexity for DCAA compliance services is so high than some accounting firms have multiple niche websites for this niche alone. Below are three examples:

• DCAA Pricing Proposal Consulting and Assistance
• Outsourced Accounting Services for Governmental Contractors
• DCAA CPA Firm services

Other examples that come to mind are IRS Problem Resolution where some firms have broken the category into subcategories like filing back taxes, IRS Tax Audit Assistance, Offers in Compromise, Innocent Spouse, etc.