If you're average, find a niche

Find a niche for your business if you don’t win on exactly the same things as your competitors. During a visit to Tobin James in Paso Robles in 2011, I had an experience that set that thought in motion.

The video is from 2011. The discussion of the place and its reviews describes my experience and assessment back then.

Find a niche for your business that others overlook

Tobin James was packed when I stopped by. I described the wine as average in the video, but I also say I don’t know much about wine. That’s my assessment, not an objective measure of quality.

What I noticed was the place’s focus on families with children. There were free video games and squash for the children, and the family could spend time there together.

Families with children had a reason to choose the place

Many people touring the wineries have children with them. If only a few places do something for them, that can make a big difference to the family.

I thought it might also explain the good reviews I’d seen on Tripadvisor and Yelp, among others. The experience for the family could matter more than getting the most sophisticated wine experience.

You don’t have to compete on the same thing as everyone else

Of course one option is to improve the core product itself. But becoming the best at what everyone else is already competing on can be expensive or difficult.

So also try asking: Which customers could I do something special for? What do they need that competitors don’t address? That was the point I took away from the visit.

Find a niche for your business: My experience in Paso Robles

I’m on holiday in California in a large motorhome. I’m absolutely not a camping person, to put it mildly. But you’ve got to try something. Along the way, I have a little experience I’d like to share.

We’re in Paso Robles, a wine region in California. I compare it to Napa Valley and describe it as a bit of a runner-up, but on the rise. There’s lovely wine here and lots of wineries.

The place I show in the video is Tobin James. I call their wine average. That’s my blunt assessment during the 2011 visit. Later in the video, I say I don’t know a damn thing about wine, so my point isn’t an expert assessment of quality.

It’s packed at a quiet time

I turn the camera so you can see the place. It’s mid-morning, at a time when I wouldn’t expect much activity. Even so, it’s packed. How the hell can that be?

My explanation is that they’ve made it a very child-friendly place. You can’t immediately see that in the recording, because there aren’t many children right there. But later in the day, lots of families with children come.

There are free video games, and they hand out squash to the children. Children are welcome and have something to do. That makes it one of the options where the family can actually visit a winery together.

Many people driving around the area in campers have children with them. So if very few places cater for children, those places can have a particular advantage. The family gets something they don’t get everywhere else.

The family judges the whole visit

I’ve looked at reviews on Tripadvisor and Yelp. In the video, I say there are review after review with almost five out of five stars. People highlight that the children can enjoy themselves, play for free and get something to eat and drink.

My impression is that this gives Tobin James a business that’s doing bloody well. I don’t know their accounts; that’s the impression I get from the visit and the reviews I’ve seen.

We’ve visited many other wineries on the trip. I think some make much better wine, and some are much more sophisticated. But in some of those places, there’s not a soul. That difference is what gets me thinking.

You can do something other than trying to be best at the same thing

If your core business isn’t fantastic and others do it better, of course you can improve the core product. In this case, you could try making much better wine.

But perhaps that’s difficult. I wonder whether the vineyards could be a limitation, while admitting I know nothing about it. Perhaps it’s expensive and complicated. And then you need marketing if you want to promote yourself as having the best wine.

Why not also ask: Which niche audience could I do something special for? Families with children could be such a niche. If nobody is already catering for them, that’s fairly interesting.

Think about your own business. Is there something you could do that makes you particularly interesting to a specific group of customers, even if you’re not best at what everyone else competes on? Also read Iværksætter til jeg dør about my experiences of finding opportunities and developing businesses.

That’s the thought I take away from Tobin James. As I say in the video, they’re doing a damn good job with the angle I see. Perhaps you can find a similar opportunity in your own industry.

Best wishes, Martin