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Marketing Chaos? These 2 Answers Will Instantly Bring Focus
If your marketing feels scattered, it’s not because you’re doing too little—it’s because you’re missing these two key answers.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
The Problem: Your Marketing Feels Scattered
You’re putting in the effort—posting on social media, attending networking events, running ads—but your marketing still feels unfocused. It’s not that you’re doing too little; it’s that you’re missing two foundational answers that bring clarity and direction. Without these, your efforts can feel like throwing darts in the dark, hoping something will stick.
The Solution: Answering Two Key Questions
To create a marketing strategy that actually works, you need to define two things:
Who: Who am I trying to reach?
How: How am I going to reach them? How will I engage them? And ultimately, how will I guide them to schedule an appointment?
The Who is your target market or niche—the specific group of people you want to serve. A target market is broad, while a niche is a more refined subset with distinct needs. The clearer you are about who they are, the easier it is to craft messaging that resonates and develop a strategy that attracts.
The How is your strategy—the activities and channels you use to attract, engage, and nurture your audience. It’s not just about getting in front of people; it’s about guiding them through a journey that leads to meaningful action.
The Outcome: A Clearer, More Effective Marketing Plan
When you define your Who and How, marketing stops feeling random and starts feeling strategic. Instead of trying to be everywhere at once, you’ll focus on what actually works—showing up in the right places with the right message for the right people. That means more engagement, more meaningful connections, and ultimately, more appointments on your calendar.
If your marketing feels scattered, take a step back. Answer these two questions first, and watch how everything else falls into place.
How We Help: From Unfocused to Strategic
OnNiche® by Kaleido helps you identify your ideal client and develop a clear, strategic approach to reach them. Instead of second-guessing your marketing, you’ll have a focused plan that attracts the right clients and builds meaningful connections.
If your marketing feels scattered, let’s change that. Schedule an introductory call to see how OnNiche® can help you define your Who and How—so your marketing finally works for you.
We Want Your Take! What challenges have you faced in defining your Who and How in marketing, and how has that impacted your ability to attract and convert clients? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Centralize Marketing to Support Multiple Niches
Ensure consistency across individual marketing plans.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
When implementing a multi-niche strategy, each niche should have its own marketing plan, led by a dedicated advisor. However, professional marketing support—whether internal or external—is essential for execution.
Marketing teams can assist with:
Graphic design
Copywriting
Social media management
Email marketing
Digital campaigns
Event coordination
And so much more!
This support enables advisors to focus on high-value activities such as relationship-building and developing their reputation. Centralized marketing ensures the marketing plan is consistently executed while keeping each niche’s activities aligned with the company’s overall brand and messaging.
We Want Your Take! What marketing support does your firm offer advisors, whether through internal staff or external resources? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Develop a Marketing Plan for Each Niche
Each niche needs its own action plan.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
When implementing a multi-niche approach alongside a firmwide marketing plan, each niche needs its own targeted strategy. Advisors leading a niche must develop an action plan to attract, engage, and convert prospects into clients. A structured plan keeps advisors and the marketing support team focused and intentional, outlining key activities such as:
What content to create
What events to attend
Which COIs to network with
Which campaigns to run
A quarterly marketing plan helps advisors map out their tactics, building on previous efforts to refine and expand their approach. Small, consistent actions drive sustainable growth and long-term success.
At the end of each quarter, advisors should review their progress:
Did they follow through?
Did they hit their goals?
Do they need to adjust their activity level or refine their tactics?
A well-developed marketing plan provides clarity and builds confidence, allowing advisors to attract and convert niche clients more effectively.
We Want Your Take! Do you have a separate marketing plan for each niche, or do you take a one-size-fits-all approach? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Creating Unique Niche Messaging While Staying On-Brand
Create distinct niches that still fit your firm's core theme.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
When implementing a multi-niche approach, it’s important to customize messaging so that it resonates with each niche while staying aligned with your firm’s overarching brand and core theme.
To create niche-specific messaging, you'll want to understand the niche's:
One Problem: Identify the most urgent and painful problem shared by everyone in the niche—the reason they seek a financial advisor.
One Solution: Define the process or services your firm offers to solve that problem.
One Outcome: Highlight the highest, realistic aspiration a client in this niche can achieve by working with you.
Once your messaging is drafted, ask:
Does it align with your firm’s core messaging themes?
Does it maintain a consistent brand voice and tone?
Balancing unique messaging with brand consistency ensures each niche has a distinct voice while reinforcing your firm’s overarching message.
We Want Your Take! What’s the biggest messaging challenge you’ve observed when a firm speaks to multiple niches? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Setting the Launch Pad for the Niche Marketing Plan
Three things every niche should have.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
Choosing the right niches for your company is just the beginning—each niche needs a dedicated platform within the firm’s overall marketing ecosystem. To establish a strong foundation, every niche should have:
A dedicated landing page on the company website to serve as the central hub for marketing efforts.
A platform to publish niche-specific content (e.g., blogs, videos, podcasts) in one centralized location.
For advisors leading the niche, updated social media and directory profiles to ensure their messaging and imagery align with the niche.
These essential components create a launchpad for effective niche marketing, helping advisors build credibility, attract the right audience, and gain momentum. With a well-structured foundation in place, advisors can focus on executing their marketing plan and engaging their niche with professionalism.
We Want Your Take! Beyond what was mentioned here, what components are essential for building a successful niche launch pad? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Aligning Your Multiple Niches with the Firm’s Fee Structure
Think carefully before adopting a new fee structure for a niche.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
When pursuing a multi-niche approach, it’s important to select niches that align with the firm’s existing fee structure. For example, if the firm charges a percentage of AUM, chosen niches should typically include clients with assets that meet the firm’s minimum account size. Similarly, if the firm charges a minimum fee, the niche should include clients with sufficient income to meet that threshold.
Adopting a new fee structure to accommodate a single niche can be complex and may not be profitable. Unless the firm has thoroughly evaluated and successfully implemented a new fee structure across all clients, it’s generally unwise to create an exception for one niche. If the firm is interested in testing alternative fee structures, it’s recommended to pilot the model with a small group of clients first. This allows the firm to confirm profitability and long-term viability before committing resources to a niche that may not sustain the fees under a traditional structure. Many firms that experiment with alternative fee models eventually decide to revert to their original structure.
To ensure sustainability and simplicity, it’s best for firms to maintain a standardized fee structure that accommodates all clients and to ensure that chosen niches fit seamlessly within this framework.
We Want Your Take! What unique fee structures have you used or observed working effectively with various niches? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Aligning Your Multiple Niches with Your Advisors’ Fit
Align niches with your advisors’ strengths.
Our theme for Q1 2025 is how to implement a multi-niche approach. We’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
While your firm’s niches should align with the overall mission, you’re even more likely to succeed when each advisor is matched to a niche that fits their unique strengths, interests, and resources. A strong fit ensures advisors can effectively serve the niche and remain committed to its long-term success. Use the following criteria to assess alignment:
Expertise: Advisors thrive when they bring specialized knowledge or experience to the niche. For example, an advisor who is also a CPA with a tax background may be well-equipped to work with small business owners.
Credibility: Advisors are more successful in niches where they can naturally establish authority through credentials, experience, or personal connection. For instance, a military veteran advising other veterans has built-in credibility that fosters trust.
Access: Success also depends on an advisor’s ability to engage with the niche. Advisors who have networks, relationships, or shared experiences—such as being part of the niche themselves—are positioned to build trust and connections.
Advisors are more likely to stay committed and succeed when they see quick wins due to their strengths, passion, and ability to access the niche. Matching advisors to niches they genuinely care about increases their engagement and long-term success.
We Want Your Take! If you already have a niche, what unique strengths, interests, or experiences contribute to your ability to serve it effectively? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Building a Cohesive Multi-Niche Strategy with an Overarching Theme
Align niches with your firm’s mission.
This year, we’re mixing things up! Our weekly tips follow a quarterly theme, and for Q1 2025, we’re diving into implementing a multi-niche approach. Each week’s tip wraps up with a question, and we’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
When adopting a multi-niche approach, it’s important that each niche is a good fit for the company. The way to achieve this is by setting the firm’s overarching theme or mission and ensuring that each niche aligns with it. For example, the central theme could focus on areas such as:
Retirement Planning: Target pre-retiree employees at specific companies (e.g., AT&T, Boeing) or industries (e.g., healthcare, technology).
Life Transitions: Specialize in niches such as divorce, inheritance, the sale of a business, or the loss of a spouse.
Service-Oriented Professionals: Serve individuals in service-oriented roles, such as teachers, firefighters, and military personnel.
Establishing a cohesive theme allows your firm to maintain a unified message at the firm level while enabling niche specialization. This structure ensures consistency across all niche specialties. A firm focused on community-oriented individuals achieves greater cohesion than one juggling unrelated niches, like special needs planning and startup founders.
Alignment is key to an effective multi-niche strategy. By ensuring that each niche reflects your firm’s brand, mission, and messaging, you can create a cohesive structure. With intentional planning, your niches can complement one another, positioning your advisors as trusted experts within their respective niches across the firm’s diverse client areas.
We Want Your Take! If you are considering a multi-niche approach, what overarching theme or mission will unify your niches and ensure they align with your firm’s brand and values? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Planning Your Multi-Niche Specializations
Steps to launching multiple niches.
If you are a generalist firm planning to implement a multi-niche approach, careful planning of your areas of specialization is essential. Each niche should be distinct enough to avoid overlap with other specializations and will generally be broader than the niches recommended for a single-niche approach.
Target Distinct Groups
Your specializations should target different groups of people who would not be reached through the same marketing efforts. For example, you could focus on niches such as:
Medical industry
Business exit planning
Women in transition
Each of these niche specializations requires unique marketing strategies tailored to its audience. This might involve specific centers of influence (COIs), events, campaigns, or social media channels.
Avoid Overlapping Niches
It’s important to avoid creating specializations that are too similar and might overlap. For instance, rather than having separate niches for doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators, you could consolidate them into a broader "medical industry" niche. This approach is effective because these groups often share networks and resources.
The only scenario where closely aligned niches might work is within an already specialized company—such as one exclusively focused on the medical industry—where segmentation into smaller groups (e.g., doctors, nurses, administrators) makes strategic sense.
Conduct a Client Base Analysis
Identifying potential niches begins with a thorough analysis of your client base. Categorize your clients into buckets based on:
Profession
Financial situation
Stage of life
Other defining characteristics
This analysis can reveal opportunities for segmentation and provide valuable insights into which niches to pursue.
Start Small and Expand
As a rule of thumb, I recommend starting with at least three areas of specialization to build a strong foundation for your multi-niche strategy. This approach allows for expansion as the firm grows, enabling you to add more niches over time.
We Want Your Take! If you are considering a multi-niche approach, which specialty areas would you choose to segment your clients into, and why? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!
Reasons to Adopt a Multi-Niche Strategy
A multi-niche approach should be intentional, not fear-driven.
This year, we’re mixing things up! Our weekly tips will follow a quarterly theme, and for Q1 2025, we’re diving into implementing a multi-niche approach. Each week’s tip will wrap up with a question, and we’d love for you to join the conversation in our Public Square.
Many firms gravitate toward a multi-niche strategy out of fear—fear that narrowing their focus too much will alienate potential clients and lead to lost business. Fear-based decisions, however, almost always lead to mediocre results. If you’re going to adopt a multi-niche approach, do it because your current strategy is already successful and you’re ready to tap into new opportunities.
You’ve Achieved Organic Growth and Are Ready to Segment Strategically. Once your firm has grown organically (e.g., surpassing $1 billion in AUM), a multi-niche approach allows you to refine your focus. Segmenting your existing client base into specialty areas fosters deeper connections and more tailored services, naturally driving further organic growth.
You’re Cultivating the Next Generation of Advisors. Empowering your next-generation advisors with specific niches provides them with a clear, structured path to grow as business developers—not just service advisors. A niche-focused strategy allows them to quickly establish credibility and build their own client base, independent of the existing leadership team’s network.
You’ve Hired Advisors with Unique Expertise. Career changers often bring deep networks and specialized knowledge from their previous industries. Leverage these built-in advantages by developing a niche strategy that enhances their connections and positions your firm as the go-to expert for those audiences.
You Have Outgrown Your Current Niche. Growth goals sometimes require expanding into new markets when you’ve exhausted opportunities in your current niche. A strategic multi-niche approach allows you to broaden your reach and achieve new levels of growth.
The power of a multi-niche strategy lies in its intentionality. Each niche should have its own dedicated champion, a clear marketing plan, and measurable goals. Done right, multi-niching positions your firm not as a generalist trying to appeal to everyone, but as a collection of uncomparable experts uniquely suited to meet diverse client needs.
We Want Your Take! Do you agree that a multi-niche approach works best when built on success rather than fear? What other reasons might inspire you to adopt this strategy? Share your thoughts in the OnNiche® Public Square!