A daily email about monetizing and visualizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.
💡 Very Niche: Kid-free cruising
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I spent the first week of the new year on a Virgin Voyages cruise to the Caribbean. One of Virgin’s core differentiators is that its cruises are adults-only. That strategic decision on Virgin’s part permeates through the entire operation:
Sounds like a lot of operational freedom, no? And that freedom unlocks the ability to offer amenities like:
So, while Virgin has actively shut out a huge segment of cruisers who seek to sail with their children (up to 30% of the total market), they’re able to create a highly unique offering decidedly off-limits to their more inclusive competitors. Just last week, another cruise line, Oceania Cruises, announced it would switch to a strictly adults-only model. The interesting wrinkle for Oceania: they weren’t boarding many children to begin with. Oceania’s COO Nathan Hickman said to USA Today:
I’ll be honest with you, a good segment of our guests already thought we were adult-only, because we don’t have a lot of kids. I really think this is an advantage, and we’re just pressing that advantage by saying, you know, ‘We’re not trying to be all things to all people’. We’re going to be very narrowly defined, and we’re not even changing who our target guest is. It’s the same person. I think this is a move to better define and attract that guest. In Oceania’s case, they were already operating under a niche strategy, though not explicitly, leaving them on the hook to accommodate edge cases (i.e., children). But now with a clear boundary, they can actively entice their core customer with a stronger message and value prop, without needing to change much else. So think about it: Have you been serving the same type of client or solving the same client problem over and over? If so, you may already be operating within a niche. But if you haven’t been explicit about it in the market (or even simply in your LinkedIn headline), you’ve likely stopped yourself short from reaping the full benefit. 💡 -Wes P.S. If you're in the Seattle area, come meet 25+ fellow solo consultants and coaches in-person TONIGHT (Tues Jan 13, 5pm) at University Village. Details at seattlesolos.com. |
💡 The Lightbulb
A daily email about monetizing and visualizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.