Covert specialisation

“How do we specialise further without losing business in the short term?”

I’ve heard a version of that question multiple times.

You’re positioned around a vertical (e.g. SaaS) and a horizontal (e.g. Branding), which eliminates thousands of generalists. But it still leaves you competing with a dozen other competitors that have picked the same vertical + horizontal combination. There’s little to separate you.

You want to double down further: specialise in solving a specific frustration or task within that subset.

But two underlying fears stop you.

Firstly, what if you alienate your existing customer base? Your current positioning is agreeably vague. You don't want brand identity work, but it keeps the lights on. Double down on brand strategy and you fear you lose the work that keeps the business running during the transition.

Secondly, what if you pick the wrong specialisation? You've had a few engagements in this area, if any. You don't know, categorically, if this is the right one.

So, what’s the approach to test positioning before doubling down?

Published insight is implied positioning.

I call it covert specialisation.

When we think of communicating positioning, we think about homepage headlines and offer names, and they’re undoubtedly important. But I’d argue, the most powerful delivery of positioning is implied through consistent delivery of insight that circles around (and never veers from) the specific area of specialisation you want to present to the market.

Psychologists call it associative learning. Pair yourself with a specific problem often enough, and the market starts to associate you with the subset category.

This explains why many authorities I study receive inbound opportunities for services they don't promote.

It’s why Harry Dry, founder of Marketing Examples Newsletter, received enquiries for copywriting work, despite the fact that he doesn’t publicly offer copywriting services.

It’s why Ryan Hawk, host of The Learning Leader, received executive coaching and mastermind enquiries before he’d made any hint of a suggestion that he offered them.

That means you can pick an area of specialisation within your work and trial it for the next 6-12 months through your content, without changing a single thing on your homepage, your about page, or your LinkedIn bio.

Referral prospects enter your website, see your homepage, and keep requesting the broader services that keep the business afloat.

But in the background, you're answering the question: would I get traction if I specialised in this more specific problem?

So what’s the downside?

The worst case scenario is that the content doesn't resonate, and you have to trial a different area of specialisation. But even a failed trial leaves you with a sharper delivery process for a service you already offer, a deeper library of content, and more valuable market feedback than when you started.

And this act of selecting the area of specialisation, then consistently publishing insight on it for a sustained period of time, turns you into a legitimate expert in that subcategory – particularly when you begin attracting more of that work and applying your insight to real client engagements.