Know Your Niche
As a Kaizen Ninja, I like to believe I can help any team solve any problem. Maybe I can, maybe I can’t—but believing it was causing me to dilute my message to my target audience. Let’s face it: no one believes you can be all things to all people.
While I’ve helped businesses across many industries tackle a variety of problems, my message wasn’t resonating with the people I truly wanted to reach. It wasn’t until I came across The One Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib that I realized the issue. Dib makes a compelling case for knowing your niche and target market. Without that clarity, it’s impossible to craft a message that will attract the right people.
I had to dig deep and figure out who I really wanted to help. It didn’t take long to land on an answer that, in hindsight, should have been obvious: I was built to help manufacturing companies.
But not just any manufacturing companies. Running a Kaizen event requires team members to dedicate 100% of their time and energy to solving a critical business problem in a sustainable way. For smaller companies, pulling key people off their regular jobs for several days can be a dealbreaker. The business might grind to a halt.
The sweet spot? Manufacturing companies with at least 50 employees. These companies typically have enough resources to pull six or more people from their daily roles without shutting everything down. With proper planning, resources can be covered through overtime or other adjustments, making it feasible for the team to focus entirely on the Kaizen process.
This realization was a game-changer. While I’ve facilitated successful Kaizen events in non-manufacturing settings, the immediate, tangible results from manufacturing events are hard to beat. On the factory floor, you can literally see the impact:
Lines run more smoothly.
Tasks require less effort.
Employee feedback is positive and immediate.
There’s something uniquely gratifying about helping people in ways they can see and feel right away. That’s why I’ve honed my focus on manufacturing companies with more than 50 employees. When I visit, I can provide clear, specific examples of where I can help and the results they can expect using my Kaizen approach:
Safety risks reduced by more than 50%.
Changeover times cut by more than 50%.
Productivity increased by at least 5%.
Costs reduced.
Quality and customer satisfaction improved.
Even better, I can share real success stories from other manufacturing teams and show how I use the Wheel of Sustainability to ensure those results last.
From time to time, I still get inquiries from non-manufacturing prospects. I’m happy to help them if there’s a good fit, but they’re no longer my target audience. I don’t actively market to them or invest extra effort trying to get their attention.
This approach has made me more focused and intentional, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful to Allan Dib and his team. Their insights helped me find—and fully embrace—my niche.