Staying Ahead of Competitors in 2025 with Hyper-Focused Niche Strategies

North Mondays Series: Episode 116

There’s a small bakery on Bode Thomas Street in Surulere with a specific offering: sourdough bread made fresh every morning for lactose-intolerant, gluten-sensitive Lagosians who love bread but feel betrayed by it.

They don’t sell cake or pastries. 

But ask their customers and they’ll tell you they’re the only ones who “gets them”. In a city that’s bursting with bakeries, they’re clearer and they know exactly who they’re selling to.

Figurative bakery aside, it’s high time you realized that you’re not just competing, you’re in a crowd and you should make it your mission to stand out.

We’ve entered the era of entrepreneurial saturation where everyone has a business or five.

Thanks to Canva, ChatGPT, and a world of ready-made templates, it’s never been easier to launch something. But ironically, it’s also never been harder to be seen.

Why? Everyone looks similar.

Same products. Same promises. Same fonts.

The competition isn’t just about pricing or packaging anymore, it’s about positioning.

Customers don’t just want options.
They want a clear reason to pick you.

Hyper-Focused Niche Strategies

It’s time to ditch the “bigger is better” and start going deeper, not wider.

The aim is to serve very specific people with very specific needs using very specific messaging.

Hyper-focused niche strategy works because:

• Niche audiences pay more for precision
• Trust builds faster when you “get them”
• Marketing becomes clearer and more affordable
• Referrals grow inside tight communities

Let’s put this into context.

1. Instead of saying:

“We sell skincare.”

Say:

“We make clean skincare for postpartum mothers navigating hormonal acne.”

• Instead of:

“We’re a coaching company.”

Say:

“We help first-time SaaS founders go from $10k to $50k MRR—without giving up equity.”

Notice the difference?

When you narrow the niche, you become magnetic to your ideal customer.

5 Ways to Outpace Competitors in 2025

Let’s make this practical. Here’s how you cut through the noise and own your lane:

1. Own a Specific Problem

Don’t just say you help people. Say how. Pick a problem so clearly that your audience knows it’s their problem.

Example: Instead of “digital marketing agency,”
become “a retargeting agency for stores doing $20k/month.”

2. Target a Subculture, Not a Demographic

Instead of broad demographics, speak directly to people who share a lived experience or identity.

3. Be Loud About Your Positioning

Your bio. Your homepage. Your business card. Let it scream: this is who we serve.

Don’t try to be subtle.
Be the brand that says, “We’re not for everyone.”

• Pick One Platform and Dominate It

Find where your people already are. Then show up there with consistency and clarity. Stop spreading thin across 5 platforms, double down on where your people already are before branching out.

5. Use Niche Language, Not Generic Copy

Drop buzzwords. Speak your audience’s language.

If they say “burnout,” don’t say “productivity.”
If they say “broke,” don’t say “financial literacy.”

Use their words.

That’s what niche strategy is about. It’s saying exactly what matters to the people who need you.

North Mondays Action Plan

Let’s bring it home:

Write this sentence for your business:

1. “We help [specific audience] with [specific problem] using [specific method].”
2. Check your homepage, bio, and pinned content. Is it clear who you serve?
3. Interview 3 past customers and ask: Why did you choose us over others?
4. Remove one vague statement from your site this week. (“We deliver excellence” is not a differentiator.)
5. Choose one community where your people gather and show up, consistently.
6. Track the leads you attract. Are they more qualified? Are they easier to convert? 

That’s the sign you’re hitting the mark.

In 2025, Clarity Beats Complexity

Your business doesn’t need to serve everyone, it just needs to matter deeply to someone.

Your Turn

Who is your exact customer and what’s the one thing you help them win at?

If you can’t answer in 1 sentence, you don’t have a niche and North Monday articles are here to fix that.