The Power of Specialization in the Building Industry

‍

When Steve Jobs took over Apple in 1997 to rescue it from failure, he made an announcement that would have been unthinkable to the company at the time.

He asked his development team,

What are we truly good at?

What makes us the most money?

What is something we love to do?

How, if we cut out all the distractions and nonessentials, could we dominate the market and change the world?

He demanded they stop trying to compete with all of the other computer manufacturers by offering a cumbersome buffet of hardware and software products and get back to what they did best.

He went up to a white board and drew a vertical and horizontal line to form a 2 by 2 grid. On the top he wrote the words pro and consumer. Down the side he wrote desktop and laptop. He then commanded the development team to forget about everything else and concentrate on just these 4 items. He jettisoned entire divisions of smart people and wouldn’t compromise until the remaining team had come up with a solution to the task.

The shockwaves must have been massive with pushback and chaos around every corner. But because he had forced the company to niche down rather than chase every opportunity, the legend of the iMac, and eventually the iPod, iPad and the iPhone was born.

I remember a meme going around the marketing community titled “funny things heard from our clients” and there is one image that stood out to me: a picture of the planet earth with the quote, ”our target audience is males and females aged 0-99.”

If you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to no one. It’s a classic marketing truth, and yet, when we sit down with building companies during our initial strategy sessions, we often hear something like this:

We do commercial work, but we also take on residential projects.

Oh, and we just finished a job in the energy sector, so we could specialize in that too.

And let’s not forget government contracts—we don’t want to miss out on those!

It’s understandable. The building industry is fast-paced and competitive. You’ve got payroll to meet, materials to move, and a business to grow. The fear of leaving money on the table can feel overwhelming, so you cast a wide net, hoping to catch anything and everything. 

But I’m here to tell you from experience: the more you try to attract anyone and everyone, the more you try to promote every service at the same time, the less successful you’ll be.

While it might sound terrifying, specializing is the process of picking one specific category, audience, or service—whether it’s a type of construction (like tilt-up or restoration) or a specific industry (like HOAs or government projects)—and pruning away all the other options. It’s about saying “no” to opportunities outside your niche so you can focus on becoming the absolute best in your chosen area.

But I get the obvious immediate pushbacks: 

But what if we miss out on project opportunities? 

What do we tell our loyal client partners who would be suddenly outside of our sweet spot? 

What if our team gets bored and jumps to our more general competitor?

These are all valid concerns that we hear a lot. But first, let’s discuss why niching is worth it.

When you niche down into one or two specialties, you start to see patterns and nuances that your competitors miss. You build a specialized skill set—a muscle—that sets you apart. Over time, this expertise becomes a real bonafide competitive advantage rather than “We treat our clients great and our team even better” which is definitely not a differentiator because it's what everyone else says.

When you focus on one area, you develop a reputation as the trusted pro in that one thing, not just another replaceable vendor. Your messaging becomes sharper, your website, social media posts to proposals become much more compelling, and your potential clients start to see you as the obvious choice because you can stand out from the crowd by providing a unique perspective in that subject matter.  

Instead of throwing a wide net and hoping for the best, you can create a focused prospect list and tailor your content and outreach to resonate deeply with that audience.  

When the execution of every project is similar, your team gets faster and more efficient. You aren’t constantly learning as you go and you can standardize processes, reduce errors, and improve profitability.  

A clear focus reduces stress and confusion. Your team becomes more confident, engaged, and aligned because they know exactly what they’re working toward.  

Of course, niching isn’t without its challenges. You might have to say no to projects outside your niche, which can feel scary. You might lose long-time clients who don’t fit your new focus. And yes, your team might miss the variety of working on different types of projects.  

However, when you have a clear focus you attract pros in the industry who also have become experts in that one field. There are plenty of them out there just looking for the right fit for their careers. This means less training and an even stronger team to service your customers.

Niching isn’t about limiting yourself—it’s about positioning yourself for long-term success. 

When you’re all things to all people, you’re stuck competing on price, racing to the bottom with every RFP. But when you niche down, you create leverage. You become the expert who can charge a premium because you deliver unmatched value.  

How do you even go about choosing the right niche for your company? Some questions you have to ask yourself is, what do you really love doing? What gives you energy and would empower you that much more if you became an expert in it? 

Which part of your services or products generates the most revenue? When you examine your data, you might discover that certain offerings don’t contribute as much as your top-performing product or service. Could eliminating these distractions and focusing solely on your most lucrative offering make your company more profitable, more impactful, and less stressful? Sometimes, less really is more.

What specific service or product offering are you already good at? And if you were to find more time to hone your team’s skills could you achieve superhero status? With that built muscle from getting constant reps in would make you untouchable by the competition?

And finally, where do you see the industry heading in the future? What if you let go of outdated perceptions about your business and embraced a fresh perspective? Could you position your company on the path where the parade is approaching? 

Nu-Ray Metals is a top regional manufacturer of metal roofs. They could offer composite and a variety of other materials, but because they stay focused and true to their clients, their products just keep getting better and their reputation spreads without effort within the industry.

Our client Zacklift International is a manufacturing company specializing in detachable towing equipment designed for commercial fleet operations. While they could pursue the broader towing industry, which offers a wide range of opportunities and product possibilities, they’ve decided to focus intensely on dominating a small, highly targeted segment of the market. This strategic approach allows them to excel in their niche and deliver exceptional value to their specific audience.

These companies could chase every opportunity, but instead, they’ve chosen to focus on what they do best—and it’s paying off.  

Once you’ve chosen your niche, commit to it. Rebuild your marketing, website, and content to reflect your new focus. Develop a targeted prospect list and start building a content library that speaks directly to your niche audience.  

And remember, niching is a long-term strategy. It won’t pay off overnight, but if you stick with it, you’ll build a muscle that no one else has. You’ll become the loudest builder in your space—the one everyone turns to when they need your expertise.  

So, bring your leadership team together and start the conversation. What’s your niche? What’s the one area where you can dominate?  

I recorded a podcast about it. Want to hear it? Here it goes…

‍

‍

Written by Rusty George, with no help from Artificial Intelligence.

Rusty George leads a branding, website design and marketing agency serving Seattle and Tacoma area construction companies, subcontractors, manufacturers, material fabricators and suppliers. His goal is to help the building industry become more attractive to the skilled workforce of the future. Reach out to us at any time, and we can discuss how niching and narrowing your positioning can contribute to an overall plan to increase your business opportunities.

‍