To Niche or Not to Niche: That Is the (B2B Marketing) Question

At some point in every B2B company’s journey, whether you're a recruiter, consultancy, tech firm, or a glorified two-person powerhouse like we once were - you’re going to face the niching dilemma.

Should we specialise? Or keep our options open?

It sounds philosophical. A question that can hang around in the background for years. You might bring it up in a quarterly planning session. Or, after one too many awkward sales calls where the client asks, “So… what exactly do you do?” Either way, it eventually demands a real answer.

And I get it.

Saying “we only work with X” feels like you’re cutting off your oxygen. But what if that focus is exactly what helps you breathe easier?

Let’s unpack it from both sides, and share a few war stories from our own journey and the clients we’ve walked this road with.

The Generalist Illusion: “We Can Help Everyone!”

There’s a certain comfort in the “we do it all” mindset—until you try explaining it to a client in under 30 seconds.

You can help anyone. Any sector, any company, any size. Why limit your opportunity?

Well, in theory, sure, you could.

But in practice? Generalists often end up sounding like everyone else. “We’re strategic.” “We’re results-driven.” “We tailor our approach.” Great. So does every agency, recruiter, and consultancy from here to Huddersfield.

And we’ve been there truthfully, we probably could help just about anyone.

We’ve worked across a range of industries, and we’ve seen the inside of more B2B business models than most marketers care to. So yes, technically, we can help almost any company.

But translating that into a clear, compelling value proposition?

That’s a very different thing.

What clients want isn't just someone who can help them. They want someone who gets them. Who understands the nuances of their world. Who’s been there before. Or at the very least, someone who understands it better than the next person in their inbox.

We’ve walked that road, the one where you say, “We help all sorts of companies.” And in your own head, it feels true. It is true. But to the client sitting on the other side of the screen, it’s vague. It lacks grip.

If you think about conversion rates - or even just landing that initial meeting, you might find that going narrow actually opens more doors. Niching doesn’t just help you book more calls; it helps you win more of them.

We once worked with a firm that prided themselves on being able to place “anyone, anywhere.” Admirable hustle.

But when we asked who their ideal client was, we got a 20-minute answer. If your dream client is “everyone,” your a marketing agencies worst nightmare.

When Generalists Do Work (and Why That’s OK)

To be honest, niching isn’t for everyone.

There are generalist firms doing incredibly well, some of them large, some surprisingly lean. We once worked with a business called Nichols Howard. They were a 20 "ish" person recruitment outfit placing all kinds of roles across the UK, Europe, and parts of the US.

No specialism. No tight vertical. Just solid delivery and a confident generalist proposition.

And it worked.

So yes - there is a place for generalists. But when does that model actually make sense?

Here are a few common reasons it can work:

1. You’re serving a regional market, not a sector

Some B2B firms, especially in recruitment, IT support, or consultancy, build success by dominating a local or regional market. For example, a generalist recruiter in Manchester might thrive by being the go-to name for any mid-sized business in the North West.

Their niche isn’t the sector, it’s the geography.

The work we are doing with SmartChoice International is a good example of this. SmartChoice build nearshore and onshore tech delivery teams for large enterprises. Here we often talk about the regional expertise they have through their on-the-ground consulting teams in Sofia, Kraków, Bucharest, Dubai, New York and of course, here in the UK.

2. You’re solving universal problems

Some businesses offer services that are relevant to every industry—HR compliance, bookkeeping, payroll, facilities management, generalist IT support. In those cases, niching by sector might be unnecessary (or even limiting).

The “value-add” is in the service model, pricing, or depth of relationship.

A company we have been working with for over 3-years as an executive search firm "Appoint Technology-Focused Leadership" across sectors. For this brand we often talk about industry cross-pollination, taking the leadership from one industry and placing them in another - leaning into the benefits this brings for their clients.

Adastrum Consulting can clearly define their offering and value in just two short sentences following the work we have done for them.

3. Your model is built on flexibility

Agencies with a strong internal team and operational agility can flex across industries and client needs.

This works particularly well if you have deep expertise in functional roles, like finance, legal, or operations, where the core skill set is portable across sectors.

4. You’ve built trust over time

Some firms succeed as generalists because they’ve earned the right to.

Years of trading, repeat clients, and a solid brand. They’ve become a trusted name, and referrals keep them going.

In these cases, marketing becomes less about positioning and more about reinforcing credibility.

5. You’ve productized your offer

Generalist consultancies or agencies that offer clear, packaged services - like a “12-week leadership coaching programme” or a “£999 fixed-fee recruitment campaign” - can attract clients across different sectors, because the offer is tangible and clearly defined.

The clarity is in the product, not the audience.

Some Real-World Examples

• Breathe HR – A UK-based HR software platform catering to SMEs across any sector. They’ve succeeded not by niching into industries, but by keeping their solution simple, affordable, and tailored to smaller businesses.

• Rutherford Cross – While they specialise in finance recruitment, they operate across multiple sectors. Their functional niche (finance) allows them to stay generalist in terms of industry, which gives them scale without dilution.

• Boutique digital agencies that don’t niche by industry, but by style or approach, e.g. "conversion-led websites" or "branding for scaleups." These businesses are technically generalist in who they serve, but they niche in how they deliver.

Final Thought on Generalism

Being a generalist isn’t about being vague. The best generalists still have clarity, they know how they add value, even if that value cuts across multiple sectors.

So while we often lean towards niching as the path to better marketing (and we do), it’s not the only viable model.

There’s still space in the market for businesses that say: “We help lots of people - but we do it bloody well.”

The Marketing Case for Going Niche

Now, here’s where niching gets powerful. Especially for small B2B firms - your typical 5–50 person outfit trying to stand out in a noisy market.

From a marketing standpoint, niching is like giving your messaging a megaphone (or a laser sighted sniper).

Suddenly, you’re not trying to be all things to all people. You’re speaking directly to someone - and they know it.

When you specialise, your content becomes sharper. Your positioning gets clearer. You can write with authority, not waffle. You stop second-guessing every LinkedIn post and start building a consistent message.

On the LinkedIn front, I remember sitting there after writing a killer post with a clear audience offering heaps of value with an entertaining slant - I felt it would do well in generating engagement and driving reach across the LinkedIn platform.

I didn't post it!

I started to work through our current clients and prospects in the pipeline in my own head thinking - "would this post alienate that prospect or client?"

Content ideas were thin on the ground and my ability to write with authority and conviction was hindered - leaving just surface level blogs and LinkedIn posts.

It was just a really difficult position to be in.

We worked with a recruiter who only placed candidates in dev tools companies. Wildly niche.

But the upside? Their content spoke directly to engineering leads, product managers, and CTOs in that space. No fluff. Just relevance.

We were able to write highly technical whitepapers and industry reports which provided real and clear value to founders and technical leaders within an industry that designs and creates tools for developers.

And the engagement proved it.

Delivery Gets Better Too

It’s not just marketing. Niching improves delivery too.

When you work with the same type of client over and over, you start to spot patterns.

You develop playbooks. You can genuinely say, “We’ve seen this before - and here’s what works.”

Right now, we’re working with a firm that places captains on superyachts (Quay Group). Yes, actual yachts. They also place people into private residences.

The work we are doing with Quay Group involves building out a complex web environment for their clients to login and get various access levels to specific pieces of content. We're now also helping with their high-level strategic marketing to effectively target and engage these UHNWI's along with a full website redesign to incorporate an elevated brand experience and integrate with the new web portal we have built.

Their clients?

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals with very specific requirements (and probably private islands) - the "0.01 percenters".

It’s a niche market, sure, but that’s what gives them their edge.

They’re specialists. Trusted. Efficient. Known.

That level of expertise is very difficult to replicate if you’re trying to serve everyone.

Sizing the Market: Is It Big Enough?

Of course, going niche isn’t brave if it’s blind. It’s just reckless.

Before you commit, do your homework. Is there a real market there?

Enough potential clients to make the model sustainable?

When that dev tools recruiter niched down, we actually mapped the market first. Funded companies. Key decision-makers. Competitor overlap. It wasn’t enormous, but it was viable. Tight but doable.

Also, there was a huge amount of predicted growth and investment in the space (which was a very new space at the time).

Targeting VC's and PE's proved to be a lucrative strategy for this particular client.

Small markets can be goldmines - if you know how to mine them.

Our Story: Why Limivex Chose Recruitment

We didn’t always focus on search and recruitment.

We started out working with all sorts of B2B firms - tech, HR, consultancy, training, you name it.

But over time, we noticed something.

We were getting the best results with search firms.

The delivery felt more intuitive.

The strategies clicked faster.

The relationships went deeper.

So we made the dreaded call to specialise.

It wasn’t easy (emotionally).

We had the same fears everyone does: Will we lose opportunities? Will we alienate potential clients? Will we get bored?

Also considering that right now we are still working with an IT support company in Essex, and have been for over 5 years now. We are also working with a specialist composite manufacturing company called Jesmonite.

With all of this considered, we moved forward anyway!

And, it’s paid off. Our messaging is clearer. Our processes are sharper. And the data backs it up - we win more work in recruitment than any other sector.

Not because we say “we do marketing,” but because we show we understand executive search and recruitment marketing.

Our clients aren’t asking us to teach them how LinkedIn works.

They’re asking how to stand out in a space where every hiring manager already has a stack of recruiter contacts, and a full inbox of 20 other search and recruitment firms begging to work with them.

That’s where our content-first approach wins. Building the credibility, authority and presence of our clients in the search and recruitment industry.

And it works precisely because we’ve niched.

LIMIVEX provides a full marketing function for executive search and recruitment companies – combining intelligent strategy, elevated content, brand transformation, and active promotion. We don't wait for briefs, we drive your marketing forward with proactive ideas, fast execution, and a deep understanding of your audience, helping you stay visible, win more work, and grow with confidence.

So… Should You Niche?

If you’re running a small or mid-sized B2B business, and especially if you’re in search and recruitment, niching might be one of the smartest strategic moves you can make.

It makes marketing easier.

Delivery better.

Messaging clearer.

But don’t force it. If you’re winning as a generalist, and you enjoy the variety - there’s no shame in that.

Just be honest with yourself: are you winning because of your generalism, or in spite of it?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Do we have a track record of success in a particular sector?

• Do we enjoy working with that sector?

• Is the market big enough to support us?

• Can we create content that genuinely resonates?

• Are we struggling to explain what makes us different?

If you’re nodding along to most of those, maybe it’s time to sharpen your focus.

About the Author

Daniel Hill is the founder of LIMIVEX and the strategic mind behind the agency’s work with recruitment and professional services firms. With a background in both marketing strategy and technology, he helps clients cut through the noise and build brands that actually convert. Daniel currently supports several businesses in fractional CMO roles, bringing clarity, direction, and measurable results to their marketing efforts. At LIMIVEX, he leads from the front—shaping ideas, overseeing execution, and making sure every campaign moves the needle.

I hope you found some value in this article - if you did then please follow our LinkedIn company page HERE