The Minimum Viable Audience
I love finding the intersection across industries and discovering how one principle applies to many professions.
Kyle Porter of Normal Sport excels at this. In his recent post, "Sorta Quiet But Also A Lunatic," Kyle pointed to a fascinating tension in golf: the PGA Tour seeking wider appeal to the mass market when going deeper for true fans could be a better business proposition.
He linked to Seth Godin on the minimum viable audience, noting that organizations "love to chase the elusive casuals but would have more success by doubling down on delighting the most hardcore audience member."
This is exactly what I see in financial advisory practices every day.
What Is the Minimum Viable Audience?
Seth Godin defines it as "the smallest group that could possibly sustain you in your work."
The counterintuitive insight? When you delight this base:
You discover it is larger than you expected
They tell others—creating intensely loyal customers and a sustainable business
As Seth writes: "If you aim for mass (another word for average), you will probably create something average. Which gets you not very far."
The Three Benefits of a Minimum Viable Audience
1. Smaller, Targeted Audiences Lead to More Successful Business Models
When you serve a specific group exceptionally well, you create something they cannot get anywhere else. Dentists who own practices have different challenges than corporate executives. Business owners planning succession need different guidance than tech professionals accumulating equity compensation.
When you specialize, you can charge premium fees because you are not interchangeable.
2. Understanding Your Target Market Allows You to Differentiate
Generic "comprehensive wealth management" does not differentiate. Being the advisor who understands specific tax considerations for dental practice owners? Who knows the intricacies of business succession planning? Who can guide clients through unique estate planning challenges?
That differentiates you.
When you deeply understand your minimum viable audience, you can:
Speak their language
Anticipate their needs before they articulate them
Build service offerings that directly address their challenges
Create content tailored to their circumstances
3. Delighting Clients Creates a Positive Feedback Loop
When you tailor services to delight a specific audience:
Your clients become raving fans. They tell friends who face similar challenges. Those referrals are pre-qualified because they fit your target market. You get better at serving this group with each client. Your reputation as the go-to expert strengthens.
Compare this to advisors trying to serve everyone:
Clients do not feel uniquely understood
Referrals are random and often not a good fit
You cannot develop deep expertise because every client is different
Your marketing speaks to no one in particular
Going narrow does not limit your growth. It focuses it. Going deep does not reduce your market. It clarifies it. Serving a minimum viable audience exceptionally well creates a sustainable, differentiated, highly profitable business.
As Kyle Porter and Seth Godin both understand: chasing the casual fan or mass market often leads to mediocrity. Delighting your hardcore audience—your minimum viable audience—leads to something remarkable.
And remarkable is what wins.
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