A niche is a small segment of the population that you serve with your product or service. A niche could be identified by economic bracket, age, gender, hobbies and interests, occupation, or a combination of the above.
Unfortunately, many businesses think that providing services to “anybody who wants to buy” is better. But that’s not the case. In attempting to be “all things to all people” you end up being nothing to anybody! Here’s why:
When you market to your customers, you need to demonstrate that your products and services can fill a need or solve a problem that your customers have. If you can’t demonstrate how your product fulfills those needs, you won’t sell products! So if you can’t focus in on the needs of a specific group, you won’t effectively highlight those needs.
Imagine trying to sell a shirt to three different niches… in the same advertisement. For example, the Soccer Mom, the Teenage Girl, and the Firefighter all have completely different needs for clothes. In trying to show how the shirt you’re selling handles all three needs, you’ll alienate all of the niches.
So, limiting your niche allows you to focus on the needs and wants of your target audience. Although it seems counter-intuitive at first, the smaller a niche, the more money you will probably make from that niche.
So how do you create a highly targeted niche? If you’re in business try to discover who it is that’s already buying your product. If you haven’t opened shop yet, ask your friends and family who they think might be interested in what you’re selling.
Once you have a general idea, you may want to consider refining your niche even further. For example, why not consider cutting your niche in half and marketing only to one gender, or slicing it even further and selling your product or service to one gender in a specific age group.
You’ll be surprised how refining your niche a little can help improve your business. Here’s why:
Once you’ve refined your niche, your marketing will become a lot more targeted. If you’re marketing, for example, to elderly women, you won’t have to advertise anywhere you can, but instead just on the websites or in magazines read by elderly women.
This also allows you to set up cross-promotions with other products that your niche might enjoy. If you sell practical clothes to your niche of elderly women, consider a cross promotion with a company that makes shoes for this niche or work with an organization that helps women with osteoporosis, since this elderly women are at the highest risk for that disease.
If you have a website, you have the additional advantage of being able to set up linking relationships with other products or services that your niche can enjoy. Determine what it is that your niche likes to do when they’re not using your products and set up a link exchange. You’ll benefit from the ranking improvement, your niche will find you to be far more practical, and it won’t cost you a thing!
By refining your niche, you are also helping your niche do word- of-mouth marketing for you. As you become THE person they go to for their products or services, your niche will communicate with other members of the same niche about things they like. Again, if you market to elderly women, you can expect them to talk to other elderly women about the comfortable and practical clothes you’re selling.
Targeted marketing, cross-promotion potential, linking advantages, and word-of-mouth marketing- that’s not something you’ll enjoy by selling your product to “everyone.”
