7 Keys to Unlocking Your Niche Market
Entrepreneurs often struggle with identifying their niche and/or target markets. I have pulled together the 7 “keys” or qualities that are very helpful in beginning this “quest”:
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Passion
Talents
Research
Knowledge
The Big Why
Courage
Unique Essence
Get started by answering the following questions:
Passion:
Who do I love to work with?
Who do I do my best work with?
Talents
When do I really “shine†in my work?
What talents, skills and abilities do I make use of regularly?
Research
Who are the customers currently using my products and services?
How do they hear about me?
Knowledge
What do I know to be true about me?
What do I know to be true about my business?
The Big Reason Why
Why am I doing this business anyway?
What is so compellingly amazing about my business that it gets me up every morning with bells on?
Courage
If I wasn’t afraid, then I would……… with my business
Unique Essence
What do I bring to my business that is uniquely me?
How am I and my business different from others in the industry?
I would describe my unique essence as…………
The Idea of Perfect Fit
(from “Attracting Perfect Customers: the power of strategic synchroncity†by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez)
“Each of us and the businesses we have joined or created, exists for a specific purpose or mission. Our businesses have developed as a result of our own experiences and needs and are simply tools for fulfilling our missions.â€Â For all of us there is a Perfect Customer, that individual and group of individuals for whom we and our business is a “perfect fitâ€. Identifying the characteristics of that
Niche Market and Target Market
(From Wikipedia www.wikipedia.com )
A niche market is a focused, targetable portion of a market.
By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. You can think of a niche market as a narrowly defined group of potential customers. A niche market usually evolves from a market niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.
Niche marketing is the process of finding and serving small but potentially profitable market segments and designing custom-made products or services for them. For big companies those market segments are often too small in order to serve them profitably as they often lack economies of scale. Niche marketers are often reliant on the loyalty business model to maintain a profitable volume of sales.
Target market is the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It is often defined by age, gender and/or socio-economic grouping.
Targeting strategy is the selection of the customers you wish to service. The decisions involved in targeting strategy include:
• which segments to target
• how many products to offer
• which products to offer in which segments
• There are three steps to targeting:
• market segmentation
• target choice
• product positioning
• Targeting strategy decisions are influenced by:
• market maturity
• diversity of buyers needs and preferences
• strength of the competition
• the volume of sales required for profitability
Targeting can be selective (eg.: focus strategy, market specialization strategy or niche strategy), or extensive (eg.: full coverage, mass marketing, or product specialization).
If you would like to brainstorm about all of this, contact me!
namaste,
Zoey
Zoey Ryan, PCC
coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women