photo credit: batintherain
Is your business trying to be all things to all people? If so, maybe it’s time you thought about finding your niche. You see, if you’re a generic company doing the same thing everyone else is doing, then why would anyone buy from you and not them? Probably it will boil down to a matter of price, and if you’re a small start-up trying to compete with the bulk-buying giants out there you stand no chance on that point either!
In an article Narrow Your Focus to Broaden Your Sales, Michel Fortin writes about an online carpet salesman who had little luck with his sales until he began to focus just on kid-themed carpets and his business took off. Think about it - there are loads of places you can buy a carpet from, but if you are looking for a kid’s carpet and there’s a specialist around, then it’s obvious which company you’re likely to buy from.
And that is the whole point of focusing on a niche market. A hundred years ago, you would have gone to the general store in the village and made do with their limited choice of general stuff. Today your customers can find a specialist online with a few mouse clicks and enjoy a wider choice and often a more knowledgeable service to boot. As Michel says:
“…if you try to copy your competition, or trying to promote your offering as one that’s better than your competition, like it or not you’re only reminding people of that which you are better: your competition!
It’s better to be different than it is to be better.”
It’s true that if you specialize, your target audience will be smaller, but they will be more qualified too, and so more likely to buy. What´s more, your competition will also be less, because, by narrowing your focus, you automatically rule out all the other Jacks of all trades you would otherwise be up against.
To find your niche, you need to identify your ideal customer and focus on tailoring your products/services and marketing specifically to that group. For example, if you sell jewelry, you could specialize in modern designs, or target a specific age group. If you offer consulting services, you could focus either on people with little experience or on experts, so that you can address them appropriately. This way the newbies won’t feel confused or the experts talked down to.
Of course, your website and Internet marketing will be key to establishing your niche, and have to be specially designed and written to appeal to the people you are targeting. But once you have a niche in mind, connecting with your audience will be so much easier, simply because it will be easier to give them just what they are looking for, just the way they expect it!
