You may think marketing your business to the widest possible pool - trying to be all things to all people - is your best chance to succeed. Unfortunately, this approach is limiting your ability to make money and attract customers.
Positioning yourself in a niche is a powerful approach to marketing. It is a strategic process to match your expertise and passions - and it sets you apart. It helps distinguish your company in the minds of your target audience.
Remember, you are competing with a lot of noise in the market to get your potential customers' attention - and their business. If you can stand out with a unique benefit (such as your niche specialization), you are a lot more likely to get noticed because you are distinct from your competition.
By choosing a precise niche, your prospects and customers understand precisely what it is that you offer. Your services are clear and precise. The narrower your niche, the easier it is for clients, prospects, and referrers to remember what you do. Additionally, a niche makes it much simpler to develop your marketing program. You know exactly where to focus your efforts and what your message will be.
Here are some of the specific ways defining a niche will help your marketing:
You can develop your niche based on a number of factors. It can be
determined by the type of customer you want to work with, the type of
services you provide, the way in which you provide your services, your style
or approach, geography, or your network of influence. It can also be a
combination of these things.
One way to begin to drill down to your niche is to evaluate your current
customers. What group are you serving right now? What do they find unique
and valuable about your company? If you don't know - ask them. It is
important to understand your services from the customers' point of view.
As you examine your current customer base, you may be surprised to find you
have already carved out a niche. If you haven't, choose an area of focus in
which you are passionate and have some knowledge. After all, if you don't
enjoy working with your customers, why bother? It also makes it easier if
you pick a niche you already know well or one that will be fun for you to
research.
Once you define your niche and position your company as an expert, there
really is no limit to your business growth (and the amount you can charge
for your expertise).
| Wendy Maynard is a marketing strategist, author, and co-owner of Kinesis, Inc. a design and marketing firm that specializes in branding. View Full Bio |
December 10, 2008 - 10:14am
As you examine your current customer base, you may be surprised to find you
have already carved out a niche
December 10, 2008 - 10:15am
If you haven't, choose an area of focus in
which you are passionate and have some knowledge.
December 10, 2008 - 10:15am
One way to begin to drill down to your niche is to evaluate your current
customers.
December 10, 2008 - 10:16am
It can also be a
combination of these things.
January 26, 2009 - 10:39am
It´s a very interesting topic for people going online with their companies. Many people have websites but no rankings in the web. The reason is that they forget to define their niche keywords. To my opinion the most important step for a successfull online company, isn´t it?
June 8, 2009 - 9:12am
Thank you for info
August 21, 2009 - 11:40am
niche marketing is always effective.
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