Niche products and services can potentially generate fantastic revenue if they manage to capture the hearts and wallets of a dedicated consumer base.
Unlike generic products that target massive audiences, a niche business caters to the tastes and desires of highly defined markets.
The truth is that these audience segments are often overlooked by larger competitors. That’s why niche businesses have the potential to address audiences that are underserved. And the good news is that the outlets and resources allow identifying and reaching a target audience easier than ever.
So are you ready to become a niche business owner? Let’s start by learning how to enter a new niche market.
How to Enter a New Niche Market: A Beginner’s Guide
Jonathan Lister of LinkedIn says, “Speak to your audience in their language about what’s in their heart.”
But how do you know who is your audience, what is your niche market?
A niche market is a segment of the market that focuses on a specific type of products. Niche marketing defines your particular niche and is associated with marketing your product or services to this niche.
Having a good niche can give your business more profits and stability, especially if it has a demand to it.
So you must be wondering how to get there. Well, there are a few steps for you to follow:
Step One: Know Your Audience.
If you are an entrepreneur and fresher to the concept, begin with focusing on your audience, rather than focusing on the product you want to sell.
When you choose and take the time to understand your niche audience, instantly you promote yourself from struggling to find new ideas to know exactly what kind of products you must promote.
For example, if your target audience is interested in wood carving or something related to that, you can promote the best woodworking books instead of something else.
Step Two: Research as a Marketing Tool.
You can look for keywords used for researching topics about a new niche market. More specifically you can look for searches related to their problems and needs. This will not only tell what your audience care about but also what is profit potential of your product.
If there is traffic, it means that there is a demand for that product.
Doing something you are interested in or following your passion could be the key to success here. But do mind the potential to earn money to. Make a list of passions and then compare them with the research you have conducted to determine the best possible road to move forward.
Step Three: Assess The Competition.
The level and quality of a new niche market is a great indicator of whether it’s worth going for or not.
The most common keyword niches are characterized by:
- High Average Cost per Click (CPC);
- Multiple pages of ads;
- Advertisers in top three premium positions;
- Ads that are highly targeted through search keyword.
But you need to remember that regardless of the level of competition, if you are passionate about it, you will succeed.
Step Four: See What’s Trending.
Looking for what’s trending on popular websites such as Amazon.in or eBay kicks off your list of profitable niches ideas. Places like Google Trends or eBay Popular are the best way of determining what’s trendy.
For example, if wood carving tools are trendy, then you can promote a set of tools, and you might hit it off.
Pay per Click (PPC) can be an important tool for promoting your product. Here when someone clicks on the respected link of the product and buys it, you get a commission. Again you would want to make sure that there is a potential and profitability for that.
Step Five: Decide – Yes or No.
Now after going through all this, you have to decide whether or not the new niche market is worth getting into.
Once you get a niche, build a brand. You would need to make sure that it is not trademarked and get a domain and a ‘.com.’ for it.
Remember that you are working for your audience, so you must look after their needs and always have feedback to work on it.
Step Six: Welcome Opportunities.
Always be open to new opportunities as it will help you grow even bigger. Plus, constantly have an idea about the market. Always think long term, i.e. think beyond the product. You want to build a business and a brand in the niche.
Now, let’s move onto building a successful niche business. Here are 5 tips to help you become the biggest fish in a small pond.
How to Build a Niche Business
1. Find a place for yourself in the niche.
A niche marketplace is basically a small but highly specialized market segment within the broader viable commercial industry. Your first step is to identify the niche marketplace that you want to enter.
Conduct thorough research to learn more about the demographics of your target audience:
- Who is part of that marketplace?
- What is the reason behind their being underserved?
- Are you in the position to serve them better?
- How can your product or service unite them?
If you have a simple product or service, your first objective is to identify how it can serve as a solution to their problem.
Compile all the data to produce detailed personas of your target customers. Check out the key decision-makers in your niche marketplace. They can be enthusiasts and influencers who use social networks and blogs to talk about the niche topic.
2. Create a simple product or service.
A simple product or service is an offering concentrated on the needs of a narrow customer base. For example, if you are toying with the idea of becoming the top manufacturer of cat socks, there are several questions you need to ask yourself first.
- Will anyone need that type of product?
- What is uniquely useful about it?
- What makes it better than similar products offered by your competitors?
As you develop your product, you need to create your online presence. Come up with a great brand name, and develop marketing tactics that will focus on selling that specialized product to your target audience.
Being a specialist has many merits, and product development is no exception. If you’re sure that there exists a target market for your product, there’s no reason why you should hesitate.
3. Know what niche marketing is all about.
You can’t kickstart your niche business without knowing how niche marketing works. You need to stand out from the crowd but also show your target audience that your product will satisfy their needs and preferences.
The good thing about niche marketing is that is much less competitive because you’re dealing with a small target market.
That’s what also makes it more affordable. You won’t have to spend nearly as much of your resources for testing different messaging and tactics. Moreover, customer loyalty is high in this context.
Your marketing strategy needs to be centered on nurturing people who truly believe in your product or service. These fans will make up the backbone of your business and be the reason for its future success.
For that to happen, they need to believe that you have their best interest at heart. You need to show them that you understand that much better than your competitors.
Finally, when you run a niche business, you simply need to know your customer base inside out. Since you are targeting a particular audience, your campaign will be simple and straightforward, but it can’t miss its mark.
4. Be unique and relevant.
Use every opportunity to show your target audience why your product or service is a better fit than competitive offerings. Take a good look at your competition to see what makes you stand out and what your competitors don’t have that you offer. That way you will know how to communicate your value as more relevant to your niche marketplace.
For example, 1300 Rubbish is a company that specializes in delivering a single type of service but does it way better than competitors who offer a wide range of services.
Your competitors might serve the need of your target in their multiservice one-stop shop, but you can be sure that your marketplace would prefer to hire a specialist. If your competitors offer low-cost services, convince your niche that what they need is high-quality craftsmanship.
5. Become a leader in your niche.
Since you’re the creator of the simple product or service that serves your niche, you’re in the unique position to offer your marketplace valuable insight and advice. Don’t just proclaim that you’re an expert.
Shameless self-promotion is a dead end in the niche marketplace. Instead, bet on authenticity. Tell the story about founding your business. Show the problems you encountered and how you solved them.
Demonstrating how your product or service matches the expectations of your target audience is an excellent occasion to display your expertise. You can publish relevant content on blogs, actively participate in groups or forms, issue press releases and take part in industry events and conferences. Show yourself as someone who knows your niche marketplace best.
Take advantage of these 5 tactics to develop a successful niche business and take your marketplace by storm.
About The Author
Melanie Saunders is a blogger and content manager at 1300 Rubbish – experts in the field of rubbish and junk removal. Personally, a huge fan of sustainability and green living.