3 Niche Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

You have probably heard by now that trying to be everything to everybody in business is the fastest way to not achieve anything at all, particularly for small businesses. Niche marketing is not a new idea but a lot of small businesses still make the mistake of trying to satisfy every customer segment.

The reality is that even larger business with the appropriate resources to offer differentiated services for different market segments might struggle to implement this because niche marketing requires a corporate philosophy that is completely clued into the mindset of a specific niche. Here’s 4 simple tips small businesses can use to achieve success at niche marketing:

#1. Choose a niche

Why expend your precious resources trying to go down every different path when you could simply identify the one most profitable path and fully exploit it? You might think it makes some sense to try to target different types of customers, but the reality is that in a market that is full of competition, you are not likely to be able to do this effectively especially if you have competition that is focused on single customer segments in each of the segments you try to cater to.

To find the right niche for your business, simply look around your industry and try to find any gaps between customer expectations and service delivery. There is usually always one way or another in which industry-wide service delivery is lacking and can be improved. If you have the skills or ability to provide solutions to such gaps, then you have a profitable opportunity for building a niche.

#2. Test your niche

A good idea in principle might not always be practical in implementation or work as planned. Sometimes this is because of some elements or factors that were overlooked in planning, but it could also simply be due to the element of the unknown over which no business has any real control. As a result, a lot of businesses take a blind leap of faith and plunge into new ideas, committing their resources and often ending up empty-handed.

A safer way to launch your brilliant idea is simply by testing it out first on a small group of people who are accurately representative of the customer segment you seek to serve. If you get this part right then you will have some accurate idea of how exactly your plans will work out eventually.

#3. Build a community

The ability to build digital communities using social media and other tools has changed the nature of marketing for both small and big businesses today. You can now use tools that are almost always free or cost next to nothing, to establish a vibrant digital presence.

Many small business owners scoff at the idea that the digital world could provide tangible marketing solutions, but the reality is that being able to turn your niche into a digital community is a powerful key for finding new opportunities within that niche, ensuring loyalty and possibly even cultivating brand evangelists. If you think you are absolutely hopeless at all things digital though, then you should think of hiring a digital marketing consultant.

Building and developing a niche could be a powerful tool for small businesses. You certainly won’t be able to please everyone in equal measure so it is only logical that you focus your attention on the customers who you could serve the best, and at the cheapest cost. It’s a win-win.