Jun 03 2008
Tightening Your Niche Market
The JF Guest Author Spot
Terri Dunevant
Are you the expert in your market? If your niche is narrow enough, you very well could be! Most people worry when I suggest a very narrow niche; they worry that they will be limiting their opportunities. It depends on your industry; but, wouldn’t you rather be famous in a small pond, where you’re known as the one to go to, as opposed to one of many for many?
I started out with applying my perception reframing technique called The Staircase Principle to just salespeople and soon found that covered way too many people. It is easier to relate by specializing in a particular field of salespeople. I had specialized in Property Management when in advertising, so thought I’d start there. I took my book to the State Department of Licensing and got it approved for continuing education credits for the real estate industry and the property managers who (at that time) don’t usually have anyone specialize in their industry, were delighted! All the associations and sub-associations promoted for me within their social meetings and it didn’t take but a year to have spoken at most every venue that industry had to offer in my geographical area.
The reason narrowing your niche expands your opportunities is…everyone wants to be special. Customers want to know that you are in-tune with their industry specific “special” needs. By becoming educated on their hot-buttons and industry specific vocabulary, and using them appropriately and comfortably, you show them respect. It’s kind of like taking time to learn the native language of a foreign country before visiting.
So, where do you begin? What are some of the narrowing demographics? Check out this list and see if any “speak” to you.
Niche opportunities & (examples):
o Age (Home sales for elderly)
o Area (specialized roofing for waterfront homes)
o Opposite gender (skin care for men)
o Ecological (books printed with recycled paper)
o Ethnicity/Culture (business software with a rap flavor)
o Vegan (coffee & smoothies with absolutely no animal byproducts)
o Emerging fads (investment mortgages for house-flippers)
o Based on the unsellable (if they have in-house speakers, provide speaker training)
o Military (exceptionally durable laptops)
o Multi-level Marketing reps (sales training help recruiting independent distributors)
o Any Industry (pest control – ladybug theme)
If you still don’t know where your specialty might lie, try asking yourself these questions:
o Who did you used to serve? You may already be an industry leader from past experience for a different product or service.
o What is a common denominator amongst your current clients?
o What industry gives you the best testimonials?
o Who are your favorite clients?
o Who do you wish you had as a client?
Once you do have an idea, try it. You can always just cross it off the list of niches if it doesn’t work.
How do you “try it” exactly? Well, first of all, read what they read, sign up for their e-newsletters, watch their training videos to gain insight on their concerns. Then, create an exclusive combination of Features & Benefits for that market. For example, an associate who is a hypnotist listed ALL the things hypnosis could help you with. I suggested he concentrate on one of the most popular, weight loss. He will always have people who will ask if it works for other things, but to gain more clients quickly, let’s just start here:
Feature: 3 hypnosis weight loss packages
Benefit: “Everyone has different needs. You may just want to lose a few pounds, or you may desire an entire lifestyle change. You can choose from three different weight loss plans, each specifically tailored to get you to your desired level of health and fitness. I will personally help you to choose the one that will serve you best during your free consultation session.”
Immediately, everyone who receives his marketing remembers he is the guy for weight loss in a different way! When his clients experience results, they naturally share their hypnotist’s name and he has naturally gained more clients in every category. I was going to help him target smokers next, but we didn’t need to, it was a natural progression.
Where do you market to your niche? Here are some ideas to start you off:
o Advertise in their Magazines, newsletters, association fund-raisers
o Write articles for their Magazines, Newsletters
o Speak at their Association Meetings
When that niche is saturated or new clients slow down, add another niche. It becomes easier to identify which one you should try next as you work through this process. Conquer the world, one pond at a time!
Terri Dunevant brings over 25 years of diverse experience to the training and speaking industry. Her unique insight in people skills comes from her multi-faceted background, from cheerleading as one of the original Seattle Seahawks “SeaGals”, to sweeping awards as a Senior Advertising Consultant, to currently training nationally for Fortune 500 companies.
A recipient of the Distinguished Toastmaster Award, the highest obtainable recognition internationally for both public speaking and leadership, Terri has served as Lt. Governor of Marketing. She is a State Certified Instructor and has formatted some of her book’s contents to qualify for industry specific continuing education credits. The Staircase Principle Applied to the Salesperson outlines reframing techniques vital to success. Terri’s training company: “WinCourage”, empowers others to “Step Up, and Be Leaders!”
Visit Terri ‘s website: www.wincourage.com
Today’s News: I thought that “Trade Shows” died many years ago, but apparently not – it would appear that organisations are still willing to blindly waste their ever diminishing marketing budgets on this intangible return on investment.
Salesopedia, keen to support all of their authors, whatever their opinions, have highlighted this element of “Dinosaur” marketing – you can read a number of outdated views here
Tomorrow: Thoughts about beliefs – more precisely, “Empowering Beliefs”
As a novice entrepreneur (in business 18 months), I can understand how developing a special niche might seem counterintuitive because the name of the game is to get business in the door. I assist individuals with their job searches through resume and cover letter writing and interview coaching. In the last six months, I have found that a niche developed on its own based on the referrals that I received and the customers that I really enjoy working with. During this time, it has become apparent that I enjoy working with women in their late 40′s to early 60′s who are still in the job market. This is quite different from what I expected my original target market to be, which was thirty-somethings. They view me as an expert, as noted in Terri’s comments above and I couldn’t be more thrilled to assist them in finding a job that they love and enjoy. What’s more is that these women often refer their husband’s and girlfriends for assistance as well. After all, aren’t we all looking for a business that does not require huge marketing expenditures!
Terri’s information is right on target. Thank you, Terri!