Discover your Niche for the Winning Edge in Business
Posted by Aaron on 27th May 2014 in Blog | 8 comments.Anyone in small business these days will tell you that it is no longer like it used to be. Not only does everyone not end up a winner, but the competition is much greater. So many of today’s most successful businesses have one idea in common and that is to be different from their competitors. What does being different mean though? How can businesses who are selling the exact same products or services stand out from each other? The missing link as to why many businesses fail is because they haven’t established their market niches. What makes their products and services better, what makes them unique, and what do their products and services do that stand out and satisfies not only the consumer’s wants, but the consumer’s needs. The keys to finding or creating a niche in a small business are to identify who the target market and how your business will market your products based on their unique qualities and consumer’s needs, and figuring out not only how your product or service meet the needs and expectations of a customer, but also creating qualities that go above and beyond to satisfy their needs and expectations.
Who are you trying to market your goods and services to?
Too many businesses today are trying to market themselves as companies as opposed to marketing the benefits of their goods and services. It is almost as if they are explicitly trying to market to everyone as opposed to a select group of people. Many companies believe that if they market themselves to everyone, that they will earn a greater profit. Sure, and I want to drive a different car of my choice everyday to work for the rest of my life. Odds are that it just isn’t going to happen. On paper, the idea of advertising to everyone sounds great because the initial thought is that if I have more of an audience to market to, then I will make a greater profit. However this doesn’t guarantee that everyone in this market is going to be interested in this product or service, let alone purchase it. If you can easily identify who it is specifically that you want to market your product or service to that has a specific intention for its use, then not only are they going to be more inclined to buy, but they will also be more inclined to purchase from your company in the future. Not only is it crucial to have a select audience to market to, but also make them feel exclusive and as though this product or service is absolutely essential to their well-being.
Where do most business go wrong when trying to compete with other companies?
So many of today’s businesses are trying so hard to develop products and services with so many well-established components and ideas that they end up being all too similar to each other. It is important especially within small businesses to determine where competitors are already successful and to pinpoint the commonalities that all these brands and corporations show the least amount of individuality. Once you have officially recognized the qualities that are making competitors successful, discover the disciplines where their products and services fail to meet the needs and desires of consumers and find a way to incorporate these qualities into the good or service that you are marketing.
Is there any opportunity for your business to grow? Or is it just a one hit wonder?
Every business idea starts out like it has real potential at first, but is it going to offer a product or service to consumers that creates a demand? Will it establish repeat customers who will buy from your company in the future? These factors have to be accurately analyzed in order to determine if a company even has the “potential” to grow. So what are some ideas that you can brainstorm to see how your ideas will influence the growth of your business. Market surveys! But what exactly is a market survey? Can I just walk down the street asking people if they would use a product my business is selling? Well, it’s a free country, so the answer is yes, but the best way to collect data for your marketing research is to tap into the resources where mass amounts of people can be reached at any given moment so you can see all different forms of feedback to determine how effective your business may be. What else could this be, but the use of the Internet and social media? The effective ways to start your market research could be conducting polls, online surveys, quizzes, and even presenting statistics that present conflict and how your goods and services could be beneficial to resolving them.
No matter what your small business is , it is important to remember that selling your product or service is solely reliant on the customer’s satisfaction, which reminds us that it is essential to focus on their needs and strive to exceed their expectations. In order to create these kinds of relationships with consumers, a market niche needs to be chosen for how a company chooses to focus on the importance of focusing on creating a unique product or service that performs in a different matter than other companies of a similar industry.
