This is where a lot of businesses fail. They fail to define their market. They don’t own a niche. Targeting a niche market is crucial for small businesses to succeed. In a world of fierce competition, you need to be able to find a reason for people to want to repeatedly do business with you. Instead of trying to please everyone all the time, create something that a specific group of people truly want.
Lynda Falkenstein is the author of “Nichecraft: Using Your Specialness to Focus Your Business, Corner Your Market and Make Customers Seek You Out” offers seven steps to make this happen.
Make a wish list
Decide exactly who you want your business to be for and don’t be afraid to be specific. Narrow down each category into its own subcategory. Instead of wanting your target to be children, think of urban boys aged 10-14. Think about the important people in your life that you have experience with and who you want to spend your time with.
Focus
Just as you narrowed your specific demographic, narrow your product. Start with understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps you’ve always enjoyed reading. You might want to create a line of children’s games that would encourage them to read. Don’t try to create a game that appeals to all children.
Describe the customer’s worldview
Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What product do they need to make their lives easier? Find people on your wish list of customers and ask about their needs. Make sure that your understanding of present attitudes is correct.
Synthesize
Bring all of the information that you have brainstormed and see what you can create. Make a plan that takes into account both the short term and the long term. Make sure that somebody wants your product and that no one else can offer it. Make sure that both you and your products can adapt to ensure continued success in your business.
Evaluate
Take a step back and make sure that in all of the planning your business still holds true to your original idea. Is your niche still there? If not, you may need to revise your plan. Sometimes it can be hard to see your own hard work objectively. Take some time to allow yourself to see clearly.
Test
Once you’ve successfully evaluated your product and find that it does indeed meet the niche market you envisioned, test it out. Don’t spend too much money, but create sample products or brochures to allow people to understand exactly what you’re selling. Go back to the customers whose needs you discussed, and see if they are still interested. There is no better way to test your idea than pre-selling. If people are willing to pay for your product, you might have something.
Go for it
This final stage can be the scariest, but also the most rewarding. Be confident that all of your hard work and planning has paid off. If you don’t have a high level of confidence at this point, chances are some stage of your planning is lacking. Go back to see what you may have missed or what you need to spend more time on. Once you feel like you’ve done everything you can, launch your product into the niche market that you created and see it sell.
This guest post submitted by George Meszaros
George Meszaros is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of Success Harbor, a website dedicate to help entrepreneurs succeed through real-world advice. Success Harbor is dedicated to document the entrepreneurial journey through interviews, original research, and unique content.
