“You can’t be all things to all men.”
I know this may come as a shock to you, but it’s true. You cannot hope to market your products or services to everyone, even if you think everyone needs them.
I’m not saying you can’t be successful doing this. What I’m saying is you really do limit your potential by not focusing on select groups of people or businesses. These specific groups are called “niches.”
By focusing on one or more niches you’re able to connect with these people at a much higher level, and consequently you automatically gain more business.
I’m sure you’ve heard people say things like, “This person really connects with me, they really understand my business.” This is what you do when you choose to market to these different groups.
Think about it…
What’s also important to understand is that certain groups of people or businesses are more likely to want and need your products and services more than others. More importantly your niche must focus on the groups who can AFFORD your products or services. There’s no point in targeting groups who want and need your products or services if many of them can’t afford to buy or pay for them!
A common question I’m often asked is this – “If I limit my market won’t I be reducing the chances of doing business with more people?”
Of course you will, but to succeed in today’s competitive market place you need to concentrate your marketing on a smaller number of well chosen segments or niches into which you pour all your resources.
A niche market is a specific group of people or businesses that want and need your service, and can afford to pay for it!
Because you are targeting smaller numbers, the same amount of money you were previously using to acquire clients or customers, is spread across a smaller number, and therefore you have more to spend on each prospect than you would if your market was bigger. This alone makes you more successful.
In a nutshell your niche market is the segment(s) that represents your best chance of getting a good return for your marketing efforts.
This niches are critical to you.
Of course, if you focus on a smaller group you may not get the business of other people or businesses outside the target group. However, what actually happens is you increase the amount of business you receive from your target group(s) or niche(s).
This is because you are specifically meeting needs and requirements of your chosen niche. You’re saying to them that, ‘you are THE company that knows about their situation.’ No other company specifically meets their needs in this way, and therefore you are seen as the logical company to turn to.
If you can create this bond between you and your niche market(s) I guarantee you’ll grow your business to unprecedented levels. That’s the power of niche marketing. By concentrating on specific groups, you can achieve very high market shares in that particular category because people automatically come to you.
You’ll ‘own’ the market.
You are viewed as the only choice because your product or service is ‘designed’ to solve the specific problems of those people.
Not focusing on one or more niches is perhaps the biggest mistake people make!
