Niche Marketing Strategy for Small Business Owners

Creating a niche marketing strategy is AMAZINGLY simple –  in theory.

To create a niche marketing strategy you simply decide what “niche” or segment of the market you want to target with your marketing message.

In other words, instead of targeting EVERYONE with your marketing message – you create marketing messages which speak to SOMEONE in particular.

I find this marketing strategy is VERY appealing to small business owners who traditionally don’t have large advertising budgets.  Since niche marketing targets a segment of the market, it’s easier to “trim the waste” from advertising spending.

Not only does niche marketing trim the waste from a typical advertising budget – but it also allows you to create marketing messages that break through the cacophony of advertising noise and create messages that actually CONNECT with your customers.

So, if niche marketing is so great – why aren’t more small businesses doing it?

The answer is actually quite simple;

the REAL trick to successful niche marketing lies in the definition of the “niche”.

When people read about the outstanding success I had in creating “marketing magic” (a.k.a. a successful marketing strategy) for the tiny bakery, located in the basement of a dying Midwest town – the question they’ll ask time and time again is this:

How did you decide upon the niche market?

I have to confess – deciding upon a niche market to target  is the most frequent stumbling block for many small business owners.

It’s a huge decision – and one that shouldn’t be entered into lightly.

For example – I have a client who is a “professional organizer”.  When she launched her business – she had to decide upon what “niche” market she wanted to target.  She decided she wanted to target women like herself.  Her defined target market is women who have recently lost a parent and who are faced with the monumental task of sorting through years of accumulated “memories”.

It’s a great “niche” for that client.  Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to speak with another professional organizer – this professional organizer had originally begun working with “individuals” but had recently graduated to offering her services to business owners.

It seems that with the help of a professional organizer, a small business owner can lay the foundation for increased productivity now and growth in the future.

This brings us to the importance of targeting the right niche market.

By targeting business owners -the second professional organizer can charge higher fees.

Business owners who are investing in the services of a professional organizer with the expectation of greater productivity and future growth are – by nature- going to be willing to pay higher hourly rates than a housewife whose closets are a mess.

Of course, there are some “off setting “expenses in targeting the business owner.  The second professional organizer has had to make investments in “branding” her business that the first professional organizer – the one who is targeting individuals – has been able to avoid.

Despite the increased “overhead”, – the 2nd professional organizer is set to make significantly more money by targeting the “right”niche market.

Targeting the RIGHT niche market is a key ingredient to not only the success of your advertising – but ultimately it determines the profitability and success of your business overall.

If you’d like to know more about creating a niche marketing strategy for your business, contact Kathy.