Article Contributed by Jessica Gust
Find the market with the best outlook for your business.
Niche markets are crucial to the success of many organizations. Your specialized products and services require a specialized market to consume them. Aim too broadly, and you risk entering a saturated market or one in which there is little money to be made. For companies in the early stages of establishment, the goal may be to identify a niche market to serve before entering the research and development phase for any products. For others, a new product may be on the horizon and you need to ensure that a market exists that will be receptive to the new product. No matter the case, you will want to be sure that you’ve thoroughly researched the niche market before you invest time and money into serving it.
Define and understand your target market
Niche markets aren’t based on industry categories and subcategories alone. To effectively offer products and services that your niche market will want, you first need to a) determine what your target market looks like and b) understand the demographics within that market. For example, if you decide that your target market will be composed of travelers, you will then need to decide on other variables of said travelers. Determine their age range and estimated income (travel among students and retirees looks different than travel among corporate execs), determine where your market audience is concentrated (travelers based in California are more likely to seek tropical excursions in Hawaii or central America rather than the Caribbean), and learn about their hobbies and interests. From there you may decide, for example, that you intend to cater toward women embarking on solo travel with an emphasis on water sports. The point is: be specific.
Study up on keywords
Search engines like Google are data treasure troves when it comes to vast keyword statistics. With the help of Google’s Adwords, you can search for keywords to find their popularity over time, among other potentially helpful metrics like relevant keywords. It can also give you some insight into the market’s competition.
Keep up to date on industry trends
Like Adwords, Trends is another of Google’s highly useful data tools. Trends shows you longitudinal patterns in web traffic for a given niche. It’s a pretty good indicator of whether or not it’s safe to enter a particular niche, as you can see if a trend is on the decline. You may even be able to spot new trends that look promising, but you will want to expand your research before you fully commit to the trend.
Once you settle on a niche market to enter, it’s important to continue to follow up on the above tips to see if the market atmosphere is shifting. Another way to accomplish this is to follow your competitors and regularly check in on what products and services they offer. Read their customer reviews, too (on top of reading your own!). You may be able to spot a niche within that niche based on what consumers are saying.
About the Author
Jessica Gust is a Marketing Assistant at Localpeek.co.uk– a new postcode finder. She is passionate about new marketing strategies, she is always eager to share her ideas through blogging.