In today’s busy and crowded world of social media, the goal is to stand out, grab attention, attract your ideal customer and increase profits. But with everyone using this accessible free marketplace, it’s easy to get lost.
Enter: Niche – a small segment of the larger market with its own unique needs, preferences, and identity. Yes! You were made to stand out!
Identifying your niche (pronounced “niTCH” or “neesh”) can help you increase that reach (see which pronunciation we’re going with) and position you as the go-to for a specific audience.
Only, in an interesting twist, it’s better to think smaller when we talk about niche.
Niching Down
In online marketing, “niching down” simply describes fine-tuning your area of specialty, thus establishing your credibility, and giving you the benefit of a more focused business model!
Whereas there are countless gift shops, accountants, hair salons, dog trainers, and fitness professionals, these particular businesses are carving out themselves as a specialty. Take a look:
- A gift shop that focuses on handmade goods
- CPAs who do taxes for the self-employed
- A hair salon that only does blowouts, no cuts
- Dog training for older or formerly abused dogs
- A fitness professional who works solely with cancer survivors
Why Niche Down?
As the examples above reveal, there are industries and then there are smaller segments within those industries. It’s in those specific segments where a business can separate itself from the rest of the pack and:
Stand out: When you specialize your business, you can stand out in your market by reducing your competition. Standing alone in your niche also allows you the freedom to set pricing and charge more for your niched products.
Become the expert: By focusing on a niche, you begin to gain a reputation in that specialty. Your customers (and even non-customers) will begin to recommend you for that specific niche. And targeting your exact customer will become easier and easier.
Build a community: When your customers share your values and interests, finding a community of supporters becomes easier. If you’re clear in your niche and can easily explain who you are, what you do, and who you serve, your customers will jump on board and become ambassadors for your brand. Take it one step further and find online groups and communities to join where you can share your expertise with that online community or hobby group. The next time they’re looking to solve a problem in their community, they’re going to look for you and your business.
Identifying Your Niche Market
Say your industry is culinary. Using that example and the list below, begin the process of niching down. Every industry has a sub-market or several if you just look closely enough. A few ways to identify a niche market is through examining:
- Price
- Demographics
- Level of quality
- Psychographics
- Geographic area
- Lifestyle
- Occasion
- Profession
- Style
- Culture
- Activity or habits
- Behavior
- Feature reduction or addition
Now that you have a bit of background, continue the process of niching down with our Find Your Niche Worksheet. Fill out the form below to get your worksheet!
