“Niche marketing” simply means matching your products or services with the most likely buyers. It’s our job as marketers to ensure these most likely buyers either are, or become aware, that your business operation is ready and willing to meet their needs and wants.
Three marketing strategies that will help you with niche marketing are:
1. Differentiation is figuring out how your business is unique so that when prospects are ready to buy, they immediately think of your operation, not a competitor’s. A savvy marketer jumps out ahead of the herd – to create “top of mind marketing”. In its most simple form, differentiation is like word association – for example, what comes to mind when someone mentions “cola”, to you? Your next thought will probably be “Coke”.
Ask yourself, “What is my marketing edge over my competitors?” You know why your prospects should buy from you, (for example, your product is superior, your after sales service is second to none, you offer the most choice, you deliver on time and at the price quoted, etc.) Make the most of these differences to stand out. (Photo by Marnie Somers)
2. Positioning is identifying how your business is at the very top of your “niche” in the market. People like to buy from the best - it gives them bragging rights to impress their friends with. Create a tagline (a business slogan) which identifies your business as the top “whatever”.
Don’t be shy about letting your clients know your claim to fame. If you and another competitor can both equally make the same claim, then make that claim first - before your competitor does. It’s pretty hard to knock you off your pedestal, if you get there first. (You know what they say, “You snooze, you lose!”)
3. An Elevator Pitch is one of the best tools you can have in your marketing kit. What’s that? It’s what you have time to tell someone about your business, in the time it takes to ride a couple of floors in an elevator. When you are comfortable with it, you’ll never be at a loss for words. (A personal confession here - before I developed mine, I always hesitated, saying to myself, ”Oh gosh, where do I start?”, when someone asked me, “What line of business are you in?”) Now that I have my elevator pitch down pat, I begin speaking with confidence, get my message across quickly, AND sound like I know what I’m talking about.
If you are having trouble coming up with twenty-five words or less, start your pitch with “We help our customers with ………”. As an example, here’s mine: “We help our customers build their businesses using proven Internet Marketing Strategies, such as building their websites and handling their email marketing campaigns.” My elevator pitch takes only 23 words. And if the person you are speaking to is truly interested in what you do, they will come back with a question, such as “I see, so what other strategies do you use?”. Then the conversation moves forward from there. (But, here’s a helpful hint: if you’re actually on an elevator, you had better have your business card ready in your pocket to hand over before they step off.)
- Do you agree? What other strategies do you use in marketing to your “Niche”? You're invited to post your comments and advice below.
- As small and medium size businesses, we are all in this together and we can help each other by being mentors to each other.
