FIND YOUR OWN NICHE MARKET

What is your target market? When I ask businessinterests ofindividuals in this group because it may
owners thatquestion I usually hear something like...include all of thefollowing:
* Small Business Owners* Executives who want to get out of the
* Opportunity Seekerscorporateenvironment and start their own business
* Doctors* New mothers who want to start a home based
* Homeownersbusiness
Do you define the targeted market for your business* Students who want to generate some extra
similarto one of these? If you do, you're workingincome
harder andspending more money than necessary toAny promotional message to this group would have
promote your business.to be verygeneral. But people don't respond to
And you're enjoying only a fraction of the sales yougeneral talk. Theyrespond only when they feel you
shouldbe getting.are talking directly to themabout their individual needs.
Most business owners recognize the value ofSPECIAL ADVANTAGE: A highly defined, small niche
targeting amarket. But when you target a broadmarket caninsulate you from competition. Other small
audience like thoselisted above, you're only targetingbusinesses arelikely to overlook it. Large businesses
prospects who CAN useyour product or service. Youwill find the marketsegment too small to bother with.
have to narrow your focus ifyou want to targetHOW TO FIND YOUR OWN NICHE MARKET
prospects who are LIKELY to use yourproduct orOne way to find a good niche market is to evaluate
service. One of the best ways to do this is tofind ayourexisting customers. Can you uncover a segment
niche market.of customerswith similar characteristics?
WHAT IS A NICHE MARKET?For example, I recently talked with an MLM distributor
A niche market is a narrowly defined group thatfor ahealth products company. About a year ago she
includes allof the following:noticed thatmany distributors in her downline were
1. Individuals in the group have the samehealth or physicaleducation teachers. She now has a
specializedinterests and needs.lot of success targeting aniche market of female
2. They have a strong desire for what you offer.physical education teachers who aremarried, have
3. You have (or you can create) a compelling reasonchildren and are members of the sameprofessional
forprospects in the group to do business with youassociation.
instead ofwith someone else.Another way to find a niche market is to work
4. You can easily reach individual prospects withinbackward fromthe benefits you offer. Start by listing
thegroup.all the benefitsprovided by your product or service.
5. The group is large enough to produce the volumeThen list some of thecharacteristics of prospects
ofbusiness you need.whose current situation can bedramatically improved
6. The group is small enough that your competition isby those benefits. You should begin tosee a narrowly
likelyto overlook it.defined group emerge as a niche market.
WHY YOU MUST NARROW YOUR FOCUSIT'S YOUR BOTTOM LINE
A niche market enables you to target your salesHow specific is your target market? Can you develop
messageswith great precision. The more narrowlysalesmessages so sharply focused your prospects
you define yourniche market the easier it is to caterbelieve you'retalking specifically to them? If not, use
to the specificallydefined interests of people in thatthe information inthis article to help you find a niche
market.market of your own.
For example, some businesses describe their targetThen tailor your sales messages to the specific
market asinterestsand needs of that niche market. You'll see an
"opportunity seekers". But this is a broad audience.immediateincrease in your sales and profits.
Youcannot cater to specifically defined personal