Niche Marketing : A Mini Tutorial on Starting a Business

The role of marketing in business may surprisecompetitive analysis will expose untapped needs
you. Many books and seminars on marketingand help you avoid marketing to heavily saturated
begin on how to develop the Marketing Plan. Imarkets.RULE: When competing in a saturated
believe this to be a mistake.You shouldn't beginmarket, define and maintain a tightly focused
thinking how you are going to market somethingniche market for your business.If you find there
until you first determine if you have something toare many web sites marketing a similar product
market. You also need to have the ability toand not enough people are actually buying to
develop and service your product; will it work themake your product idea profitable, it is better to
way you say it will work; are there no adversefind out before you launch your Marketing
legal ramifications? Finally, can you sell of offer itCampaign.2. Newsgroups, Discussion Boards,Chat
for a profit?Finding your Niche MarketTo begin,RoomsBe still, and listen. People will TELL you
you need to find a product that people need.what they like and don't like; what they're looking
Think back in your life. Was there any problemfor. These forums are frequently visited by
that you felt was not resolved completely? Waspeople seeking advice. By monitoring these
a solution presented to you that could have beendiscussions you will discover the "hurts" that need
more complete? Still no ideas?Then seriouslyto be filled.This is a great way to find potential
contemplate and record the following:products or service ideas. If the same question is
repeated, there are probably hundreds and,
What kind of things are you interested in?perhaps, thousands of people wondering the same
Tennis, Books, Music.....thing. Some good places to start:
Do these interest border on Passion? Football,ThreadWatch
Writing, Collecting.....Webmaster World
Where is your Knowledge base? Is there anyCashKeywords
subject or topic that you know a lot about?Google Groups
Are you the person people come to for answersA search in any of the major search engines will
- asking your advice or opinion?provide several good boards and chat rooms.3.
Answer the above questions. Consider each pointCustomer UseIf you already have an established
carefully; don't be afraid to consult with friends,customer base, send out an email survey. 80%
family and colleagues. And be completely honest.of your continual sales come from 20% of your
When you pursue a business that you areclient base. Statistics have shown that up to 36%
passionate about, something you really like to do,of your current client base will purchase form you
your chances of success in business increasesagain if you have something similar to offer.4. The
dramatically.Finding the Hurt The product orReviews Are InThese sites are used by people to
service you wish to develop should be related toeither rave or complain. This makes it a gold-mine
something you are interested in. By promotingof information of how the public perceives the
your interests, it will feel less like work, and morecompetition.
like fun. After all, wouldn't you rather "work" atCunsumer Review
what is fun?Many people make the mistake ofConsumer Search
developing a product first, then trying to find aEpinions
market. That is backwards. You must first find5. Competitive AnalysisWhat exactly is your
the demand, and then fill it. This will guarantee thecompetition offering? What solutions are they
success of your product, as people are alreadyoffering? Where are they vulnerable? To beat the
looking for what you are about to develop. Bycompetition, you need to understand the
filling this need, you can actively focus yourcompetition.The purpose of Competitive Analysis
energies on marketing to the audiences that willis t to determine which business strengths are
provide the highest sales profit.I. Finding the Rightneeded to be competitive in the market. You also
Markets: Examine your list. You now mustneed to determine how the competition will react
research and find markets that relate to your listto your strategies BEFORE you implement
of interests. Brainstorm a list of general, potentialthem.Your competitors could be your greatest
markets for each of your interests. Do not besource of inspiration. Once you have chosen your
concerned if your markets seem too broad orarea of interest - start a thorough market
general. Utilize friends, family and the Internet -research.To analyze the competition, gather
searching keywords related to your interests.II.information on:
Research the Competition:Now that you haveTheir Competitive Market Share
your list of specific markets, it's time to examineTheir Current Strategies
the competition -both online and off. ResearchFuture Goals
businesses that cater to the specific markets onWhere they are vulnerable
your list.For Example: Artists might be segmentedWhat will provoke retaliation
into oil painters, watercolor artists, sculptors,copies of all their marketing materials
advertising. Examine how existing businesses caterThe more you find out, the better you'll be able
to these markets. What approach do they taketo find a weakness, and then develop a strong
to the ceramic artist? Are they offering fr*eUnique Selling Proposition. Make your product
advice, selling it, providing products?Finally, take abetter, faster, easier, safer, and more
look at how well these businesses are marketingcost-effective. Do whatever it takes to entice
themselves to the market segment. Howcustomers to buy your product or service over
organized and professional looking are theiryour competitions.IV. Customer Analysis : : How
sites?Two great tools to compare companies isAccurate Is Your Research?At this point,
Alexa and Marketleap. Alexa is comparativelydetermine if your research is accurate? Talk to
accurate, and can give you details for a sitemembers of the market and confirm it.
including:How big of a problem is it for them?
Traffic RankingIs it a minor nuisance, or is it something they
Related Linkswould pay to obtain a solution for?
Link SaturationHow much is that solution worth to them?
Contact Information
Site, User Reviews1. Validate your information; get on the phone,
While most of the information is accurate, it canrun surveys, chat in newsgroups. Do research to
be abused. I have found several Reviews comingsee if anyone else is currently offering a solution
from competitors with less than flatteringto this problem. If they are, what are they
remarks. The comments were unfounded andcharging and how good is the service?2. Customer
only used to try and reduce the credibility of theInterest: Find out if customers are interested in
actual site. I also found Contact Information slowthe product or service. It may be that there is
to be updated. On the whole it is a great tool andalready enough products in that niche, but it lacks
worth utilizing.Marketleap will help you comparein services to help use the products.3. Determine
sites showing Link Popularity, Search Enginethe general price range. Can you offer a price
Saturation and Keyword Verification. Their Linkadvantage? Determine the price-sensitivity of
popularity check is one of the best ways toyour future, potential customers. If the
quantifiably and independently measure a website'scompetition is constantly cutting costs to gain
online awareness and overall visibility. Simply put,new customers, this is a warning flag.4. What
link popularity refers to the total number of linksgender is your potential market? What is their
or "votes" that a search engine has found forincome level? What level of education do they
that website.Search Engine Saturation simplyhave? Their geographic location? These are
refers to the number of pages a given searchimportant factors in order to determine how
engine has in its index for a website domain. Notlucrative your market will be, as well as how to
all search engines report this information butbest approach and advertise.5. Most importantly,
enough of them do to create some meaningfulWhat motivates the market to buy? Do they
benchmarks for search engine marketingreact to a price drop? When you understand your
campaigns.The Keyword Verification Tool checksaudiences' motivation, you'll be able to appeal to
to see if a site is in the top three pages of awhat motivates them to
search engine result for a specific keyword.III.buy.Conclusion:Remember to find the problem
Meet the Market Demand: Now it's time to findbefore you try to develop a solution. It is much
the greatest need. There are several ways tomore lucrative to find out what your potential
research this:1. Research Keywords To narrowmarket is searching for and then filling that need.
down your niche market utilize tools such as:Choose a niche market from your interests
WordTrackerResearch keywords to find what the market is
Overture Term Suggestion - gives a list ofalready searching for
related searches and how many times thoseResearch existing niches and improve on existing
terms were searched in Overture during theproducts
previous month.Survey current customers for potential products
Search for terms that are frequently searchedYour business success hinges directly on choosing
for by your target market - but are not beinga product that the public already wants and then
used effectively by your competition. Thisproviding it.