In this issue’s Newsletter, I will be answering a question from one of our Newsletter readers. We were chatting via one of the social media platforms and she said something along the lines of “I am trying to find my niche market”.
Today, we will be looking at how you too can find your own Target Market.
The most successful small businesses have come to understand that only a specific number of people will buy their products and services and that they cannot be all things to all people. They have learnt to become “specialists” in their chosen market.
A niche market gives you Business power and allows you to define who you are marketing to. It helps you know where to target your marketing energy and budget, create tailor made products and services your target market can’t resist and become a leader in your field.
You too can build a more profitable and successful business by offering your products and services to a particular customer group – your target market:
Step 1
Identify your target market using the following demographics:
- Age – toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults /youths, middle aged, elderly or specific age brackets, for example, 35 – 45 years of age
- Gender – Male or Female
- Education- Uneducated, Primary School Level, Secondary School level, University Level, High level Professional
- Marital status-Single, Engaged, Married,Divorced
- Ethnicity
- Religious Inclination
- Income
- Family life cycle
- Employment / Business type (for example, which industry? Are they in Employment/ Business full or part-time?)
Look at your current customers, products /services (if you already have any)
- What do my current clients have in common?
- What is different about my products and services?
Step 2
Where can these people I have described found?
- Which Online Groups do they belong to?
- Which Offline groups / Associations /Professional organisations/ Social clubs do the belong?
- What Magazines, Blogs and Newsletters do they read or subscribe to?
step 3
Market yourself and / Products and Services to them:
- Join the online groups they belong to so you can “read their minds” and find out what they want in a product or service
- With caution, make them aware that you can provide solutions to their issues
- Write for their newsletter /blogs / magazines they subscribe to
- Offer to speak at events held by the associations / offline groups they belong to
Finally, put that product / service your target market can’t resist right in front of them!
To Your Success,
Tobi Awoyemi