Your business isn’t for everyone. That sounds like it flies in the face of all conventional business wisdom, but look at that statement one more time: Your business isn’t for everyone. There are billions of people on Earth, and while it would be great if you could personally help each of them to receive some sort of benefit, that’s never going to happen. If you exhaust your personal resources and your business’ financial resources trying to market your company to everybody everywhere, you’ll be exhausted and bankrupt before your new business celebrates its first birthday. Here’s a look at how to tailor your business’ niche, and why effectively doing so will keep your doors open for decades to come.
Finding Your Niche
Finding your company’s niche in the market is more than deciding to start making something that you would personally enjoy. While that method may occasionally work, your own interests may not be enough to keep a new business afloat. To effectively carve out your business’ niche, you need to identify the field that you’re wanting to go into and, through careful analysis, identify a sector of society that isn’t effectively being marketed to. Lehman’s started out selling tools that didn’t require electricity to the Amish community in Ohio; that was 65 years ago! Plenty of long-term, successful businesses have started out because someone wanted to appeal to one forgotten group.
Why a Niche?
Now that you’ve identified a niche, it’s important that you recognize why you’re approaching your business that way. As mentioned in the previous section, it’s impossible to run a business that will be everyone’s top choice in your particular field, so finding a niche will get you in front of the people who will sustain your business success. Brand loyalty is a key factor in any long-term company and identifying and connecting with a group of people in the market will establish a lifetime of loyalty to your brand. According to Sprout Social, niche marketing is actually an avenue to greater brand loyalty: “Fewer people in a niche audience mean more chances to develop intimate, valuable relationships with clients,” Sprout Social reports. “Many niche customers will become repeat buyers.”
The Key to Niche Success
Again, it’s important to realize that operating your business within a niche is not a bad thing. When you understand that your business is operating on a “people-first principle,” it will help you to focus not only on personal success, but also on how your company can impact lives. When you establish the niche you’re focusing on and begin to offer them something they need that competitors have neglected, you will realize that your business is impacting lives.