WOW eNewsletter

Vol 1 Iss 4 Sept 2006

Quote of the Month

There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. ~ Henry Kissinger 1923

Finding Your Niche

As a woman this seems to be one of the hardest things to resolve. I say this because we as women are so used to multi-tasking that I believe we have a difficult time honing in on just one area. We try to have our hands in many pots all at the same time. Feed the children, while reading a book, while answering the phone, while— well you get the picture. It just comes naturally. This habit tends to overflow into our work and business lives. Sure multitasking is important. However, when deciding on your target market we would benefit greatly from a little less diversity.

I am not saying you can't or shouldn't have more than one business. What I am expressing to you is that if you ultimately choose to have more than one—make sure they compliment each other. For example, if you market promotional products you might expand by including greeting cards, but you might find it quite distracting to launch a new business offering an event planning service.

Just what is a niche and how do you set about deciding on one? Niche is described in Merriam-Webster as: "A place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted." The take away here is that you must narrow down your potential customer base. Decide who would benefit most from your product or service. Then take into consideration what would effectively stimulate them to take the necessary action to effectively move from prospect to customer.

The first thing you should decide is what is your overall target market's general makeup? Are you anticipating attracting a mostly male dominated corporate clientele, women owned, or mom & pop startup enterprises? Once this decision is made move on to the next deeper level. If your answer is that what you have to offer is most appealing to a decidedly female audience don't stop there. Consider their age, marital status, and are they mothers or not? Anything that could profoundly affect how you successfully market your business should be taken into account. Keep digging until you come to the bottom. That is your niche.

Once you clearly determine who your target market is, it is time to begin figuring out what compels them. More than likely this will not only help you determine how to successfully market to them but additionally what inventory you'll need to have on hand. If you are in the service arena what services to offer would be quickly discovered.

One powerful research tool that I have found extremely helpful in this area is a simple survey. These can be created online or off. I have recently discovered that surveys that enable you to not only see the overall results but the individual response can be much more beneficial than a simple graph resultant survey. Allow your responders to leave comments after the question when applicable. If you don't already have a survey application contact me and I will be happy to share the one I use with you. They offer a free and a paid subscription depending on your needs.

When compiling your survey be sure to keep it simple for your survey takers. Use questions that not only list the question but choices too. Be sure to include the option of “other” if you wish to really know how they feel about an issue. Don’t use just true and false questions. These will suffice for certain areas but the multiple choice questions can offer a better understanding of your respondents and therefore a deeper understanding of their needs. Also allowing them to select all that apply instead of just one will further clarify their needs.

Once you get started I am sure you will uncover additional means to assist you in recognizing your niche. Remember the more specific you are when determining who your potential customer is the easier it will be to decipher out what it will take to turn them into customers.


© Copyright 2006 Ginger Marks

 

Tip for Success

Effective Web design

With the ever-changing technology and increasing content demands, it is imperitive that your web site continues to evolve. Striking the right balance between technology and functionality should be your goal.


Q & A

Question: No reader question submitted this month. Does that mean I have been completely clear in my past newsletters?

Answer:I don't think so.... I bet there is someone that has something they want to know about what I have said. LOL Let's hear from you.