For example, is the market you serve the best one for your product or service? Are the benefits of dealing with your business clear and are they aligned with customer needs? If you are unsure about the answers to any of these questions, take a step back and revisit the foundation of your business plan.
The following tips can help you clarify what your business has to offer, identify the right target market for it and build a niche for yourself.
Know Exactly What You Have to Offer
Beyond basic products or services, what are EXACTLY are you selling? Consider this example: Your town probably has several restaurants all selling one fundamental product--food, but each is targeted at a different taste or clientele.
One might be a drive-thru fast food restaurant, perhaps another sells pizza in a rustic Italian kitchen, and maybe there's a fine dining seafood restaurant that specializes in wood-grilled fare. All these restaurants sell meals, but they sell them to targeted clientele that is looking for the unique qualifies each has to offer. What they are really selling is a combination of product, value, ambiance, and brand experience.
When starting a business, be sure to understand what makes your business unique. What needs does your product or service fulfill? What benefits and differentiators will help your business stand out from the crowd?
Be Strategic and Specific... Not a Jack-of-all-Trades
It's important to clearly define what you're selling. You do not want to become a jack-of-all trades and master of none because this can have a negative impact on business growth. As a smaller business, it's often a better strategy to divide your products or services into manageable market niches. Small operations can then offer specialized goods and services that are attractive to a specific group of prospective buyers.
Own Your Niche and Become the Expert
Creating a niche for your business is essential to success. Often, a business owner can identify a niche based on their own market knowledge, but it can also be helpful to conduct a market survey with potential customers to uncover untapped needs. During your research process, identify the following:
- Which areas your competitors are already well-established
- Which areas are being ignored by your competitors
- Potential opportunities for your business
Reading List
- Riches in Niches: How to Make It Big in a Small Market
- Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business
- Niche Methodology: 9 Strategies For Identifying, Gathering and Developing A Profitable Niche Market
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