In this day and age, it’s becoming impossible to succeed in business if you don’t cater to a specific niche. That’s not to say that the businesses appealing to the broad markets are failing. On the contrary, many of those businesses have grown so big that they’re already dominating their respective industries.
But that’s also why you can no longer compete with them because, in a way, the general consumer market has become their niche. If you’re only establishing your business now, it’s better that you find a demand in the market that you can address and work your way from there.
Some business owners have succeeded without having a niche, making you question why you would need one. If they could do it, so can you, right? However, choosing that path comes with many risks that you may not be willing to face. So, here are three reasons why you should have a niche market:
Reason #1 It’s Harder to Appeal to a General Market
Having a niche helps you reach and cater to a more targeted audience than the whole consumer market. It allows you to create a focus for your marketing strategies and advertisements, which will then help you reach the right crowds. At least this way, it will be easier to turn your online traction into sales.
For instance, you want to sell cute items and accessories for children. You can run your business with that idea in mind, or you could narrow it down more. So, instead of selling your products to everyone under 18 years old, you could focus on a certain age range under the children’s category.
A good example of this is selling mink blankets for newborns. In this example, your main target market is parents who need accessories and items for their newborn babies. You could also expand your product line to offer anything newborns might need at this age, such as onesies, socks, or beanies.
Reason #2 A Niche Helps You Position Yourself as an Expert
If you’re busy selling different products and services to everyone simultaneously, you probably won’t have the chance to specialize in any of them. For example, if you want to sell everything related to homeownership, you can include furniture, cleaning supplies, decorations, etc.
Even if the products you’re trying to sell are related in one way or another — things used inside the house — they are all used differently. Imagine if you’re the customer and you’re looking for a specific furniture set, but the shop you found is also selling gardening tools, laundry detergents, and lamps.
As a consumer, would you trust a shop like that to sell you high-quality furniture? That in itself can be considered a turn-off by most people, and they’ll look for a business that offers more credibility. By having a specific niche, you will be able to position yourself as an expert in the field who knows what they’re selling.
You’ll have the chance to show your customers that you are knowledgeable about the solutions you’re offering them and that you are worthy of their trust. By slowly gaining the trust of your niche market, you’ll have people lining up to get their products or services from your business.
Reason #3 It’s a Way to Differentiate Yourself from Others
Aside from creating a solid and cohesive business image, you will also need to work on your branding. Your brand is the face and voice of your business; it’s the first thing that your customers should see when looking at your products or what they think of when they hear your business is mentioned.
Your brand is how you’ll differentiate yourself from other businesses in the same niche market. It’s the colors you use for your publicity materials, logos, and advertisements, or the slogan you associate with your products and services. Plus, your brand is how your customers will recognize and remember you.
Take the McDonald’s brand as an example. They have had decades to build their brand, which helped them become recognized globally. With just the red and yellow colors or the big letter “M,” customers will be able to recognize their brand anywhere. And they don’t even have to spell the entire name out.
Of course, you won’t need that kind of global recognition for your small local business. But you can work on your branding so that the people in your community will recognize your business just from your logo, products, or services because these can all lead to customer loyalty and patronage.
So, the answer to whether you should have a niche market is yes. You should have a niche market from the get-go because it will help you grow your business faster and because it can help you establish your expertise in the field and your credibility as a business owner.
