It is typical when people start out in a new business venture that they are ramped up with excitement about their enterprise, their product or their service. Completely understandable, and we’d have to say that if you are contemplating a business for which you have no particular passion, you are going to have a very hard time of it.
But what far too many new entrepreneurs fail to do, is determine if there is a market for what they have to sell, that is likely to be profitable. This is a critical error, which will kill a fledgling business straight out of the gate.
This is where it is important to understand the concept of the niche, how to discover one and how to “speak” to your niche having determined that it does indeed exist, and is actively searching and hungry for what you are bringing to the market.
So firstly, what is a niche?
A niche market is a focused, targetable portion of a market.
Another common trap for new marketers and business people is to try and market their message to anyone and everyone. And this comes back to the fact that they are so enamored with their product/ service themselves.
But there is a very common saying in marketing that “if you try to appeal to everyone in general, you’ll attract no-one in particular”.
Think about it for a minute.
If you were the owner of a golf shop, would you try and spread your message about your latest driving club, which increases your range by 23% to absolutely everyone?
Of course not, that would be an incredible waste of your marketing resources. Most people would a) not have a clue what that even meant or b) could care less.
You would want to speak to your specific niche, which is golfers. And you would want to drill even further into that niche by putting your message in front of golfers with a specific pain or problem (i.e. they want to improve their drive).
Can you see how specific that is?
Because at the end of the day, you don’t want your business to be crowded out with people who are “just looking” or “scratching an itch”. You want to draw in a crowd (and it doesn’t even have to be a huge one, especially if you are selling a high value product) of prospects who have a burning passion or desire for your product or service, and are ready to purchase.
Another vital tip…identify what pain these prospects are experiencing, which has them searching for a solution. As business owners, that is what we do. We solve our prospect’s particular problems with our products or services.
Humans are wired to avoid pain, rather than seek pleasure, so identifying and appealing to your prospects’ pain points (using negatives in your marketing message) is incredibly powerful and far more effective than using positives.
So. Think about your niche.
Who are these people?
What are their passions?
What are their pains or problems?
Are they actively looking for a solution?
Where are they looking for a solution?
If you can isolate these elements, hook into their pain and the emotional triggers which will prompt them to buy, and match them with the product or service you have to offer, you just may be in business.
Cheers,
Tanya Outridge
