Riches In Niches

Riches in Niches Opportunity Tonight (January 21)

Things are starting to get a lot more
intense and I wanted to give you the heads up
that something is about to happen.

Some people are openly talking about it.

Others are staying quiet and are keeping
their best guess to themselves.

Either way, I think you should at least find
out for yourself tonight.

Talk to you soon.

Susan

P.S  Apparently there is going to be some
kind of exciting announcement at 9pm EST /
6pm PST.

Who Niched Michael Clayton?

When you start looking for niches, you start finding them everywhere.  This weekend, I went to the movies, and discovered an attorney who’d found a most unfortunate niche for himself in the film “Michael Clayton.”

The title character has found his role as a ‘fixer’ -- an attorney who specializes in fixing other people’s messes. This causes him all sorts of problems in a complex, thrilling film -- if you want to learn more about the film -- but be advised, spoilers abound!

Of course, there are other, less problematical niches for attorneys. Daphne Clarke, one of the Nichepreneurs™ featured in "Riches in Niches: How to Make it Big In a Small Market," found her ideal position representing up and coming hip-hop musicians. Deidre Washbrit, also profiled in Riches in Niches, wound up virtually creating a niche when she decided to go into estate planning for minor children. You can read another example in this story about attorney Theodore Pinnock’s practice, specializing in case law surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Michael Clayton might not have been too thrilled with his niche, but I think it’s a safe bet that these other Nichepreneurs™ are quite happy with what they’re doing!

Raise Your Expert Identity

One of the most powerful tools Nichepreneurs™   can use to build name recognition, drive referrals, and raise one’s Expert Identity is networking. 

Business is largely built on relationships. Networking is nothing more than the art & science of cultivating potentially profitable relationships. 

This has gotten easier as the definition of friendship has changed. Like everything else, networking now has an online component. It’s called social networking, and it may turn out to be one of the most powerful tools in the Nichepreneur’s™ arsenal. 

Just this week, eBay announced the launch of its own social networking site.  Other social networking sites include Ning, Facebook, and perhaps the most well known, MySpace. 

The key to reaching your target audience is to discover where they congregate online and establish an appropriate presence there. This will vary by market segment -- the older, more educated crowds on Vox, for example, are very different from the MySpace set. Research is essential, but may be well worth your time.

Listen to "Seven Secrets to Succeeding in a Business Niche."

Create a Niche

One simple way to find a niche: ask yourself what your competitors aren’t doing -- or if they’re doing it, they’re not doing it well. There are times that large, generalist service providers can literally create a niche for you. 

Want an example? Look at Chemistry.com. This internet-based matchmaking service is rapidly carving an identity for itself by targeting a very niche group of customers: individuals who are looking for love who have been rejected by industry leader, eHarmony.com.  

While there’s a great deal of debate about why eHarmony chooses to not allow certain individuals to participate in their matchmaking program -- as seen in this article in Time  and on the blogosphere there’s no question that their actions have created a number of niche opportunities. 

By targeting where the industry leaders fall short or choose not to act, savvy Nichepreneurs™ can locate lucrative opportunities. It’s almost as easy as falling in love!

 

Niche Your Words

A tagline -- the small, pithy handful of words that shows up in advertising, on your letterhead, on your website and perhaps in your phone message -- is an integral part of your branding efforts. It’s a way customers can quickly identify your company: Southwest Airline’s “You are now free to move about the country” has a strong resonance with the flying public.

Yet according to a recent article in Brandweek, too many companies have taglines that do nothing for them. Let’s look at some common mistakes, and how you can avoid them: 

Too Close to the Competition 

Good taglines get copied. That’s the nature of the game -- but it’s counterproductive at best. A tagline that is markedly similar to that of your competitors does you no good whatsoever. Before you settle on your tagline, study that of your major competitors and see how your proposed taglines stack up. If they’re too similar in tone, language choice, or feel, ditch it. 

Too Many Messages 

As Mike McGinty points out in his article, some companies can’t limit themselves to just one tagline. They have two or three: running the risk of diluting the message and confusing the customer. Limit yourself to one strong tagline rather than numerous weaker ones. 

Too Creative 

Creativity is normally a good thing -- but if your tagline involves inventing words or transforming nouns into verbs, it might be a good idea to settle down a bit. Effective taglines use the language in a way most people are familiar with it. It’s not nice to play games with grammar.

My tagline is "The NichePreneur Coach, helping your get rich in your niche!"  What's yours?

 

 

The Power of Niching

Saturday, I was in Oklahoma City doing a book signing when the "power of niching" was brought home to me once again. 

You see, Oklahoma City has what booksellers call “The Big B’s”. Borders and Barnes & Nobles both have a large, some would say overwhelming, presence in the city. Yet there I was, signing books in what may be that rarest of creatures: a successful independent bookstore. 

How does the Full Circle Bookstore do it? How do they compete -- and compete successfully -- with two of the largest chains in the world for a limited supply of book-buying customers? 

They niche. Full Circle Bookstore has the largest collection of Oklahoma specific titles to be found for sale anywhere.

They have Oklahoma history, Oklahoma cooking, Oklahoma fiction, Oklahoma weddings…even Oklahoma’s children’s books.

Collecting such a focused, comprehensive inventory allows Full Circle to differentiate themselves from other booksellers in the region. They have a specific, unique claim to fame: customers who want Oklahoma fiction will turn to Full Circle first, because they are the recognized authority in that kind of literature.

In fact, Full Circle is so good at what they do that it’s one of the stores both Borders and Barnes & Noble visited when researching how to design and improve their own stores.

Niching is incredibly powerful. I’m very grateful to Full Circle not only because they hosted a book signing event that turned out to be very successful, but because they’re a living testament to the "power of niching."

Riches in Niches book signing

 

Susan with Morgan, book signing coordinator

 

Narrow Your Niche: Six Ways to Define Your Target Audience

One of the most important things any Nichepreneurs^® can do is define their target audience.  Ask yourself: Who is my ideal customer?  If your answer is "Everyone", you've got some work to do! 

 

While it would be nice if every single person in the world wanted your products and services, the truth is that by trying to appeal to everyone, you often wind up appealing to no one.  Increase your chances for success by narrowing your target audience: selecting a crowd of likely customers and concentrating on meeting their wants and needs.

 

You might immediately know who your ideal customer is.  Great!  Having a clear concept of your target audience is a great first step.  However, if you don't have a target audience in mind, it's never too soon to start looking. 

 

Not sure where to look?  Don't worry.  Here are six strategies you can use to define your target audience.  Use these options as starting points: each one can be further refined to meet your needs.  Keep narrowing your niche until you find the one that's right for you!

 

Look Younger: 
Children, especially teenagers and those just about to enter their teen years (known as 'tweens'), are big business.  Direct spending by teenagers accounts for over $150 billion annually, with tweens hot on their tails.  Brand loyalties developed during these critical years tend to endure for a lifetime.

 

Look Older:
The arrival of the Baby Boomers may have been yesterday's news stories, but it's today's reality.  Those in or about to enter retirement have arrived at this stage in life well-financed -- and ready to spend.  They're also well-trained, if demanding, consumers: they know that there's a product or service out there designed specifically for them, and they intend to find it.

 

Explore a Common Passion:
Consider your own personal passions.  Is there a target audience for your products and services among people who share one or more of those passions? Could you offer financial advice to NASCAR fans who want to get on the fast track to retirement?  Is there people in your quilting circle who might need small business advice?  Shared passions can create a bond and trust that extends into other areas of life -- great news for your business.

 

Religious Affiliations:
Religious affiliation is certainly not a new way to niche, but it's a powerful one.  In fact, understanding the wants and needs of a particular religious community is a great way to target your products and services.  For example, clothing designers and wedding planners who cater to the Latter Day Saint community in the Midwest enjoy their success because they understand the modesty requirements of that group and offer products and services accordingly.

 

Ethnic Groups:
Ethnic groups make up some of the largest niches going.  In fact, I hate to include this as a niche strategy, but will do so with the caveat that you'll have to refine your niche further.  Targeting your services to the Hispanic market, for example, does offer you some of the advantages that being a Nichepreneurs^® brings.  However, because these groups are so large, and growing so fast, it would be a good idea to further refine your identity.

 

Economic Class:
Every market segment has a high end and a low end -- consumers who can afford to pay top dollar and others who are far more price conscious.  There's money to be made at either end of the spectrum, but you need to position yourself carefully.  Do your market research to identify where the most lucrative opportunities lie.

 

Finally, don't forget the GEL formula.  As you narrow your niche, searching for your ideal target audience, keep the following in mind.  Your niche should be Growing, in an area you have some Experience in, that you Love.  If you're niching yourself by the age of your target audience, you have nothing to fear: people continue aging at a fairly steady rate, and birth rates in most of the world have been steady or climbing for decades.

 

However, population changes and socio-economic shifts mean that niching by religion, ethnic group or even economic class can prove problematical.  Do your market research to make sure the group you're targeting is going to be around for a while: you don't want to be the only florist specializing in traditional Chinese weddings when there aren't any Chinese families in a hundred mile radius.

 

Good luck!  Remember, your niche is out there, just waiting for you to find it!

Click here to listen as

Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance,

and the host of "Personal Brilliance - Up Close & Practical Podcast"

interviews me about my latest book,

Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market."

Carving Out a New Niche

Reebok shoes was once one of the powerhouse players in the highly competitive athletic footwear industry. Along the way, they’ve lost their way, suffering from a lack of a clear image -- they had a poorly defined niche, and sales have suffered. 

Right now, the company’s getting ready to carve out a new niche for itself, according to a recent article in Brandweek. They want to occupy ‘the line between sport and lifestyle’, which means a lot if you’re in shoes, and not a lot otherwise -- but that’s not the bit I want to talk about.

What is critical here, and the takeaway lesson that can be emulated by Nichepreneurs^® of every size, is the fact that Reebok plans to do a great deal of this repositioning of themselves online. Uli Becker, Reebok's head of global marketing, said,
“Reebok will become a digital marketing powerhouse,” indicating the importance of having an effective online presence. Reported plans for Reebok include a revamped website, increased online advertising, and forays into gaming. 

Why this emphasis on having an online presence for a niche product? Reebok does this because they know that’s where their customers are. If you want to engage with your target audience, you need to direct your marketing and visibility efforts in a location where they’ll be seen. More and more people shop online -- especially if they’re considering a major purchase. If you’re not on the web, you’re invisible.

Make note of Reebok’s planned foray into gaming. This is an interesting move, as much of Reebok’s target audience is female -- and increasing numbers of online gamers are female. By creating an aspect to their website that will draw customers back time and time again, Reebok is creating multiple opportunities for those visitors to take the next step and do some shoe shopping while they’re there. 

What can you do? The web is a great equalizer: the smallest company, with enough savvy and insight, can have just as effective a web presence as the largest mega corp. Knowing your target audience is key. What would appeal to them online? What can you do to provide it?

Click here to listen as

Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance,

and the host of "Personal Brilliance - Up Close & Practical Podcast" interviews me about my latest book,

Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market."

How to Find a Niche Trend?

One of the most common questions I get from readers of my new book, Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market, especially those who have just worked through my GEL Formula for discovering their niche, relates to trends. “How do I know how to find a trend?” people ask. “Is there a way to tell what the next big thing is?” 

Identifying trends isn’t some mysterious, archaic art. You don’t need divination tools or an inside track to tomorrow to tell which way the wind is blowing. Identifying trends has little to do with magic -- and everything to do with paying attention.

For example, walk through the grocery store. This isn’t a remarkable exercise, for most people. Everyone has to eat, after all, and grocery stores are where they keep the food. However, how often do you really pay attention to the offerings on the shelves? Especially those offerings in a category you don’t buy -- for example, barbaque sauce if you’re a vegetarian, or beer if you don’t drink? Probably not too often. Yet the grocery shelves can offer remarkable insight about cultural changes, buying habits and trends -- if you pay attention. 

Don’t believe me? Direct your cart -- and your attention! -- to the dog food aisle. Now, I don’t have a dog, but I’ve done extensive work with the pet industry. Walking down the aisle, I’m struck by the recent explosion of new pet food offerings. Dogs can dine on healthy kibbles or vitamin-enhanced soft foods. There are premium pet foods that cost as much as a good dinner at a restaurant and luxury foods that cost two times as much.

What does this tell us? First, that pets are incredibly important to their owners -- they’re obviously willing and able to spend money on their canine companions. That’s one niche right there: pet lovers.  From this point, you can narrow the target market even further. Pet foods that tout the health benefits of a product appeal to a different customer than pet foods that appeal by nature of being premium, high-end, luxury items. There’s the health-conscious pet loving market, and the status-seeking pet loving market. 

It’s possible to refine this market even more. There are vegetarian health-conscious pet lovers and meat-eating health-conscious pet lovers, who want to share their dietary preferences with their dogs. 

I’ll stop, before you think I’ve gone completely around the bend here, but you see the point. Trends are all around us. Identifying them is as simple as paying attention to the world around you and thinking critically about what you see. That’s when you’ll see the opportunities -- look long enough, and you’ll find the opportunity that’s right for you!

Click here to listen as

Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance,

and the host of "Personal Brilliance - Up Close & Practical Podcast" interviews me about my latest book,

"Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market."

Do You Fear "The Niche"?

Many would-be Nichepreneurs® resist the idea of narrowing their target audience for one simple reason: they’re afraid they’ll lose business. 

‘Declaring a niche for yourself,” said Nahid Casazza, President of the International Coaching Federation, ‘means that you are allowing other people to categorize you.” There are two consequences to this categorization, one negative, and one positive.

The negative consequence: people stop sending you inappropriate referrals -- those clients who need services you could provide, although such services are outside your area of specialization. 

The positive consequence: people start sending you more and better referrals, of exactly the type of client you’re looking for.

Fear of the negative consequence often precludes people from taking advantage of the positive consequence. Worried that they won’t get enough business that they don’t want, these hesitant entrepreneurs are minimizing the chances that they’ll get the business they do want.

According to Tom Peters in The Entrepreneurial Spirit,

"Feeling a little weird lately? Take time to see where your passion and entrepreneurial spirit is calling you."

It’s important to remember that people will categorize you, whether you want them to or not. The public will create their own categories, based upon media appearances, advertising, word-of-mouth and so on. Becoming a Nichepreneur® and setting your own definitions allows you to keep some control of this categorization. Rather than leaving your image -- and the success of your business -- in the fickle hands of the public, you can set the agenda and position yourself positively.

Click here to listen as

Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance,

and the host of "Personal Brilliance - Up Close & Practical Podcast" interviews me about my latest book,

"Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market."