Marketing | NICHE Niche Market
What is it? How do you find one? Last Updated: 02 January 2007
I'd get into online business but - I don't have a product!
Is it really that difficult to find a product? It's comparatively easy to find products to market on an
affiliate basis, which means you get a commission, a percentage of each sale you've referred. But identifying
a product to sell on your own is another matter entirely. There's a lot of competition out there. How do you
go about finding the "right" product? How do you find your niche?
What, precisely, is a "niche market"?
A "niche", according to Webster's, is a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing: to find one's
niche in the business world. A colleague of mine recently told me, for example, that his daughter had "found her niche" as a programmer. She is well paid and respected
for work she loves to do. His daughter is fortunate in that respect. Not all of us find the right fit. Even if we experience it at some level, that sense of one's niche
is not always easy to recognize. We'll look at the significance of that in a moment but next, let's consider the concept of a niche market.
[a] niche market is a narrowly defined group that includes all of the following:
Individuals in the group have the same specialized interests and needs.
They have a strong desire for what you offer.
You have (or you can create) a compelling reason for prospects in the group to do business with you instead of with someone else.
You can easily reach individual prospects within the group.
The group is large enough to produce the volume of business you need.
The group is small enough that your competition is likely to overlook it.
Helen Salamakha and Val Danilchuk, of the Niche Marketing Research Center, provide a simple definition of niche market or
the basically synonymous term, market niche:
Market niche is your place in the market, your target audience. [more]
...[f]inding a niche is especially important in highly competitive fields, such as printing, and in industries
dominated by large, well-known corporations, such as retailing.
Think of your market as a tree. You’ll get bruised trying to make your home on the same branch as the 800-pound gorilla, but
there are plenty of other branches on which you can live fat and happy. [more]
Identifying the Niche Market Large Scale, Small Scale
In highly competitive industries, businesses may use their existing client base to identify niche interests, then narrow their marketing efforts and reduce costs while focusing on those interests, dramatically expanding
sales by supplying the identified demand.
On a smaller scale, regarding the individual entrepreneur, most writers suggest a preliminary assessment of personal interests and expertise as the predicate to identifying your market niche. Once you know what interests you
and what you're good at, they suggest that you search for a product in that area - one for which there is significant demand but limited supply.
The Search...
We still have the problem of finding this niche market - identifying a product with significant demand and short supply. Salamakha and Danilchuk, of Niche Marketing Research Center, suggest
that certain things sell best, including information, computer software, and personal services. We might find a niche in those markets, but how do we go about that? Where do we start?
A couple years ago I bought a best-selling eBook entitled The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay, by Jim Cockrum. The strategy he describes in 50 pages is perfectly legal,
accords with eBay policies in every respect but involves a creative interpretation of those policies that can result in much greater profit. Central to his approach is a simple idea that can be applied to your search for a
marketing niche:
People who are shopping for ________________ might also be interested in (and possibly willing to pay for) instant information
on ___________________.
Burn that sentence into your mind. Filling in the blanks might help you generate an eBook for a niche market you can reach indirectly from your "about me" page at eBay.
Of course, that doesn't really help you if you want to sell physical product in an auction or online storefront. If you're looking for wholesalers who drop ship, or you want
to do some market research on what's hot and what's not...
Have you considered sourcing from CHINA? Check out Chinavasion...
And be sure to read aboutDoba™, an eBay Certified Service Provider that allows you to
deal with multiple wholesalers who drop ship, using a single account. Hundreds of thousands of products from which to choose, and useful marketing tools too. Plus, they have
a Lowest Wholesale Price Guarantee.
Find Drop Shippers of Distinctive Niche Products...
Thinking of setting up an online business without stocking inventory or hassling with shipping? Drop shipping enables you to do just that,
and it happens that there's an excellent service available to get you started and guide you along the way:
Brad Beiermann Ph.D. heads Hienote Inc., a full service research firm
that helps Joint Venture partners, consultants, and small businesses find credible tier-one drop shippers who feature
distinctive niche products. What distinguishes the Drop Ship List Directory™
is Hienote's meticulous research and screening methodology. True drop shippers are identified in three ways:
Internet Searches
Search engines are used to locate a specific retail product, which is then traced back to the manufacturer. Once the
manufacturer is identified, enquiries are made with respect to their distribution policies.
Trade Show Searches
Many large trade shows focus on particular market segments (e.g., sporting goods, automotive, household, etc.), and
feature manufacturers or importers who drop ship. Hienote attends trade shows to research and interview potential drop
shippers, gathering critical logistical information.
Government Agency Search
Manufacturers in other countries want to sell their products in the U.S. They request their government agencies
to place them on a list of manufacturers seeking to export. Such lists are obtained by U.S. import/export firms, who
subsequently arrange to warehouse foreign products for distribution. Hienote uses these embassy and government agency
lists to contact foreign manufacturers, identify their U.S. wholesale distribution counterparts, and assess their
drop shipping services.
To meet the inclusion criteria for the Hienote Directory, a company must:
be the manufacturer or authorized tier-one wholesaler of the product;
be able to (a) single-item drop ship (b) without minimum quantity;
charge no monthly, quarterly, or annual fees to drop ship.
Developed over the course of two years, the Hienote Directory only recently went online. The site was moved to a new host
at the end of May 2004, and the Directory now features enhanced database functionality. New instructional
material and valuable tools are rapidly becoming available, making this a truly comprehensive site for the drop ship entrepreneur.
Brad afforded me access to the Hienote directory for purposes of this review. The the list of drop shippers is
smaller than that presented by World Wide Brands, but frankly, I find it more difficult to find niche items in Malta's directory;
the number of drop shippers and brand names is not necessarily relevant when you're looking for the unique and hard-to-find.
Heinote, on the other hand, includes several importers - I spoke with some of them by phone - whose products are fresh and unusual.
This Directory is promoted as a service aimed at identifying niche products not available from conventional sources, and it delivers
nicely in this respect.
Many useful new resources are on the way from this dedicated and rapidly expanding team, including an eBook
on drop shipping and accredited online e-tailing courses. The new database contains thousands of products and, best of all, customers can preview
the directory before they buy.
Our goal is to help you find products to sell on your website by locating wholesale companies who drop ship for online businesses.
We make the process easy, fun, and educational for you. If you are starting a new ecommerce site, you will find our custom search
service to be a real value for the money.
the market niche must be of reasonable size and easy to reach, and
your USP, "the heart of your business idea", must connect your product with your audience.
According to Michael Gray, CPA, "[t]he USP very clearly answers the question, "Why should I do business with
you instead of your competitors?". It must precisely address the needs of your target audience. Your capacity to formulate your USP will depend on your ability to apprehend customer need and respond to it with
conviction and integrity. Be very careful not to promise more than you can deliver.
...[m]ost business owners don't have a USP, only a "me too," rudderless, nondescript, unappealing business that feeds solely upon
the sheer momentum of the marketplace. There's nothing unique; there's nothing distinct. They promise no great value, benefit,
or service - just "buy from us" for no justifiable, rational reason...
Would you want to patronize a firm that's just "there," with no unique benefit, no incredible prices or selection, no especially
comforting counsel, service or guarantee? Or would you prefer a firm that offers you the broadest selection in the country? Or
one with every item marked up less than half the margin other competitors charge? Or one that sells the "Rolls Royce" of the
industry's products?
Can you see what an appealing difference the USP makes in establishing a company's perceived image or posture to the customer?
It's ludicrous to operate any business without carefully crafting a clear, strong, appealing USP into the very fabric of the
daily existence of that business.
The point is to focus on the one niche, need or gap that is most sorely lacking, provided you can keep the promise you make...
Above everything else, never, ever lose track of the fact that USP is all about the customer or the client. It is not about me, you, the company or the profession. Don't make the
mistake of aggrandizing your business. Instead, help your customer or client do some aggrandizing. [full article]
About Jay Abraham, founder and CEO of Abraham Group, Inc., Los Angeles, California.
The concept of "USP" is credited to Rosser Reeves, chairman of the Ted Bates & Co. advertising agency in the
1950s. He was one of the first to develop a technique for communicating in an overcrowded marketplace. His definition of what
makes a USP holds true today:
All advertising must make a proposition to the customer: Buy this, and you will receive a specified benefit.
The proposition must be unique; something competitors cannot claim, or have not chosen to emphasize in their promotions.
The proposition must be so compelling that it motivates individuals to act. [more]
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Richard Dagan 2000-2008