If you’re trying to run a business, you certainly understand how important marketing is for your financial interests. Virtually every company could benefit from it, and there are only a few that are exempt from needing a comprehensive marketing plan. As you most definitely know, the de facto way to market is through the use of the Internet, and there are a number of ways to do it successfully, whether you’re talking about PPC, CPA, SEO, or anything else. They all can be good, but there’s a chance that the practitioner isn’t getting what they want out of their marketing efforts, despite getting pretty decent traffic.
Of course, there could be a number of reasons for this, but there’s one that’s really worth exploring – niche marketing. This practice has been in use since marketing was in its infancy, and conjures a thought of suited men sitting in a board room discussing the best way to get their message to the most interested client base. While it’s been in use since the Golden Age of Marketing, it’s still something that’s relatively new to Internet Marketing. The reason isn’t because of ignorance, it’s because the tools are now much more refined.
What Is It?
Niche marketing is the practice of connecting particular people to your products with the intent to sell. A good example of niche marketing is trying to convince a construction worker to buy a certain brand of truck or convincing a Floridian to buy a boat. Defining a niche market can be done in a myriad of ways, using parameters such as age, gender, religion, profession, or sexual orientation. These are just some examples; there are many more that marketing companies and divisions use in their day to day.
Using these dynamics, the marketer can basically come up with a plan that isn’t essentially throwing things at the wall to see if they’ll stick. Instead, they’ll actually see why they may be falling, which is nothing short of valuable information. This practice does much more than one may think initially. It does make money, but it also can help a business save some money, too. This is due to the nature of niche marketing as opposed to just sending out as much information as you can to anyone listening. That method can be a useful tactic, but definitely not a practical one for many businesses.
What’s The Point?
The point of niche marketing is pretty simple – it’s putting your marketing material where it would be the most useful. It’s more effective that way. If you’re looking for the point of niche marketing, you may not need to look any further than a successful application of it. If you’re a person who watches TV regularly, you’ll find that there are some commercials that only come on at certain times of day. Let’s use the NFL for this example. During those games, you’d be hard-pressed to find many commercials other than alcohol, trucks, and snacks. There’s a reason for this – it’s because the target audience is (mostly) men. It works like a charm.
Admittedly, this would make it seem as if only corporations would make use of niche marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, those companies are actually ones that could afford plastering their message everywhere and it may even be a pretty calculated risk, though probably terrible business sense. When it comes to smaller businesses, targeted marketing is the way to go because you’re only spending money on a small sector of the populace. Additionally, the main idea of this type of marketing focuses on identifying and meeting the needs that are common with a particular set of customers. This allows the company to tailor an ad that fits their individual needs, so they don’t have to come up with one that appeals to the masses – just that market.
Common Issues
Outside of the trouble that may come in finding the right demographic for the ad, there aren’t any inherent issues in niche marketing. But, there are some common hurdles that you’ll generally find in this way of marketing. Consumers are pretty savvy these days and they may not just buy because they need the product. Some companies have some trouble because they aren’t using the right language, and we’re not just talking about a strong call to action here, though you’ll definitely need that. If one is to be successful, they have to “talk the talk.”
Buzz words can come in handy here if they’re niche-specific. People want to know that they’re dealing with a company that’s in the know, as the most important thing in marketing is to sound like an authority in the industry. It builds trust. Let’s say that you’re a merchant who sells NBA jerseys. Obviously, you’ll be targeting people who enjoy the NBA, so one’s wording would be industry specific as opposed to generic wording. Here are two examples of possible ads, one being things that everyone would pick up on and things that only NBA fans would enjoy:
- “Check out these new NBA jerseys! 20% off your next purchase! Buy now!”
- “Get in the paint with these new NBA Kobe Bryant jerseys! Score 20% off your next order!”
While the actual wording may need a little work, one is better suited to get conversions. The vernacular here is as important as what one would possibly sell.
Summary
Niche marketing is easily the best way for any company to market their services, as you’re essentially weeding out the people who wouldn’t normally buy the products anyway. Not only does it increase the odds for converting, but it also keeps companies from spending money when they don’t need to. While it may take a while to find the right demographic, any time spent narrowing down the base is a step in the right direction. There’s a reason why the largest companies do this, and that’s because it’s extraordinarily effective.
Speak Your Mind