Hi everyone, here is and article that I thought was very interesting and something that I have focused on in the past. Creating a niche or focusing on your product is something that we all need to do to progress our business.
Finding your niche in a crowded marketplace
By Jacky Tan, Published May 31, 2012
In a Crowded Marketplace, You Need to Find Your Niche Fast as to Gain a Bigger Share of the Market
There might be times when you have the kind of feeling that to compete in a crowded marketplace is highly difficult for you especially if you are a new business; the winners are usually the big timers or companies with huge financial standing. However, finding your niche in the crowd is possible, and this will make your business a epitome success for underdogs.
So how do you find your niche in a very crowded marketplace?
1. Innovate is a Bad Word. Start a New Market Instead!
The Word “Innovation” has been Over Used. You Need to Take it Out and Throw it Away
Have you noticed many businesses around you will usually ‘shout’ out in their advertisements that they have revolutionary and innovative products? Well, to the consumer, innovative is nothing to him or her if the product does not help or does not mean anything to them.
As time goes by, the word ‘innovative’ somehow has lost its meaning as everybody is using it without exactly what the consumer really wants. To the consumer, being innovative is just like putting a paint on the car or a simple improvement that the others.
The new word or I should say the new phrase today, should be “Start a New Market!” Well products that claimed to be innovative still share the same market, the same group of target consumers and the same piece of cake with its competitors. Why not create a new market instead?
Creating a new market doesn’t mean inventing a whole new product. But it does mean educating a new group of consumers and solving an existing problem in the current market that consumers are currently facing. It also means creating a new category of market that is an alternative to the existing market where many of your competitors are fighting on.
By starting a new market, you will gain first mover advantage while competitors will have a hard time copying and following what you doing. Hence for the first few years, focus on educating, and improving on your product so that you can prepare yourself should your competitors come in to ‘invade’ the market that you created.
2. Focus on Productive Things
Young companies who want to grow exponentially fast in a crowded marketplace may need to work a little bit harder than the seasoned ones. However, this doesn’t mean that they work harder on unnecessary stuffs. Due to time or funds shortage, the marketer must waste no time.
Focus on doing productive things. The meaning of ‘productive’ means the steps which make your business one step closer to your potential client. Take designing a marketing flyer for example. You may take 3 month (exaggerating a bit) to design a advertisement flyer which in your opinion you think it’s the best. While your competitor has already design a simple flyer with a clear call to action in an hour. While the next day, the competitor has already sent its flyer to about 100 prospective clients. While the action of putting the flyer into a prospect hands is productive. While designing the advertisement is not productive.
In today internet age, with the help of social media such as like Facebook and Twitter, as well as popular Search engines such as Google, it speeds up the process of doing productive things. Hence, if your budget is high enough, try to leverage on these media first. Rule of the thumb, the smart marketer will constantly do things that are very productive and at the same time, does not make him or her tired
For example, compare giving out flyers and starting a Google adwords campaign. You should focus on the adwords campaign instead as it will give you a faster and larger group of targeted prospects that have a relatively higher possibility of needing your products and services.
3. Build Branding Reputation
Focus on Building Your Brand Reputation, Brick by Brick
Think about what you going to achieve for your business 10 years, 5 years, 1 year or 6 months from where you are now. Think of how to make your company brand name stands in the minds of your consumers. Be creative. Be the first to create, think and do something that your competitors never thought of doing. Notice the word that I have repeated thrice here? Yes, you need to be constantly thinking about how you going to make your brand stand out from others.
Eventually what you want to have for your business, is a strong brand reputation. And this will takes time to see the results. Brand reputation is so powerful that it will make your things and services sell faster and easier. This is because brand reputation adds credibility for your business and hence confidence for your customers in buying your products and services.
So long you focus on building your brand, it doesn’t matter whether your company is new or not, your business will eventually gain an upper hand than most of your competitors who prefers making fast money while ignoring the importance of building a brand.
4. Never Cheapen your Brand
Cutting Prices in Order to Win Customers, is Like Cutting Your Own Flesh
Slashing prices, giving bulky discounts and telling the whole world that you sell cheap stuffs, are the fastest for brand suicide. Try to be firm on your pricing. Never think of cutting prices as a means to win clients. People buy for many reasons and not solely based on low prices.
The moment you have cheapen your brand, people especially your loyal clientele will start to lose confidence and begin to doubt the quality of your products. Take for example, if one day renowned apparel Gucci, announced that they are going to slash prices down by 70%. It may cause a buying frenzy in the short run. However, in the long term, when people confidence on the brand falls, the sales turnover in the long run will eventually fall as well.
Hence, the advice, never ever cheapen your brand.
To end, let’s take this famous advice from ADDIDAS,
“Impossible is Nothing”.
Virtually Yours PA 