Let’s hear it for the niche market!

Ascertaining what product will both sell well for you and sit well with you is a tall order, but the following framework will help you do just that. In the following blog, we’ll be focusing on how to find your niche within the realm of sustainable products/services.

The power of the niche market

The key to unlocking your entrepreneurial dreams? Tapping into the niche market that suits you and your audience. This may seem counter intuitive- wouldn’t it be better for business to have a product that appeals to the masses as opposed to a small demographic? Not so. In fact, research shows that start-up businesses that try to sell to everyone you end up selling to no one. Finding a niche product within the sustainability sphere will help cement your credibility over competition, and allow you to create more focused content and marketing. Attaining excellence in any given field requires a certain amount of focus and single-mindedness. Similarly, your new business will flourish more readily if it hones in on a particular niche.

What is a niche market?

Glad you asked! A niche market is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service.

Common ways to define a niche include:

·       Price (e.g. luxury, moderate, discount)

·       Demographics (gender, age, income level, education level)

·       Level of quality (premium, handmade, economical)

·       Psychographics (values, interests, attitudes)

·       Geographics (residents of a certain country, city, or even neighborhood)

Your niche will be a subset of that market and will help define everything from: 

·       The product features you aim at your market's needs 

·       The price range for your products 

·       Production quality 

·       Your positioning/branding 

·       Your marketing strategy

How to find your own niche market:

Research is the name of the game! Budding ecommerce entrepreneurs looking for a niche market and product to sell will first need to establish an understanding of the wider market and refine from there. The aim is to uncover a niche market that has an audience and that you’re thoroughly, authentically and enthusiastically able to master. So here it is, my how to instructions on narrowing down your audience and product:

1.     Ask yourself which of your skill sets/interests illicit compliments and disappearing hours? Thinking about where your interests overlap with your skills is a great starting point for selecting your niche market. Being an entrepreneur is not without its challenges, and a genuine belief and interest in your product will help you navigate the ups and downs that are part and parcel of the business journey. Furthermore, it will add authenticity to your brand, which as we know speaks volumes to potential clientele.

2.     Google search. You’re run of the mill google search is an invaluable tool when it comes to understanding what other retailers are selling, discovering offshoots and key considerations in relation to that product. I googled ‘natural shampoo bars’ and found a veritable treasure chest of angles; from ‘plastic free shampoo’ to ‘vegan-friendly shampoo’ and ‘ayurvedic shampoo’.

3.     Build a mind map. A mind map is a visual thinking tool that shows how different facts and ideas are related. As opposed to linear notes, mind maps more closely resemble how our brains link ideas and concepts and are incredibly helpful for brainstorming. MindMeister is spectacularly user-friendly mind mapping software facilitating the effective capture, development and sharing of ideas.

4.     Utilize google suggestions. Google is rather adept at prompting what you want to know before you know you want to know it, you know? The suggestions it shows as your typing into the search bar show what people most frequently ask in relation to that query and can therefore be fruitful avenues to explore.

5.     Keyword Searches. Along the same vein as google suggestions but Google’s keyword planner but more sophisticated and modifiable. It draws on data from Google Ads and requires you to have a Google ads account (free sign up). Simply enter your niche idea starting point, adjust your location to ensure results are specific to places you want to reach and see where the wind takes you! You can also add filters, remove branded keywords, and view suggestions for other keywords to look into.

6.     Find your online community. One of the beautiful things about the internet is its ability to provide a platform for people interested in a particular topic or product to come together and share ideas and experiences. No matter how obscure the area, there will almost certainly be an online group dedicated solely to it. It goes without saying said groups can be an incredible resource for researching your niche.

Social media is an excellent means of tracking down these groups. Look for influencers and people in the know regarding your niche idea and examine their hashtags for leads. You can also check out the most frequented Wikipedia pages in relation to your topic.

Another great way of uncovering passionate online communities is venturing down the rabbit hole of the most active subreddits and noting recurring themes/concerns in their discussions. This will equip you with a solid insider’s perspective on your idea. 

Evaluate the viability of your prospective niche

Now we’re at the pointy end of the operation! Using the find-a-niche approach is a tried and tested means of finding potential customers and procuring their business, but you still need to evaluate whether or not there’s a big enough market for your product to make it worth your while.

A few ideas as to how to evaluate your niche idea:

1.     Establish a customer base before launching. This can be achieved via a Kickstarter campaign (excellent for creating buzz and awareness about a product), email opt-in pages and social media campaigns. Generating interest and enthusiasm pre-launch will help secure a mass of ready and waiting clientele.

2.     Test the waters before investing a significant amount of money. Produce a small batch of the product and run a campaign to your targeted demographic and/or send them out to a hand full of influencers. Then, importantly, ask for feedback. Feedback from real people is invaluable in helping you fine tune your product and evaluate its reception.

3.     Be the hero. Delve even deeper into your niche and see if there’s a recurring problem you could help solve. Maybe most shampoo bars break apart or fail to soap up. social media, blogs, influencers and forums are an excellent means of gaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of your product and customer base and ascertaining how you can come to the rescue.

4.     Keep abreast of consumer trends. An entrepreneur’s research is never done - it’s crucial to stay on top of new developments and shifts within your niche and adjust your product/marketing accordingly. Some excellent ways of maintaining a cutting edge understanding of your product and audience are by setting up Google alerts for related keywords and monitoring social media conversations, while Facebook IQ, Think with Google, and Nielsen consumer research will help ascertain your audience’s needs, frustrations and new trends. A thorough understanding of your niche is invaluable in attracting the attention of your audience and winning them over by demonstrating that your product is exclusively designed for them.

Moving forward

Now that you’re all over why utilizing niche markets makes good business sense and how to go about selecting a niche product your audience won’t be able to resist, it’s time to transfer your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

Knowing where to start with developing, manufacturing or sourcing a new product and getting your online business off the ground can be overwhelming.  I can help you clarify the overall direction and aim of your business and ensure its aligned with who you are and how you want your professional life to look. From this big picture perspective, we can then work together to formulate an action plan to help you achieve the freedom and sense of purpose that comes with having a business that lights you up. When beginning our business journey, It’s so important for us to draw on the wisdom and support of people with experience.