In business, our goal is to have our product or service reach the broadest target market possible. We want everyone to have access to and want to use our thing. Success is seen as broad adoption across vast swaths of consumers. However, narrowing your focus can actually be a plus. Sometimes, you can adjust your product a little bit so that it is more attractive to specific groups of people. By creating a larger series of slightly varied products, you can actually reach more consumers.
For example, at Songwhale, our Cheapest Texting platform provides generic SMS text messaging service to everyone who wants to use text message marketing for his or her businesses. Our platform can be used in many ways by all different kinds of businesses, but by identifying niche markets (or groups of potential users), customizing our marketing and our tools for those particular groups and creating isolated web pages to distinguish those groups from a broader consumer base, we have seen a dramatic increase in conversion rates.
Most people want to be catered to. They want companies to understand their needs and create products that respond to those needs — niche marketing can do just that. Here is how you can make niche marketing work for your business:
Identify the Most Relevant Customer Segments
Keep track of the people who are already using or expressing interest in your business. Do you regularly hear from local restaurants or international banks? Are gym rats or stay-at-home moms using your services and products? You might notice customer service inquiries from similar types of people who are interested in a particular color or feature. Looking at who is using your services now will give you a good idea of which niche markets you can isolate.
At Songwhale, we were working with a local restaurant owner on developing text messages for ordering and promotions. After customizing the platform to work for this restauranteur, we realized other restaurant owners would probably be interested in a similar setup. The effort we put into one client’s platform could be easily mapped onto a custom platform for all restauranteurs to use, which is how our Cheapest Texting for Restaurants product began.
Determine Which Elements Are Most Important and Useful to Each Group
Using current customers is the easiest way to figure out what customers like them will want and need. When you start working to design a product for a specific customer type, you can repurpose that work as a model for the demographic. For example, we developed a text-in showings and tours system for a realtor, so we added that option to our Cheapest Texting for Real Estate platform.
Create Distinct Websites and Pages for Those Groups
Creating unique landing pages shows that you have crafted your product specifically for that customer. These addresses and pages can provide more targeted examples of the product as it pertains to that market, and they make the individual customers feel more special because the product has been remade just for them.
For example, we created a Cheapest Texting for Churches website to offer examples relevant to the needs of churches. Now, when a pastor wants to look at how text messaging can be used to increase participation at his local parish, he can go to this landing page and see specific examples crafted for his group of marketers. Each group we target, from bars to small businesses to retail, has its own distinct landing pages, tool sets and sample texting campaigns.
Make Your New Websites Search-Friendly
Most people searching for a particular product or service already have some ideas about what they want. Those ideas affect the words they use to search for a similar service. Performing some simple keyword research and optimizing your site’s content and metadata can help the right users find you.
By focusing on a few niche markets, you demonstrate to each target audience that you understand them and what they are looking for. The consumer can immediately see how the product you offer applies to them, making them more likely to buy — and helping you grow your business in the process.
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
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