How to Choose The Right Target Market for Your Business
"The Riches are in the Niches."
- Adam Weiss
You've heard it before, you know you're supposed to choose a niche with your product, but what does that actually mean?
So many new entrepreneurs and business owners think very highly of their product/service and therefore don't want to risk losing a sale by talking to a specific subset of a larger demographic. They think that the more people they talk to, the higher chances they have of someone buying their product / service.
Here's the problem though. When you try talking to everyone, nobody ends up hearing you.
Think of it this way. If we're in the middle of a happy hour at a busy conference, and I start talking as loudly as I can about how awesome my new shoe company is and how great our shoes are, there's going to be so much chatter going on that no one is going to actually hear or care what I'm talking about.
Everyone there is wearing shoes, so everyone needs to hear the message, right?
Wrong.
WHO are your shoes for? Go find those people in the audience and have a 1 to 1 conversation with them about your new shoes.
Now you've got a fighting chance.
Choosing a niche is important for two main reasons:
1. It allows you to speak to a specific audience with a specific pain point, which helps you be heard.
2. It allows you to gain traction in a specific market, which increases sales velocity.
But here's the kicker.
A lot of business owners will rightfully object,
"But my product/service really can help all sorts of different demographics. Which niche do I choose?"
How to choose which niche to target first:
A. Choose a demographic with a substantial potential user-base.
-Meaning there's enough people in that market to make it worth your while.
B. Choose a demographic that will be the most intense about your product / service
-Meaning the type of people who would use your product the most.
C. Choose a demographic with influence
-Meaning people look up to them and might go out of their way to ask them about something they see.
Examples:
Beard Care Business
A. Does the potential market support the idea?
Many men are growing beards right now, seems like a decent market.
B. Which subset of beard-growers would use your product most?
Targeting men who want to grow long, thick, luxurious beards. Bigger beards need more care. People who grow bigger beards are more serious about how they take care of them.
C. Which demographic would have influence over the rest of the market?
Men with bigger beards would be approached regularly by men starting their beard growing journey about how they got their beard to be so big. If your product really is great, these guys will be talking about your product all the time and thus help you be more viral.
Sunglasses Business
A. Does the potential market support the idea?
Everybody wears sunglasses these days. Only problem is there's a decent amount of competition.
B. Which subset demographic needs and wears their sunglasses the most?
People on the beach, people at a ski resort, people who spend a lot of time outside or driving.
C. Which of these demographics would have the most influence over the rest of the market?
Professional surfers and snowboarders would have disproportionate influence over the rest of the population of average beach-goers and ski families. Targeting professional athletes with something they actually like would put your brand name in their mouth often.
Lead Domino
Tim Ferriss has referred to this idea of influence as the "Lead Domino".
His framing of the question would essentially ask, "Which of these potential demographics would, if targeted successfully, make marketing to the rest of the market easy or irrelevant?"
If you can find an answer to that question, you've got your target niche!
What business are you in and who's your target market?
Are you targeting the lead domino with the most influence or are you wasting marketing dollars going after a group with no influence in the market?
Unsure of which subset might be the lead domino? Reach out and I'd love to help you figure it out!
Here's to you Actualizing Your Potential!
--
With gratitude,
Dennis McGinley
Founder and CEO @ STRIVENT
dennis@striventllc.com
striventcoaching.com
"Actualize your Potential!"
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