Tuesday, January 30, 2007

More on niche marketing

I have already posted a piece on niche marketing. Today I will refine it further. Niche marketing, it is well known, is focussing upon the products/services which is not taken care of by major players in the market. Many businesses have identified potential niches and capitalized on it. Intelligent businesses today work on niche marketing because as a wise person said, 'what belongs to everybody belongs to nobody.'

Some things really matter in niche marketing. You must do a good research on your business. Keyword research is an intergral component of niche marketing. You will be well-advised not to compete for keywords/phrase which gives inordinate results. Focus is all that matters. It is important to aim for a few hundred/thousand pounds which are sure to come instead of aiming to become a millionaire by catering to all and sundry which is more likely to be unattainable.

Believe it or not, one of the first attempts at niche marketing was by the Cola giant Pepsi in 1940s. It catered to the African-American community. Edward Boyd was one of the first black executive in the US who led a team of 12 black professionals. This 'negro market' department built brand loyalty among the targeted community which really paid dividends. And so began the Cola wars!

Today niche marketing is eveywhere. Almost every business - including Wal Mart- orignated to occupy a vacancy! Consider businesses like Kosher milk (tailored for specific religious groups), organic food and vegetables for those who want to avoid the harmful pesticides, goat milk for those with Gandhian values or allergic to cow milk, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for those who want more style, power and elbow room; low cost no frills airlines to woo high-end train passengers! They are all powerful examples of niche marketing in more ways than one.

On the always crowded WWW, niche marketing is the key to success and survival. Many businesses are also combining niche marketing and affiliate marketing and making more pounds.

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