You may want to start your business or you started it already – but still struggling about finding your own little domain on the market? Believe it or not, this is a very common issue today. With so many different niches it is hard to recognize where you actually belong.
You probably have heard of the saying ‘’Jack of all trades, master of none’’. It is fine if you own useful skills here and there but it is important to focus. It is always better to be an expert in one field than to wander around.
Identifying your niche, finding a target market is crucial for both online and offline businesses. Making the right choice for your niche leads to a more focused business model. Aiming for the right audience leads also to better business decisions and in the end – happier customers that will get back for more.
If you are not sure where to start, read this article and start analyzing until you find the niche for your business.
Think about the skills you own and what you are passionate about
There is a quote by Confucious going around the known internet saying ‘’Choose a job you love and you won’t work a day in your life’’. By today’s standards, that quote hasn’t aged well. It is great if you are passionate about what you do but it also requires a lot of footwork.
First write your passions, your interests, your strongest areas of knowledge, your skills and experiences.
It is important to differentiate which is which in this part. Why? Because interests tend to be temporary.
Passion sometimes wears off in just a few months and you get stuck with something you don’t like in the end. Think about what you want to do in the next five or ten years.
What pops into your mind instantly? When you have free time – what do you want to do? What would you do if your phone, TV, laptop are broken? Think about what is your main drive for pursuing your passion.
Once you have everything written down you can identify your potential niche in business. It is important to keep motivation levels high because there will be obstacles, there will be tough times. Therefore – you need to know what you stand for before you decide where you want to stand.
Make sure that there is a market for your services
When identifying your niche in business, the most important is to find that there is a market for your services. You don’t want a niche that is so specific that only a few people would love your services and products. It is time to do thorough research to help you narrow down your niche once you identified the passion you want to pursue.
How will you find a market? By doing thorough online research. By using Google keyword planner and Google trends you will see what people are searching for.
The more specific the keyword the better. You need to make sure to check the following metrics – monthly search volume, keyword competition and suggested bid.
Why the search volume is important – if there are less than 500 monthly searches, there is not enough material you can work with. For keyword competition, you need to go with low and medium. High-value keywords are extremely hard to reach. The suggested bid metric is important because it will help you determine the commercial value of the keyword.
Analyzing your competitors
It is also great to analyze your competition as well. Of course that you are probably thinking that your product is the best out there… but there is probably someone else thinking absolutely the same thing. Competitors are not your enemies.
They will help you grow and inspire you what you should do next. Of course, we are not saying that you should copy-paste their strategy.
We want to help you see the bigger picture. Identify who your main competitors are and do your homework.
What makes you different from your competitors? What do you like about your competitors? What do you dislike about your competitors? What makes you better than your competitors? Are there any gaps between the services you are providing and the services they are providing?
Check on their online presence as well… which social media channels your competitors are using? Which keywords are they ranking for? Which products are their best sellers?
Take a closer look at their website as well. Is their website modern or does it look outdated? Is it fast and intuitive?
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to locate gaps in the services and turn them to your advantage. This will help you identify your market, your strengths and find out your potential weaknesses.
It is also great to test your idea and your niche. Join forums, different communities on social media. Try offering a sample of your product. Share your content and see how they react. Also, answer the questions patiently.
Search for the pain points of your ideal customers
It is time to do your research for your potential customers. Once you locate your competitors and have some general direction – it is time for you to learn to listen to what people are looking for. Which are their pain points? What are the problems your products or services can solve instantly?
Try looking up on forums or Quora and you will be sure that you will get useful information about what your customers are looking for. That will also give you ideas for the type of content they are looking for.
In order to find a perfect niche, you need to learn to listen and follow the flow of your target audience. Of course, research is always important. In order to craft a perfect niche strategy, you will need to get to know the target audience, their unmet needs and gaps, neglected markets with large potential. It takes time but when you get all the elements aligned perfectly it is time to take action!
Work more on your marketing skills
Once you’ve found your niche and you are assured that there is a demand and there are certain customer’s needs that are neglected- here is your opportunity. Yet, in order to dominate your niche, you’ll need to establish your little online domain and sharpen your marketing skills more.
First, you will need a great website – it will be a great start. The second step is to optimize your website for Google search with all these keywords you searched for.
Visuals are also important – make sure that your brand is cohesive, visual eye candy and in balance with your content.
Lead generation is also great – you need to start building your email list in order to gain more leads.
Every stage is dynamic and exciting and you will learn more about your market, your customers and yourself. If you do everything right – you will reach just the right people instead of wandering around.
In conclusion
We hope we helped you with locating your niche in business. It is never an easy task but when there is passion and motivation, strong will and faith in what you do – you will be just fine. Yet if you need additional help with building a perfect website or social media strategy, amazing visuals and comprehensive digital marketing strategies – you know you can count on our help.
Contact us right away and let’s build your domain on the internet faster!
Author
Melissa Gray is a freelance writer and an organizational psychologist. Her focus is primarily on marketing and new digital trends across the world. She is also a passionate gamer, with special interest in narrative design. She writes for Digital Strategy One.