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Know Your Niche

Written by: Stuart Ayling

Article Overview: It was a warm, quiet winter afternoon as I walked along the beach. At the headland there was a typical collection of rock pools. Lots of pools, some with more water than others, and some surging with the tidal wash. As I looked more closely I noticed the inhabitants - a purple anemone or two on the sidewall, sea snails moving slowly along the crevices, and other small creatures swimming around.

Know Your Niche

It was a warm, quiet winter afternoon as I walked along the beach. At the headland there was a typical collection of rock pools. Lots of pools, some with more water than others, and some surging with the tidal wash. As I looked more closely I noticed the inhabitants - a purple anemone or two on the sidewall, sea snails moving slowly along the crevices, and other small creatures swimming around.

Over recent times I have spoken with a number of people who are in the early stages of building their businesses or launching a new concept. As I peered into the rock pools, I was struck by the similarities between these two environments.

In each situation it’s a matter of survival. Existing in a changing environment, trying to grow. In each case there are also larger factors at work, outside of the control of any individual, which can have a huge impact on the likelihood of success.

For a business to succeed it is essential to have a very clear understanding of the environment in which it operates. Business operators must know which rock pool they are in and who the other inhabitants are. It is critical to gain an understanding of their own uniqueness and their own role. This means having a clear focus on the niche you fill in the market you have chosen.

Knowing your niche is important for two reasons.

Firstly it allows you to clearly communicate your role to others within your environment. This may be to customers, suppliers, financial backers, a potential partner etc.

Secondly, it empowers you to make relevant decisions about running your business. Critical factors such as marketing can be addressed in light of the role you have defined. Priorities can be determined – and managed – to progress the business towards its objectives.

Often potential customers must be consulted to gain an understanding of how a new idea or product will be perceived. These perceptions can then be taken into account when developing an overall approach to marketing the business. If you (or your product) are new to your chosen niche, there will be learning required by both you and your customers.

And just as sea creatures must cope with the tidal wash in a rock pool, business people must manage in the face of evolving market influences that are regularly changing and exerting pressure on their business.

By understanding your market niche you can retain your focus and prosper from the tide of change

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Re: How many mambers of this forum are also member of WF? - [quote="Alan Mater":brpmwrn2] Agreed, Tanny. I've lurked around in the main forum before to learn some things. I did have one good experience, though, when I asked how others find a profitable niche. I got some very good responses, and I used those answers to create a post for my blog. Another internet marketing forum that I find to be a lot friendlier is the Conquer Your Niche forum. GT is also a member there, and I think he'll agree with me on that. Members seem to be a lot more friendly and helpful there. Overall, I'd say the friendliest I've found is definitely this forum.[/quote:brpmwrn2] Hi Alan, I am also a member of CYN and I used to visit this forum on a daily basis until few months ago. There were changes, and the only posts were spam, so I stopped visiting. Maybe I should go over there and see what's going on...
Re: How many mambers of this forum are also member of WF? - [quote="TannyL":flwa3wp0][quote="Alan Mater":flwa3wp0] Agreed, Tanny. I've lurked around in the main forum before to learn some things. I did have one good experience, though, when I asked how others find a profitable niche. I got some very good responses, and I used those answers to create a post for my blog. Another internet marketing forum that I find to be a lot friendlier is the Conquer Your Niche forum. GT is also a member there, and I think he'll agree with me on that. Members seem to be a lot more friendly and helpful there. Overall, I'd say the friendliest I've found is definitely this forum.[/quote:flwa3wp0] Hi Alan, I am also a member of CYN and I used to visit this forum on a daily basis until few months ago. There were changes, and the only posts were spam, so I stopped visiting. Maybe I should go over there and see what's going on...[/quote:flwa3wp0] Hi Tanny, I don't visit there very often, but when I am there, I haven't noticed any spam. But, there's a lot of different topics and threads, so I could have easily missed it. Hopefully things will get sorted out. It's odd because when I went back recently after being away for so long, I hadn't noticed any changes at all lol.
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