Niche Marketing Matters

According to Startup Nation, “surveys have shown that fewer than 12 percent of all online businesses sell a unique product or service”. Everything else is a commodity with lots of competition.

If you disagree with statement, go to eBay and do a search for a made up product. Let’s make up something right now…how about “dog food knife”. My bet is that you have never heard of such a product — I sure have not. Sure enough, I just went to eBay and found a four piece dog food serving set including a dog food knife, fork, spoon, and can cover made by a maker named Betterware out of the United Kingdom.

Yes, that was a silly example. Yet, in the world of web marketing, there are few true niche products and your competition is just a click away. This means that your offering needs to be different than the rest of the pack. While else would anyone choose your product over another?

Without sounding obvious, it would be best to find a way to differentiate your offering. A competitive advantage can be built on just one attribute or feature such as price, color, delivery lead time, packaging, quality, performance, or brand.

For a pure commodity, this may not be easy. But, without this differentiation, the online market is just an auction.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.

For many products and services, the field is cluttered with similar or the same alternatives. When that is the case, marketing is reduced to a war of price and delivery—this translates into low margins and fickle customers.

For example, seemingly every real estate agent in the country markets his or her self as the top selling agent in the city, county, or country. They refer to themselves as a “million dollar producer” or the “top agent for 2008”. Besides sending the same message as virtually everyone else, the message is not believable—how can all agents be the top producer?

Instead, market your uniqueness or your special knowledge and skills. If you are a real estate agent and have expertise in horse properties, that makes you very unique. The horse property buyer wants a real estate agent who understands their special equestrian needs such as knowledge of livestock zoning laws, location and access to equestrian trails, and the need for a large, flat parcel (horses prefer not to climb hillsides!).

This specialized message about your knowledge or skills is testimony of your distinctive competencies, which are the foundation elements of your competitive advantage. By focusing on a unique market segment, it actually becomes easier to sell your product or service. In turn, your special skills create satisfied customers who will happily refer you to others. Satisfied customers often will also pay a premium for a great product and service. And, so it goes.

Celebrate your uniqueness not your sameness.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2009 All rights reserved.