If you've been in the Promotional Products Business more than a few months, I'm sure you've heard about the controversy concerning whether niching is good for your business or not. It is my goal to inform you of the opportunities behind niching and why niching may not be helpful to your business.
First let's discover a few reasons why you might choose not to niche. Okay, let me come clean right here! There are no valid reasons not to niche! Period! I thoroughly believe in creating a niche in your business. Even if you have a thriving business, you can still add substantial growth to it by establishing a lucrative niche. Niching does not mean that you will turn away business outside your niche. It just means you will concentrate your marketing and sales efforts within a certain niche to make better use of your marketing dollars and your precious time.
Some why should you niche? The number one reason to niche is to poise yourself as an expert in your network of customers. And, frankly, there is no way to become an expert if your clients come from all walks of life. Again, you won't be turning any client away (at least in the beginning). But, you will be able to study your niche and be able to anticipate their every need. Wouldn't it be great to offer a solution to your client before they even knew they had the challenge? This is possible if you study your niche. By reading what your niche clients read, you will know what new trends are on the horizon, know the challenges they are facing and know the movers and shakers in their industry.
Once you become an expert and thus a business partner to your clients in your niche, they will begin to refer you to others in the same industry. While your clients are attending trade shows, conferences, networking meetings and community events, they will be happy to tell everyone who it is that are helping them build their business through the use of promotional products. They'll do this because you have become their business partner - not just another salesman who calls on them! You have become an expert in their industry by knowing the solutions to their concerns, problems, their obstacles and their desired growth!
Stretching your marketing dollars is the second reason to choose a niche. Use your marketing budget to target only those in your niche. This will eliminate the sprinkling of marketing dollars across a broad market with little affect. Rent a booth at a trade show specifically designed for your target audience. As potential clients visit your booth, you will know who your customer is and their general needs before you even know their name!
Making the best use of your time by calling on only those in your chosen niche will have you working more efficiently and effectively. Again, instead of calling on any type of business on a chosen street, you will save time by calling on businesses only of a certain trade. You won't spend endless hours researching products for all different types of businesses and clients. You will have an arsenal of ideas for your client in your niche because you know who they are, what they need and what works in their business. You will be working the proverbial "smarter not harder" method!
So don't continue the struggle with "to niche or not to niche!" Decide which industry appeals to you and get to work building your expert status in that niche today!
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