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Determining Your Niche Market

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If you plan to start an E-commerce business, one of the first things you need to decide on is a niche market.  A niche market is simply a group of consumers you are targeting that have specific needs or interests.  Because these consumers generally partake in similar activities, they are more likely to demand similar products or services.  By focusing on a niche market, you can find a way to discover and meet those particular needs.  In this article we will provide you with a few easy ways to select a niche market and begin your venture with E-commerce.

Place an Emphasis on the Product Before the Marketing Plan

When deciding on a niche, it is better to first settle on a market that has specific needs and then develop products or services to fulfill them.  So many people have failed at online business because they focused solely on marketing a product before finding someone who is actually looking for it.  This failure is typically the result of an insufficient demand or the fact that one or more competitors already have a stronghold over the market.

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While the internet is prevalent, it isn’t the only medium where niche markets are important.  Several companies have gained success by establishing a market and then catering to that specific niche.  Microsoft develops operating systems and other software products based on the needs of PC users.  Adidas manufacturers footwear targeted for the athletic population.  These examples demonstrate how important it is to choose a niche market and then focus your marketing efforts around it.

Selecting a niche market doesn’t have to be a difficult task.  You can begin by focusing on a  market that ties into your area of expertise or interest.  Although the internet allows you to branch out and try many things, it is much easier to succeed with something you are passionate about.  This reduces the learning curve and the frustration that comes along with starting a business.  Instead of viewing it as tedious work, you are more likely to find your E-commerce as fun and hopefully prosperous.  You should also perform deep research in the market you are looking to break into.  This involves checking out competitors to get some ideas on the demand for certain products and services.  Additionally, you need to learn how consumers go about finding these items online such as what keywords they enter into search engines and so forth.

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Where to Find Your Audience

Depending on who you are target, your niche market just be waiting in a forum, chat room or newsgroup based on something you specialize in.  By monitoring the activity in these sites, you can determine the needs of your niche market and discover what is in high demand.  This form of social networking can be quiet valuable to your business.

Settling on a niche market is the first critical step towards establishing an E-commerce business.  This is what sets the model for how your business will operate and develop into the future.  By taking a little time to figure out exactly what consumers are after, you can market your products or services accordingly and increase the probability of succeeding.

Comments

3 Comments

  • Avatar Jen says:

    Some great advice here — make sure you have an audience before you start up. (I mean you could get lucky, but really it’s better to go with facts). You should also check out the competition — even if you’re niche, there’s likely someone already trying to tap into the market. See what they’re doing, and do it better — and see who their customers seem to be.

  • Avatar Todd Palmer III says:

    I would attack finding your niche market the same way just in a little different order. To be honest I would join a facebook group or chat group for the daily problems I was having. In that group people are going to tell you what they like about a particular product and what they hate about a particular product. After gathering enough information to build the perfect solution I then would reach out to a few member to see if they would be interested in purchasing a product that fixes majority of the grips the members have. Its no need to spend time and money developing a product that nobody is willing to buy. It happens everyday and that is the quickest way to “run a failing business.” People ultimately vote with their wallets and if they are truly going to support finding a solution to the problem they are going to put their money were there mouth is!

  • Avatar Gilberto Galea says:

    Very clear and easy, but there’re good applications and soft that help us to find the correct path to find a profit niche market, but without content or good publicity, there’re several factors to affect your success when you put your services or products online.
    And it’s very important that firts right step.
    Thanks,
    Gilberto

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