Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - How To Identify, Exploit, and Profit From Niche Markets
A tremendous amount of time, money, and energy is invested in corporate America teaching customer service reps and other associates how to avoid, reduce, and remedy conflicts with customers.Examine the classes offered by giants in the training industry, and you’ll always seem to find something pertaining to “Dealing With Conflict & Difficult Customers.”It’s an appealing title, to be sure, and robust registrations will support such offerings.But it’s all based on a faulty premise: That the major impediment that needs to be addressed, remedied, overcome, is dealing with angry people.What if customers aren’t angry?Wouldn’t this make most of these efforts misguided, if not utterly wasted?Wouldn’t that mean we’re prescribing the wrong medicine for what ails us, and them?Consider this alternative explanation. When customers call in, u
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real m
Managing a Six Sigma team is a considerable responsibility. Six Sigma is a team process and requires cooperation at many levels. No one person can manage a Six Sigma project on their own. Just as it is the organization that benefits from Six Sigma, it is the organization that truly manages Six Sigma. Yet, that management must be led by specially trained individuals.Success in managing Six Sigma teams begins with the top of the organization. Company leadership must give the teams the resources and the authority to apply Six Sigma concepts to their daily activities. They must also ensure that organizational goals are aligned with Six Sigma projects and that any roadblocks to Six Sigma deployment are removed.The proper selection and training of Six Sigma team leaders is also critical as they have the most direct responsibility for managing the Six Sigma team. A Six
There is only one cost efficient way... the rifle approach.
By carefully selecting specific niche markets, or market segments, and presenting a compelling message directly to that audience, you will begin to reap the real profit rewards of direct marketing.
First let's define a "niche" market. I define it as: "Any homogeneous market in which the members of the group have similar occupational, interests, or lifestyle characteristics... those characteristics being ones which would make them an excellent prospect to benefit from your services... and/or consume your products.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF TARGETING OCCUPATIONAL MARKETS FOR A "WELLNESS" NICHE...
Some of the niche markets are obvious:
* Chiropractors
* Medical Doctors, Nurses
* Health Food Stores
* Fitness Centers
* Spas, Health Retreats
* Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, etc.
* Veterinarians, Pet Clinics, Pet Shops (wellness is not limited to humans)
NICHE LIFESTYLE AND DEMOGRAPHIC RELATED MARKETS...
=> Senior citizens or "baby boomers"
=> Specific Disease Sufferers... cancer, diabetes, arthritis, ADD, Lupus, etc. (Remember, we can make NO claims.)
=> Pre-natal, Pregnant Women, Babies, Parenting
=> Sports participants and enthusiasts
=> Health & Fitness Buyers
=> Vitamin, Supplement, Remedy Buyers
=> Etc. Etc.
HOW TO TARGET THE NICHE...
Regardless of how you intend to approach the niche with your marketing message... print advertising, broadcast, direct mail, e-mail marketing, etc. ... you have to identify resources that can supply the targeted pathway for your message.
The first place to look... and a pure qualifier for whether you have identified a real niche in the first place... is to look for magazines and other print media (newsletters) that are targeted specifically to that defined market... and that can supply you with targeted mailing lists (snail mail or opt-in email) , print advertising vehicles (magazines, newsletters, newspapers, trade journals, etc.), to cost effectively reach the niche.
Where do you find these resources? The easiest and fastest way is to do a search at Google (or your favorite search engine) for terms that closely identity the target audience.
For purposes of example let's use the occupational niche of Chiropractors:
Searching Google for "chiropractic magazines" will show us a link... http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/journal.shtml ... which will in-turn identify several publications which show promise:
* Chiropractic Economics
* DC Products Review
* Dynamic Chiropractic
* Today's Chiropractic
Once you have identified several publications that serve the niche market, your next step is to contact each publication and request a "full media kit" from the advertising department. The publications ad department will send you a copy of the publication, advertising rate card, and other marketing materials touting the advantages of advertising with them.
SELECTING MEDIA...
Study the contents of the media kit carefully. Especially look at the ads which could be considered competitors for your product. If you are lucky enough to live near a large university or public library here is a trick used by many savvy advertisers... go the library and see if there is an old copy of the magazine in question. Go back at least a year or two. If you find the same advertisers in the old publications you can safely assume that the publication is pulling a profit for their advertising. This is not fail-safe... but it is a good indicator.
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real me
Many years ago, I spent quality time with aunts, uncles and grandparents. My grandparents went to church and read the Bible. They worked hard and they lived a hardy life. Those are the lives grandchildren want and need to know about. I truly enjoy writing email to friends and relatives that have been around all my life, and my grandchildren get a kick out of reading about the things we did. There may be changes in the world, but people are still people.In 1973 a couple of my cousins joined with 21 other members of my mothers family and wrote a genealogy book. It's something that I've enjoyed reading. For each member of the family, there is a blurb written about things they did in their lives. Under my great grandpa it told about him moving west and homesteading in Iowa. His family, from the old country were wealthy. But, where he was born and raised in West Virginia, he
* Medical Doctors, Nurses
* Health Food Stores
* Fitness Centers
* Spas, Health Retreats
* Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, etc.
* Veterinarians, Pet Clinics, Pet Shops (wellness is not limited to humans)
NICHE LIFESTYLE AND DEMOGRAPHIC RELATED MARKETS...
=> Senior citizens or "baby boomers"
=> Specific Disease Sufferers... cancer, diabetes, arthritis, ADD, Lupus, etc. (Remember, we can make NO claims.)
=> Pre-natal, Pregnant Women, Babies, Parenting
=> Sports participants and enthusiasts
=> Health & Fitness Buyers
=> Vitamin, Supplement, Remedy Buyers
=> Etc. Etc.
HOW TO TARGET THE NICHE...
Regardless of how you intend to approach the niche with your marketing message... print advertising, broadcast, direct mail, e-mail marketing, etc. ... you have to identify resources that can supply the targeted pathway for your message.
The first place to look... and a pure qualifier for whether you have identified a real niche in the first place... is to look for magazines and other print media (newsletters) that are targeted specifically to that defined market... and that can supply you with targeted mailing lists (snail mail or opt-in email) , print advertising vehicles (magazines, newsletters, newspapers, trade journals, etc.), to cost effectively reach the niche.
Where do you find these resources? The easiest and fastest way is to do a search at Google (or your favorite search engine) for terms that closely identity the target audience.
For purposes of example let's use the occupational niche of Chiropractors:
Searching Google for "chiropractic magazines" will show us a link... http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/journal.shtml ... which will in-turn identify several publications which show promise:
* Chiropractic Economics
* DC Products Review
* Dynamic Chiropractic
* Today's Chiropractic
Once you have identified several publications that serve the niche market, your next step is to contact each publication and request a "full media kit" from the advertising department. The publications ad department will send you a copy of the publication, advertising rate card, and other marketing materials touting the advantages of advertising with them.
SELECTING MEDIA...
Study the contents of the media kit carefully. Especially look at the ads which could be considered competitors for your product. If you are lucky enough to live near a large university or public library here is a trick used by many savvy advertisers... go the library and see if there is an old copy of the magazine in question. Go back at least a year or two. If you find the same advertisers in the old publications you can safely assume that the publication is pulling a profit for their advertising. This is not fail-safe... but it is a good indicator.
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real m
Are you someone who makes lists of all the things you need to do? At the end of the day when you review your list, are you disappointed because you haven’t accomplished as much as you would have liked. Does this sound familiar to you?We hear a lot about time management and how we need to organize ourselves and manage our time more effectively. In order to regulate our time, new ways of thinking and being need to be developed. Our attitudes and beliefs need to be identified and at times altered in order to make beneficial changes. We need to develop self management strategies. When we manage ourselves better we tend to be less overwhelmed, more productive and happier.There are various models for time management. One is making daily and/or weekly lists, then prioritizing which items are the most important and tending to those first. Of course the challenge
The first place to look... and a pure qualifier for whether you have identified a real niche in the first place... is to look for magazines and other print media (newsletters) that are targeted specifically to that defined market... and that can supply you with targeted mailing lists (snail mail or opt-in email) , print advertising vehicles (magazines, newsletters, newspapers, trade journals, etc.), to cost effectively reach the niche.
Where do you find these resources? The easiest and fastest way is to do a search at Google (or your favorite search engine) for terms that closely identity the target audience.
For purposes of example let's use the occupational niche of Chiropractors:
Searching Google for "chiropractic magazines" will show us a link... http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/journal.shtml ... which will in-turn identify several publications which show promise:
* Chiropractic Economics
* DC Products Review
* Dynamic Chiropractic
* Today's Chiropractic
Once you have identified several publications that serve the niche market, your next step is to contact each publication and request a "full media kit" from the advertising department. The publications ad department will send you a copy of the publication, advertising rate card, and other marketing materials touting the advantages of advertising with them.
SELECTING MEDIA...
Study the contents of the media kit carefully. Especially look at the ads which could be considered competitors for your product. If you are lucky enough to live near a large university or public library here is a trick used by many savvy advertisers... go the library and see if there is an old copy of the magazine in question. Go back at least a year or two. If you find the same advertisers in the old publications you can safely assume that the publication is pulling a profit for their advertising. This is not fail-safe... but it is a good indicator.
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real m
Reports on the economy frequently lead into a discussion about the level of job creation. Yet few details are ever revealed about what new jobs have been created. One 21st-century job goes unmentioned. One forward step in the effort to improve job creation evolved from the creation of knitting machines.Knitting machines operate under the control of the knitting machine operator. These individuals process yarn or thread and work it into a 3oven or knit fabric. Sometimes the operators of the knitting machines manage to weave the yarn or thread into fine lace or delicate hosiery. On occasion, the operators of the knitting machines set-up and adjust the equipment. Always these operators need to inspect the product coming out of the knitting machines.Armed with the knowledge that knitting machines have created a new career the knitting machine operator vocational trai
* Chiropractic Economics
* DC Products Review
* Dynamic Chiropractic
* Today's Chiropractic
Once you have identified several publications that serve the niche market, your next step is to contact each publication and request a "full media kit" from the advertising department. The publications ad department will send you a copy of the publication, advertising rate card, and other marketing materials touting the advantages of advertising with them.
SELECTING MEDIA...
Study the contents of the media kit carefully. Especially look at the ads which could be considered competitors for your product. If you are lucky enough to live near a large university or public library here is a trick used by many savvy advertisers... go the library and see if there is an old copy of the magazine in question. Go back at least a year or two. If you find the same advertisers in the old publications you can safely assume that the publication is pulling a profit for their advertising. This is not fail-safe... but it is a good indicator.
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real m
You have a scant few minutes to make an impression on a new prospect whether they're visiting your website or you're meeting face-to-face. Your prospects are busy people who are bombarded with messages trying to sell them products every day. Stand out from the crowd. Make your impression memorable by leaving behind valuable information to encourage your prospects to seek you out again and again.To be remembered by that new prospect or the last visitor to your website leave something valuable behind. And I'm not talking about business cards here. Or sales literature. They're way too easy to ignore and toss in the trash.The simplest way to be remembered is to create a marketing tip sheet. Tip sheets are easy to put together and don't take a lot of time. To create a tip sheet, think about how your customers will benefit from your product or service and and create a
Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call an existing advertiser, or two--or ten, and ask them how the publication pulls for them. Direct competitors will be reluctant to talk with you about this... but non-competitors will usually respond with some good information.
Be alert to the difference between "circulation" and "readership". Only make your advertising decisions on the basis of verified circulation. Readership is a figure that publications like to toss around to inflate the perceived importance and size of their audience. The only real measure worthy of your consideration is their "audited circulation".
TESTING...
Only test one niche publication at a time unless you have very sophisticated ad tracking available to you. If the niche is unresponsive to your offer in one publication... there is a very good chance that it will be unresponsive in all the other publications which address that niche. Refine your offer... and test the same publication again. If it fails the second time with a completely different offer... then you might want to re-evaluate that niche.
MAILING LISTS...
Make sure that you inquire as to whether or not the publication will rent you their mailing list.
Most will rent you a set of subscribers names for a one-time use. If you rent a set of names... do not attempt to copy and re-mail those names. The lists are seeded with trace names that will alert the publications of your re-use of the names. It is a violation of the terms-of-use agreement and there is much case law to support the claims of the publication. If you are caught re-using one-time-use rental names you will be subject to fines and penalties by law.
Names are usually available by specific "sorts" or "selects"... that is, you can select names by such variables as zip code, gender, title, etc. If you are mailing to a niche market you may want to confine your original test mailing to zip codes which are close to your own... to make follow-up easier and less costly.
Names which reflect paid subscribers are more responsive and of better quality than names which are "free controlled circulation" names... although in most trade publications you will find that "controlled circulation" (free) is the norm.
Another way to approach logistics of direct mailing is to contact a "list broker" or "lettershop" in your local area and begin a relationship with a knowledgeable staff person. Define closely what you are looking for in the way of target audience and the broker will use seek out and present options for you to select from.
If you are dealing with email lists... make absolutely sure they are from double opt-in subscribers. Push the media reps for verification of this point and get guarantees to that effect in writing.
You may want to subscribe to Target Marketing Magazine, Direct, DM News, Catalog Age, and other direct marketing trade publications... all are free. They are full of marketing resources, list brokers, and helpful articles that will educate and inform you on the field of direct marketing.
Well, there you have it... a primer on targeting niche markets. The techniques described above will work to identify any niche. Targeting responsive niches will build your business quickly, profitably... and cost effectively!
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/29037/casualarticles-How-To-Identify--Exploit-and-Profit-From--Niche-Markets.html">How To Identify, Exploit, and Profit From Niche Markets</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/29037/casualarticles-How-To-Identify--Exploit-and-Profit-From--Niche-Markets.html]How To Identify, Exploit, and Profit From Niche Markets[/url]
Related Articles:
Six Warning Signs That You Need A New Developer
True North of Your Career Search: Creating a Professional Mission Statement
How To Determine Your Customer's Value
Bookmark it:
|