A good niche can benefit your business in a variety of ways. It can help you tap into markets that might be crying out for someone to serve them. It can help you avoid direct competition with large, established businesses in the industry. However, finding a niche isn’t always as easy as simply brainstorming up an idea with a difference. You need to know that it’s worth taking the risk in striking out new territory, too.
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Look at it as a customer
Before you start putting on your entrepreneurial hat, try to browse the market as if you were a customer, first of all. This can be as simple as Googling for the products and services that you provide or by looking on social media for those who are already marketing their presence in the industry. This way, you can better see what kind of market and services their branding is speaking towards, which can help you find room to squeeze in between them.
Look at different locations
Perhaps the easiest niche to capitalize on is that of location. It’s becoming a little harder for a lot of businesses due to the fact that the internet is expanding everyone’s reach much more than ever. However, you can use local searches to find businesses that are and aren’t near you. If you find that there are large physical locations that your competition isn’t touching, then that could be just the space that you need to move into. For local businesses, nearer is always better, so long as you’re close to a portion of the market that’s somewhat sizeable, at least.
Get the research in
Don’t just rely on what research you can do by yourself, either. There are analysts who have reams of data available on all markets from the cosmetics industry to the food industry to the hospitality industry and beyond. Access to relevant and recent market research can help you get a much better idea of what the market is currently like. You can see who your competitors are, how they are doing, and markets that might be underserved by them. It’s in that latter aspect that you might find some room for yourself.
Identify new problems you can solve
Not all niches are going to be as simple as finding the pre-existing gaps that your competitors don’t already cover. Some of them might have to be forged with a bit of ingenuity and a mind that’s focused on solving your customer’s problems. Consider the barriers between your customers and the current offerings in the industry. If you can eliminate one of those barriers and it makes a meaningful difference to the customer, that could be a niche in and of itself.
With the above tips, you can hopefully find a niche that’s both rich and untapped. It’s important to understand that you might not be the only one to occupy that niche forever, however, so be agile and be ready to invest what early profits you earn into quick and measured growth.
