Ok, so you have finally made up your mind to build an online store and start selling niche products online. For those who are unaware, niche products are specifically designed to suit the interests, the demographics and the economic status of a target group.
For instance, some companies specialize in making comfortable and cosy beds just for your pets. How’s that for a niche business idea? Or designing shoes that appeal to urban professional women that fall within a certain age group? You get the idea, right?
Don’t worry, if you have aimed for niche products, you have made a good choice. All the successful business owners that you see around you started in a niche. Even Amazon.
You have a much better chance of succeeding by selling niche products to a targeted audience since you know whom to target through your ecommerce website than the general audience. Doing a niche business also means having a much lesser competition to tackle.
But deciding on selling niche products is just one of the many hurdles of creating an online store, and that too a small one. The bigger one includes finding customers online for those niche products of yours.
Because, frankly speaking, encouraging consumers to purchase from you, as opposed to already established online retailers will be a tough nut to crack. Not to mention an already smaller audience to target.
But, that is no reason to be sad, you just need to up your game a notch or two when you build an online store. We understand niche products aren’t every business’ cup of tea but if you can successfully cater your online business towards a niche, there are many benefits to be had.
- Having a limited customer base allows you to serve them better.
- There is generally less competition.
- A niche market is very word of mouth friendly.
- It gives you increased visibility due to its uniqueness.
- And, it requires much fewer resources.
Selling niche products might bring you all these benefits but for that to happen, you need to have customers visiting your ecommerce website. Where to find these customers? Let’s see
Table of Contents
How to find customers for your niche market
Know your niche market inside out
We know your product or service only appeals to a narrow range of audience but that is no reason to be lazy. You should spend more time researching your target market. Because if you are offering a product with limited appeal, it becomes all the more difficult to figure out who your ideal customer is.
In today’s times, simply knowing the basics (such as age, marital status, income, etc.) when you build an online store is not enough. You need to delve deeper and understand the more granular attributes your target markets might have. So, the smaller your online market, the better to need to know your customers.
Solve your customers’ problems
Now that you know most of what there is to know about your niche market, let’s move to the next step. This is more about understanding how your products will fulfil a need that is not met by any other company in your industry. Or in other words, what makes your ecommerce website special and how you will take care of your customers in a different way?
To answer this, you need to understand that your niche market is going to be competitive, if not more so, than the larger counterparts. And because of this, you need to genuinely think of your customers before anything else. Just remember, only by committing to excellence will you achieve the goals of your online venture.
How you deal with advertising
Don’t confuse advertising for niche products with that of regular advertising when you build an online store. The former is comparatively smaller due to its small customer base. And that is why it requires an entirely new approach toward advertising. If you are looking to implement any marketing strategy, you first need to assess its benefits in relation to your online business.
For instance, you may think social media is a good platform for businesses operating in niche markets such as yours, and it is. But if you are planning to use these platforms to target the niche market of yours, you need to reconsider. Chances are, you might end up spending more than intended since the social media platforms understand well the value of these targeting options for your ecommerce website.
Keep tabs on your competitors
For online stores doing businesses in niche markets such as yours, it becomes crucial to know what your competitors are doing. Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to resort to espionage to obtain information about the plans and activities of other companies in your niche. No, we are not in favour of hacking, or any other unethical means.
When you build an online store, make sure to get software tools that are built to sneak in. There are several available in the market. These tools offer competitive intelligence that can yield competitive insights into what marketing strategies your competitors are using, and whether or not they are successful.
Always be open to new opportunities
When was the last time you thought of expansion or of finding out ways to improve what you are selling? Now, we fully understand that you are operating in a niche market with a limited client base and so far, have been doing well with your ecommerce website. But what we are suggesting is, don’t let this be an excuse to sit idle. Explore new opportunities as they come. You can think to open up your own product line or even lookout for new target markets.
Before you hop onto that train, hold on. Expansion is a good idea but at what cost? Is it viable for your business? Can you afford to take a chance on a new product line? If you can answer these and several other questions in positive, who’s stopping you. Just make sure, whatever you try, never compromise the quality of your existing products or the standard of your service.
Listen to your customers
When you’re ready to build an online store, be ready to genuinely listen to your customers as well. We have seen many best-laid niche marketing plans fail just because the owners turned a deaf ear to the customers. And don’t worry about having to ask them about what they think, they will tell you on their own accord.
Have you ever thought of using social media for the purpose? If not, start thinking. It is currently the best for instantaneous feedback on your niche product or service. You can even use it for finding out how well of a job your ecommerce website is doing at keeping your customers happy. You can also consider using word of mouth marketing for the same.
In a niche field such as yours, listening carefully to what others are saying and acting accordingly to rectify your mistakes is the best you can do to serve your customers.
Don’t forget offline marketing
Nothing ever beats the good old fashioned offline marketing, doesn’t matter how much you are enjoying the fruits of the web. After all, you cannot reach every target segment using mobile apps, despite what you thought when you built an online store. Offline marketing is generally good for niche businesses as your customers get to touch, hold, and sample your products.
Moreover, using offline marketing tactics such as pamphlets, business card, etc. helps enhance the physical connection with the brand. And don’t worry about burning a hole in your pocket. There are plenty of ways you can pull this out such as donating discount cards on charities or attending local events as guest speakers. Remember the old saying, where there is a will, there is a way.
Conclusion
As an ecommerce website owner, dealing with niche markets helps you to better target and tailor your marketing skills while expanding your reach cost-effectively.
So, what do you think? Are these tips for finding your customers valuable? Do share your thoughts with us. Meanwhile, check out other related blogs at StoreHippo. And if you have any queries, feel free to reach out to us.
StoreHippo is a flexible and customizable platform that offers comprehensive features to its clients to help them find customers for their niche products and as a result, enabling them to establish a global presence for their brands.
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