🔍 How to Identify Your Niche Market in 5 Simple Questions...

5 questions to effectively target niche markets: Determine entry points and educational resources used, identify their purchasing habits and decision-makers, and explore potential partnerships with existing providers. Engage with niche individuals for deeper insights and better service strategies.

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Ok, so your product has a few users, and now you’re ready to diversify and maybe serve a larger audience. But some of your personas and potential target markets are quite niche and hard to pin down – like CEOs, high-net-worth individuals, board members to voluntary organisations like home owner’s associations, parent-teacher organisations etc.

You know, people that would cost a fortune to try and reach with blanket advertising…

First off, you’re not supposed to be in this situation – that’s what your concept validation, discovery, scoping and go-to-market plan is for. But do not fret, there is actually a framework for it…

Questions for pinning down a niche audience

1. Via the entry points
   1. How do they start in this job/membership?
   2. Where’s the entry point? How do they join or get appointed? There might be some more formal structures around how and where someone gets into the niche you’re targeting.
2. Via industry bodies or academic institutions
   1. Where do they get education on how to perform their duties?
      Almost every industry has bylaws and regulations that incumbents have to adhere to. If you can find out how and where the official overseeing structures communicate and educate your market, you might find a foot in the door.
3. Via another product
   1. What products/services do they already buy?
      And whom do they buy it from? How do they use it?
4. Via a co-worker
   1. Who on their team has the decision-making/buying power?
   2. Who has the final say in what products and services they should use?
5. Via a partner
   1. Are there any other companies already serving them?
   2. Because the easiest way to reach a niche is to align yourself (i.e. strike a deal) with an existing player that’s already dealing with them on a day-to-day basis.

Bonus tip: Sometimes hiring some of their service providers (i.e. the freelancer that writes for them etc.) could give you goodwill with the service provider to do an intro. A word of caution, however, it’s not a guarantee.

Action plan: If you can’t find this information readily online, then approach a few of the niche people/organisations you can find in your area, and ask them those 5 questions. If you can speak to 5–10 people already within that niche target audience, you should get the info you need.

Then just repeat the process: align with others already serving them and boom, foot in the door.

Battling to infiltrate a hyper-niche market? Hit reply and let’s see if we can add some ideas…

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