Finding Your Niche
Four Steps to Segmenting Your Marketing Solutions
In a shifting economy, sales professionals often make one of two common mistakes: They either cast too wide a marketing net, trying to be all things to all people while spending entirely too much money, or they shut their marketing efforts down altogether in an effort to wait out market conditions and save a few pennies. Want a better way? Find your niche.
 Niche marketing is not a new concept, but it certainly is an
important one for getting the best results and highest return on
your investment. Defining a market segment that makes the most sense for you, fuels your days with passion and purpose, and focuses your efforts with surgical precision is a must if you want to excel in today’s competitive times.
So take a page from Jim Collins' book Good to Great, and recognize that the great in ANY industry focus on being the best in the world at ONE THING, then go make your niche that one thing!
1. Pick a niche. No, not any niche, but one that suits you. Make a list of the things that interest you most, things you are passionate about or even an area or neighborhood that interests you. Perhaps you love the feeling of helping first-time homeowners realize the dream of home ownership. Maybe investors with their strategies are intriguing to you or, if you are a boater, maybe working with like-minded people who love the open water is the right match.
I know dog lovers who bring their passion for man’s best friend into their marketing to others who also are crazy about their canines. There are horse enthusiasts effectively marketing to horse-friendly communities. There are many REALTORS® who love nothing more than to celebrate community heroes such as police, firefighters, teachers and military personnel and extend special benefits and services to those demographics.
Whatever your hot button is, find the niche that motivates you to strategically focus your energy and marketing plan around making yourself the 'go-to' agent for that market.
2. Know your subject. Once you’ve chosen your niche, do your homework. Find out everything there is to know about your demographic and, more important, find out what their psychographics are. In other words, what do they think and care about? Where do they do business, shop and live? The key to targeted marketing is to speak as specifically as possible to your audience.
Let’s take teachers as an example. For the most part, they are passionate about education, child programs and policies, and they likely work overtime to bring their personal best to the students they teach. Reach out to your local schools by contacting administrators or PTA/PTSA presidents to inquire about being a business partner. Sponsor teacher appreciation events, or offer to conduct a first-time homebuying seminar for the entire staff. The nice thing about working with teachers is that it also makes you a visible resource to the parents, as well. With class sizes nationwide ranging from 20 to 30 or more students per teacher, that’s a nice bonus. Read an in-depth article about working with teachers and PTAs Click Here.
Whether you target teachers, doctors, lawyers or Indian chiefs, the point is to thoroughly understand what your clients are about so you can best speak to them and their needs.
3. Think and act expansively. There are niches of every conceivable shape and size, all with their own demographic base filled with quirks, perks and opportunities. Certainly, owning a neighborhood and making that your specialty is an important and profitable niche category. Now is a great time to think outside the "block," if you will, and consider some additional groups that could represent a whole new avenue for you:
- CPAs. These local number crunchers very often have clients who—for one reason or
another—need to invest in tax-friendly solutions (real estate comes to mind) or liquidate
assets such as homes.
- Attorneys. They, too, find themselves with clients who—because of divorce or other circumstances—need to sell a current home and sometimes buy two separate ones! They also deal with estates that need to close on property in order to finalize their probate.
- Medical professionals. Doctors and the tight-knit family of medical professionals found in and around local hospitals and private practices meet a variety of people every day. By nature of their business, they often develop strong, trusting patient relationships that span generations. Do you think maybe every now and again they are asked questions such as, “Do you know anyone in real estate who could help me?” You bet they do!
All of these smart individuals also have a book of business that they need to stay in contact with on a regular basis so that they can ensure a healthy referral base, and many of them have risen to the top of their game and may be looking for investments or homes of their own!
Ready to find your niche market? Simply visit www.dataleader.com and click on business records. There you can select any one of these demographics and even pick up a few new ones!
Now imagine reaching out to these local business men and women and initiating a dialogue such as: "Hello, Joe Accountant/Attorney/Doctor! My name is _________, and I first want to say that I admire the reputation you’ve built in our community. Your commitment to safeguarding the interests of your clients/patients is widely known, and I want to let you know that, as a professional, I share that same standard in my own business.
"As a top area REALTOR®, I meet terrific people every day and have a large BusinessBASE™ of clients and customers, many of whom I have come to call good friends. That’s probably not unlike you and your business.
"In speaking with the VIPs in my book of business, I am often asked who I would recommend in the field of accounting/law/medicine. Because of that, my team and I are interested in building a small but effective referral network in which we can share not only referrals, but also any valuable information we come across that can positively affect one another’s business. Our network includes doctors, attorneys, CPAs, several local restaurant and small-businesses owners, builders and more.
"In today’s economy, networking and synergy are as important as breathing when it comes to building and maintaining a healthy business, don’t you think? I’d love to have lunch with you to discuss the possibilities! I have Tuesday or Friday of next week available; what does your calendar look like?"
4. Take the Road Less Traveled. In a shifting market—or in any market, for that matter—instead of going head-to-head with the best in your entire geographic area, why not take the road less traveled? Pick a niche that works for you, develop a plan of action to consistently and repeatedly stay top of mind with that target market, and win where it counts month after month and year after year: in the hearts, minds and loyalties of your client base.
So pick a niche, and make it your own. Just because "the cheese has moved," "times have changed" and "the market’s shifting" doesn’t mean you have to be out of business. Move, change and shift with it all, and you will find yourself in the good company of top producers who don’t let economic roller coasters curb their productivity. Have fun, find that new door to open, and remember: We’re here if you need us!
To learn more about how to develop a strong niche market, master the fundamentals of marketing and put the systems in place to thrive in ANY market, contact Julie Escobar
today at 866.405.3641. |
Dear Customer: Who do you want to be this spring? Will you invite the "rain" into your career each day and see the opportunities a changing market creates, or will you focus on the dark clouds above your head? The choice is yours! Come on... join us for a rain dance!
April's Agent in the Spotlight:
If you know someone who is are unafraid to speak in front of audiences and eager to make a difference in the lives of agents in their marketplace, then please have them contact us today!
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