Niche selling or niche marketing is something that, in retail, you hear bantered about frequently. I believe the terms mean different things to different people and they’re meanings are, perhaps, a little fuzzy around the edges. One online dictionary defines niche like this: A special area of demand for a product or service: “One niche that is approaching mass-market proportions is held by regional magazines” (Brad Edmondson).
Niche selling is important to the success of any retail store. Finding a niche is one of the things that will separate you from your competitors and that distinction or differentiating factor may be the advantage that puts you over the top.
First understand that niche selling can refer to a product, a category within a department, a department or your entire store. A key point is that you provide a product that is either unavailable elsewhere in close proximity, you provide that product with greater expertise, you provide a wider range of that product or you provide it at a better price than other competitors in your area. It is through one of these differentiating factors that you become the customers’ choice for the product you are featuring and it becomes your niche.
How do you decide on a niche for your store. Start by looking to your heart. If within your store’s product offering you find something you are passionate about that’s a good place to begin. Often passion will fuel study, study will produce expertise and expertise will produce demand. I heard once, don’t remember where, that if you become the most knowledgeable person within 100 miles about almost any subject, your expertise will be in demand. You want your niche category to be in demand…master it.
When contemplating developing a niche and niche selling several things should be considered here:
- Is the product closely related to other products you’re currently offering so that your current customer base will fuel the early success of your endeavor.
- Do demographic reports indicate sufficient demand for the category?
- Assuming your store is currently full where do you begin to free up the space? What are your opportunity costs. If you’re unsure where you should begin with this process watch this video first.
- How are your competitors positioned in this category?
I believe all stores have a niche (probably several). If they didn’t I don’t think they’d be in business. But I also believe that by giving thought to what your niches are and what you’d like them to be is a positive use of time. Instead of trying to be all things to all customers, develop expertise specialization in fewer things and you’ll draw customers from farther distances. In this way you may become a destination store for your specialty and your niche selling explode.
