Five Steps to Finding Your Niche

by Laura Culver, Director of Sales Development, InTouchToday.com

You’ve read articles extolling the virtues of niche marketing. First time buyers; loan products; geographic farming, you name it - every one of them highly lucrative if you just tap into them. It sounds so easy. You glean tidbits of how to build a niche from those articles, and use the ideas to try and implement what you’ve read.

So why haven’t you experienced the level of success that others have achieved and shared in their articles? The simple answer… you only got part of the story. If you want to exploit a niche to its fullest, there are 5 steps you’ll need to take. Five steps that will help you develop a plan to identify the right niche for you. Five steps that will help you determine your interests, whether what you’re interested in is actually viable and how to proceed to make your idea a profitable reality. (You can download a chart to help you work through these five steps: Realtor Niche Chart

If you’re interested in pursuing this idea of niche marketing and in the process of becoming known as an expert, achieving a higher level of success and taking your business to the next level, then you’re ready to do the work. The five steps are:

• Step 1. Identify your passion.
• Step 2. Identify your interest in potential niches.
• Step 3. Determine the viability of those niches you’re interested in.
• Step 4. Assign a score to those niches that are most viable and prioritize them.
• Step 5. Determine your budget, choose your marketing products and identify vendors who can provide fulfillment.

If you take the time and thoroughly complete each step you will have a greater probability of success with the niche(s) you choose. So unlike some of your colleagues who may bounce from idea to idea you will have a well thought out plan that you can implement.

Step 1. Identify your passion.

Don’t succumb to the temptation of skipping this step. If you take the time to identify your passion then the niche you choose will be the right one for you both professionally and personally. Answer these three questions to identify your passion.

1. What excites me?
2. What makes me feel like I’m making a difference?
3. What makes me feel good?

Write your answers down so that you can refer to them as you complete the other four steps. Remember… a career based solely on the premise of making money is devoid of passion. Find your passion and you will feel good about the way you spend your working hours.

Step 2. Identify your interest in potential niches.

Once you’ve identified your passion, use that information to choose niches you’re interested in potentially pursuing. There are 4 categories of niches and many specific niches within each type. The 4 niche types are:

1. Geographic
2. Consumer
3. Loan products
4. Housing

To identify the niches you are interested in potentially pursuing, complete the Niche Interest Survey included at the end of this article. Simply check all the niches that are of interest to you. For now leave the Viability and Priority columns blank. You will fill those in later.

Step 3. Determine the viability of the niches you’re interested in.

Now that you’ve identified potential niches that fit your passion, complete step 3 to determine whether these niche markets are viable in your community. For each niche that you expressed interest in, you’re going to complete some research to identify which niche markets will provide you long-term growth and profitability. You may be tempted to skip this step - don’t! By answering these questions for each niche you indicated your interest in, you are ensuring that you won’t waste your time and money.

There are a series of general questions and niche specific questions that when answered will make determining whether a niche is viable or not very clear. Answer the general questions for each niche you research.

General Questions

• Which competitors (identify 2-3) are currently exploiting this niche market?
• What types of marketing techniques are these competitors using?
• What could you do to improve upon their efforts?
• What types of marketing products/techniques do you want to use? Approximate your monthly cost.
• How many prospects are you planning to reach each month?

Geographic Questions

• What is the rate of turnover in the area you’re interested in prospecting? To determine the turnover rate you have to find out how many homes are bought and sold in the area you want to prospect each year.

Consumer Questions

• According to the census or other local statistics, what percentage of the population that you’re interested in marketing to are currently living within your community?
• What is the projected growth rate of this segment of the population during the next 2-5 years?
• What do you need to do to reach this market? Think about materials translation, locating an ethnic referral source partner, contacting the Registrar’s office of the local college.

Loan Product Questions

• What benefits can you provide to potential clients in this niche and/or professional referral sources who also share an interest in targeting this market segment?

Housing Questions

• Who could you partner with to successfully market within this niche? (Builders, lenders)
• What is the rate of growth within the housing industry for this niche? What is the projected rate of growth for the next 2-5 years?

Professional Referral Source Questions

• Interview 2-3 professional referral sources to ask what’s important to them when working with real estate agents. Identify systems and processes you can put in place to help the referral sources you work with succeed.
• Who could you partner with to successfully build your business?

Step 4. Assign a score to those niches that are most viable and prioritize them.

Once you complete the research for each area you indicated interest in, you’re ready to assign a score to those niches to identify their viability. Go back to the Niche Interest Survey and assign a number (1-5) to indicate viability. A 1 indicates a low viability and a 5 indicates a high viability.

By assigning a viability score you can quickly see which niches are most viable within your community. For each priority that scored a 4 or a 5 on the viability scale, assign a priority. If all your interests score a 5 for viability, then prioritizing according to your interests will provide the direction you need to move forward.

You may decide to assign the same priority to one or more niches. As a result, you may have more than one niche that you want to pursue. If you have niches with the same priority, compare the niche and what you learned about your passion. Does one niche more closely match with your passions?

Assigning a priority can make it more clear which options to pursue immediately and which to pursue in the coming year. By choosing just one niche this year you can allocate the appropriate funds to effectively market throughout the year. You can also devote adequate time and attention to working your chosen niche.

Step 5. Determine your budget, choose your marketing products and identify vendors who can provide fulfillment.

Now that you’ve chosen your niche, one that’s the most viable and aligns the closest to your passions; you’re ready to finalize your plan. Create a spreadsheet and list your niche on the left. Next to it list one possible marketing product you could use to reach this niche. Put each product you list on a separate line. In the next column list the monthly cost for each item. In the final column, list potential vendors who can provide fulfillment.

When choosing a direct mail marketing vendor, ask the following questions:

1. Do you have to sign a contract for services?
2. What is the cost? Remember to include shipping, postage rates (if assessed separately), setup charges and handling fees.
3. What is their turn around time?
4. How would clients rate their service?
5. Do they offer mailing campaigns that are a year in length?
6. Do they offer a wide variety of products so that you can do one-stop shopping?
7. Can the mailing program be done automatically so that you don’t have to manage the mailing details each month?
8. What type of response rate can you expect?
9. Do they do the work in house, or do they outsource parts of the process (design, printing and mailing)?
10. What happens if something goes wrong? How will they resolve the issue?

Conclusion

By using these 5 steps, you have taken a strategic tack about which niche you want to pursue. This ultimately will save you time and money and will result in less wasted effort. Instead of relying on luck or “falling” into a niche, or having your niche dictated by what’s available in your community, you have taken the steps to choose a niche which will serve your passions and build your business. Now that’s the way to choose a niche!

Copyright In Touch Today Corporation. All rights reserved. Laura Culver is Director of Sales Development for In Touch Today, 800-433-3755. The company offers an extensive line of prospecting postcards, door hangers, Power Point presentations, magnets, notepads, brochures and wallet cards to meet all your niche marketing needs.