Negosentro.com | Finding Your Business’ Niche and Owning It | For any new business, the most important thing is to find a USP or niche that is unique to your company – something that you do better than any of your competitors. Depending on the niche in which you are operating, the idea itself could be relatively simple, but the delivery is anything but – if you want to do it right, anyway.
There are key factors that you must consider such as your marketing, brand position and your suppliers. In order to know what your customers want; you must first get to know who your customers are. Never release a product before knowing exactly who it is for, otherwise, there is every chance that it isn’t for anybody at all.
Any new business is playing catch up from the beginning unless they have truly found a precious gap or niche in the market. Operating within your means is essential in the early stages of business, so you need to find the right balance without skimping on quality or level of service, which will ultimately decide whether your company sinks or swims.
Suppliers
If your offering is dependent on your suppliers, you need to ensure that any materials are of the highest quality and, if it is a physical offering, take into consideration the location of your suppliers. For companies that sell specialised products that aren’t easily available, it could be a case of sourcing materials from countries such as China. The pros of this are that you can usually find a good price, although this can often come at the expense of long lead times and lower quality.
Not all Chinese products are of poor quality, but you should certainly invest in samples before committing to large bulk orders. If you are happy with the quality, that is when you should invest in as much as you can store to help compensate for long lead times of multiple weeks.
Marketing
Your customers must know who your business is and where they can find you – online and in the street if you have a physical shop. Rather than expecting your customers to come to you, you must go to them, especially in the infancy of your business. That means creating social media accounts for your company, investing in a website and advertisements. Let the people know who you are and where they can find you.
As most people are now active on social media, spending a cumulative 35 days a year on their smartphones, it’s the obvious place to be. Don’t however, make the mistake in assuming that social users are interested in your business or your product because they are not – so why go to the effort, you’re probably asking.
Because while they are not interested right now does not mean that they won’t be in the future. When they are, they need to know who you are. Up until that point, you need to provide a reason for your potential customers to include you on their timelines. Engage with them on issues that are important to them, build a rapport with your following and allow your brand identity to shine through.
Sales
Even with the best price and marketing team, your product ultimately needs to sell. Investing in an experienced salesperson or team will do wonders for your business. Selling is an art form and having someone who can work their magic to introduce your product to those it would benefit from it is highly effective.
Whether your business is B2B or B2C, a good salesman can identify the pain of the customers and work them to seeing your offering as the solution they need. Make sure to supply the very best samples to your sales team so as they can show off your product to the best of its ability.
