No matter what industry you’re in, your business will face competition.
The key to finding success is to become a global corporate giant like Apple or Facebook and strong-arm your competition into the ground until they’re left writhing in defeat, begging for a mercy that you know in your heart of hearts you won’t grant them.
Or, you can take advantage of a niche market that has a proven track record, high demand, lots of customers looking to spend money, and a large product pool. These evergreen niches already have competition for you, and rather than that be a drawback, it’s a positive.
If there are already businesses in your niche market, it means there are customers who are fuelling their existence, and money to be made.
The most common mistake businesses make in searching for these niche markets is thinking they have to find a market that NO ONE else knows about.
However, this doesn’t exist.
There are no new niches or completely undiscovered markets to explore and exploit.
There are only niche markets that are new to YOU. And that’s exactly where you’ll want to be.
Before we dive into the most effective ways to find a niche market for your new business, let’s identify why you want to avoid entering a market with zero competition.
If your new market is not being actively marketed, there is a simple reason for that:
There is no money to be made there
Someone else always knows about your niche market first. If the space is emptier than a bowl of lollies at a kid’s party, it’s because there’s no profit to be made there. If there’s no competition, then it is highly likely that there is little demand, few products to promote and no audience willing to part with their money.
That’s not where you want to be!
You want to be surrounded by competition in your niche market. Your competition are signs of life, and in this lush green oasis of commercial activity is where you’ll set up shop.
Are you ready to find a profitable niche market for your new business?
Let’s get straight into it.
STEP ONE – Write down your interests and problems.
You can’t find a niche market that’s profitable without first identifying what interests you, what you’re knowledgeable about, and what obstacles you face in life.
Write these down in three separate lists.
Once you’re done you should have a comprehensive list of the problems you face in life, with your health, your finances, your personal life and any other issues that you feel are relevant.
You’ll also have a list detailing everything you’d be interested in learning more about, as well as a third list covering what you already feel you are highly knowledgeable in.
And there you have it, you’re now an expert at writing lists! We hope you enjoyed this blog.
Hold on, we got sidetracked.
The lists you have will form the basis of the niche market you’ll enter your business in. Your comprehensive list of what you already know, what you’d like to know, and what you’d like to overcome will set the boundaries for you to work within. By combining your interests with your current knowledge you should start to see industries that you feel you’d enjoy working in.
STEP TWO – Spend time wearing your marketing hat.
Now that you’ve identified where you’d like to be. It’s time to identify how these niche markets would work from a marketing perspective.
Make note of your daily routine.
This might include:
- Conversations you have with other people
- What you see on TV, online or on your phone
- The things you hear on the news
- What you read across newspapers or magazines
- The products you use
- The problems you face that slow you down
- The places you go
- The activities you do
Congratulations, you’re now an expert at writing lists! We hope you enjoyed this blog.
NO! We got sidetracked again.
Once you’ve got your list of your daily routine, it’s time to refocus your answers through a marketing lense.
Ask yourself the following important questions about everything you’ve written down.
- Do people spend their money on the activities I’ve written down?
- Do the things I’ve written down make people happy?
- Did I face problems that people would appreciate being solved?
- Are the things I wrote down things that others would be interested in?
Your days spent scribbling notes in your notepad have led up to this moment.
If any (or all) of your answers to the above questions are ‘yes’, then you have a niche market idea.
STEP THREE – Examine the latest markets across popular websites to figure out which one suits you best.
The point of this step is to identify your competition. Remember, competition isn’t a bad thing. It’s a sign of a market that is profitable.
This is a simple step, as there are tons of free online resources that give away profitable market information at the click of a button.
Some great examples include:
- Twitter trending: Twitter provides real-time information on what’s trending, based on the number of hashtags accumulated. While this can reflect the latest celebrity gossip or clickbait topic of the day, it’s also a great way to identify hot markets and up and coming products before they go mainstream.
- Google Trends: Similar to Twitter trending, Google trends shows the daily/weekly/monthly search interest of Google users. Go to https://www.google.com/trends/ and scroll down to the ‘stories trending now’ feature. From here you can sort by categories to find those relevant to you.
- Amazon.com: The World’s biggest retailer, Amazon is a goldmine of niche market information. Simply choose the ‘All’ tab on the search bar for a detailed list of categories. While these reflect the choices for consumers, they’re also conveniently broken down niche markets. Each category can be broken down again into sub-categories (or sub-niches) so you’ll have a clear idea of what products exist in each category.
- Google suggest: Let’s say you have a vague idea of the market you’d like to target, for example ‘diets for women’. Type ‘diets for women’ into Google’s search bar without hitting enter. Wait for Google to make suggestions based on your search and you’ll have a range of niche options within your niche option! As ‘diets for women’ becomes ‘diets for women over 45’, ‘diets for women pills’, ‘diets for women programs’, and so on, there’ll be no shortage of ideas.
Once you’ve compiled a list of your potential competition and begun to identify a market where you see an opportunity, you’ll be able to ask yourself the important questions.
- Could you rank for keywords in this market?
- Could your business differentiate itself and stand out in some way?
- Can you create a unique offer that others could not?
Remember, a profitable niche market will have…
A high level of people searching for your niche ideas.
A variety of products within that niche market that sell well.
A number of people paying to advertise to stand out.
A significant amount of online activity in the form of blogs, forums and social media profiles.
LET’S SUM UP WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
By now you’ve figured out what interests you and what’s holding you back. Between those two concepts is where you’ll find a home for your new business. Once you’ve approached this space through a marketing lense, you’ll have seen where there’s a realistic place for your business to solve the problems of consumers. Finally, you’ll have seen where your (soon to be) competitors are already looking to provide answers to those same consumers.
In just three simple steps, you’re ready to decide where to launch.
Remember, there are no completely new niche markets, and you should look for markets with existing competition, as that reflects profit.
However, there are always sub-niches within niches, so getting creative can get you ahead.
Once you find your chosen niche market, create content only for the people within that market.
Don’t try and be all things for all people. You’ve found your niche tribe, now go and provide the products and services they want.
From here the ball is in your court. Develop a website, create a blog, or generate more traffic through social media channels.
The goal is to scale up your new business within your chosen niche market.
Remember, there’s no perfect process to finding a profitable niche market for your business. But do your homework as we’ve shown you, then dive right into it. If you do need help setting up your online presence, we can help.
Good luck!
