Embracing a niche in business has always been a move of the “bold.” Most people who are starting out are advised to stay away from narrow niche marketing and traverse the “safer” road of mass marketing instead. While both come with pros and cons, most new brands understand the importance of niche marketing, stating what seasoned entrepreneurs have been saying for decades – from competition to customer loyalty, mass marketing does not hold a candle to niche marketing.
To the “experts” suggesting that niche marketing means reduced business, speaker, mindset and sales coach, and entrepreneur Max Gloeckner says, “Opportunities are everywhere. We just need to be courageous and open enough to go through the door and to start exploring what life has to offer.”
What Is a Niche Business?
Let us step away from preconceived notions and gain an objective view of what a niche business really means. A niche market is a targeted market. A niche can be as narrow or as broad as one wants. Nike’s niche is accessible athletic apparel. For Gucci, it is stylish exclusivity. Gucci will not ever do what Nike is doing, and vice versa.
This applies to the term ‘blue ocean,’ which means a new market with little competition. Blue oceans and niche markets mean you’re not competing but seeing something completely novel.
Gloeckner understood early that Healy World held a lot of potential as a niche business and has become an exclusive seller of Healy devices. Healy devices are microcurrent wellness devices. By using frequencies and low-intensity currents, these devices help alleviate certain types of pain.
Finding the Right Type of Niche
The benefits of serving a niche market are aplenty, but for most entrepreneurs who are just starting out, it might be one of the most complex decisions they will ever make. That is answering the pressing question, “What will be my business’s niche?”
For someone like Gloeckner, the answer was easy. When he first started out in the industry, he was not doing it to make money; he did it to help someone in need. He was thriving in the real estate industry. He was even featured in 4 episodes of the reality real estate show called Top Million Dollar Agent. Money was not everything – Gloeckner was after something more. “It became a powerful feeling to look for something more meaningful and deeper in life,” says the businessman.
Soon enough, he stumbled upon the idea of Healy devices; the rest is history. “We always focus on what the customer wants. Sales is service on the highest level. Always provide value. However, its important to make money and we should look to find a blue ocean or niche where we can make a lot of it—of course only with a product or service that creates value for other’s and that you can 100% stand behind selling,” notes Gloeckner.
The lesson here? Listen to your target audience and try to provide a solution to their biggest pain points.
Taking Calculated Risks When Looking for a Niche
While a target audience means increased customer loyalty, lesser competition, and so on, there is a reason why some business experts caution against niche marketing. If it is too narrow and way too targeted, one’s business prospects could go down significantly. And simply because oftentimes it hasn’t been done, but this is exactly where the opportunity lies.
“It is advisable to conduct preliminary market research before dipping your feet in a niche segment to avoid going down because of very little demand. Study the size of the market and the intensity of the problem that you intend to solve. Moreover, live inside the minds of your customers—understand their goals and fears. Think about what they want,” suggests Gloeckner.
Aligning Your Business with Your Values
As you get closer to fleshing out your ideas, it is essential to ask yourself one final question – does my business align with my belief system?
You might be wondering why that matters. Business is business, and if you are helping someone, who cares if your values are not upheld? The more people you serve, the more successful you become.
Max Gloeckner explains this simply: “The very fundamental of any business is energy, and your energy matters. If it is off, it will affect what you sell. In order to succeed, you need to make sure that your personal values are one with your business.”
