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Bowling for Business: Have a Niche Day

Find a niche market and dominate it

By Kathy Bowling
Monday, June 21, 2010

Have a Niche Day (Photo by Fotolia.)

We recently moved from Running Springs to Lake Arrowhead. And, like any transplant, we were required to transfer our utilities from one home to the other. Ordinarily, this type of chore wouldn't bother me. But my experience with Charter Communications is one for the books.

Our new house is located in a rural area that, believe it or not, does not have cell phone reception. And until Charter arrived to install our bundle pack, which includes cable, Internet and telephone, we were left completely and utterly without the ability to communicate with the outside world unless we leaned out the windows, old school, to yell to passersby.

From the comfort of my aunt's home, which has a working telephone, I repeatedly called Charter to explain our predicament to several seemingly cooperative customer service representatives who promised to indicate our lack of connectivity on the work order.

"No problem. We'll make sure they don't try to call to confirm the appointment," they would say. But, time after time (seven times, to be exact), the technician ignored the written instructions and tried to call before arriving at our house. When the call failed to connect, he canceled the associated order.

Eventually, after I explained the inconvenience of sitting around the house for eight hours a day, seven days a week, unable to shower or walk the dog for fear of missing the elusive tech, a Charter supervisor took pity on me and contacted dispatch herself. Finally connected to the outside world again, we won't soon take the telephone, television or Internet for granted.

You may wonder why the experience didn't lead to our defection as customers of Charter Communications. The answer is my reason for sharing this story—Charter survives despite poor service for one reason alone: they are the only game in town. Now, I am by no means suggesting that you achieve success by providing poor customer service. But there is a lesson here for enterprising entrepreneurs.

Though my family and I could use one carrier for telephone, another for cable and a third for Internet, Charter is the only provider of all three in our neck of the woods (quite literally). So what they lack in customer service they make up for with a superior product. Take a page from their book and find a niche that only you can fill.

For Free—

• Conduct a survey to determine your current customers' unmet needs. A simple online questionnaire will let you know about potentially untapped niches in your area of expertise.
• Ask your clients what additional products and services they need.
• Compare their needs with your resources and abilities and expand your product line to accommodate special requests.
• Define your niche.

On a Limited Budget—

• When you approach a new niche market, it's imperative you speak their language. You should understand the market's hot buttons and communicate with the target group as an empathetic member instead of as an outsider.
• Once you learn their language, take advantage of online communities within your niche, which will allow you to interact directly with potential clients. You can set up or join applicable Forums, Message Boards and Discussion Threads.
• Create an exclusive offer to attract customers to your new product line. Charter's current promotion includes a free cordless phone, available exclusively to bundle pack subscribers.

The Sky's the Limit—

Niche marketing isn't just for small business owners. Look at Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, who saw untapped potential in a simple cup of coffee. Discovering a legitimate niche in the business world is akin to finding a goose that lays golden eggs.

• If you have plenty of resources, use them to study trends and conduct market research to discover untapped niches in your area of expertise.
• If you don't uncover anything, consider switching fields.
• Promote your niche. If you have a legitimate niche, the only thing standing between sales and obscurity is advertising. So, whatever it takes, spread the word.

1. Post it on social media sites.
2. Take out ads in newspapers and magazines.
3. Produce radio spots and television commercials.

Or, if you are a customer of Charter, you might be better off to just yell it out your window.

Until next time, I'll be Bowling for Business.

This article was first published on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 11:17 am. This article has been viewed 512 times.

Kathy is the Chief Operating Officer at Mountain Marketing Group, a boutique advertising and public relations agency located in Lake Arrowhead, California. She has also worked as a staff member, public relations consultant and/or freelance writer for several non-profit organizations such as Azusa Pacific University, the City of Glendora, Foothill Presbyterian Hospital and St. Bernardine Medical Center.

Her writing has appeared in numerous regional and national publications such as A & U Magazine, Christianity Today, Woman's World Magazine, San Bernardino Sun, and Healthwise. Mountain Marketing Group clients include architects, builders, business developers, business consultants, church and para-church organizations, claims management corporations, contractors, financial advisors, real estate brokers, health care practitioners, health & beauty experts and more.

Kathy studied at Azusa Pacific University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a BA in Communication Studies and a minor in Business Administration.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Kathy Bowling.