With a few week’s having passed since Valentines, dating site sign up numbers will experienced a boost. The Monday after Valentine’s Day sees a bump in numbers on dating sites across the board. Match.com reports a comparatively large uplift of 15% in communication on its site and OKCupid sees the same increase in sign ups. As just two of thousands of dating sites that have flooded the dating industry in the last 20 years, they have both built brand identity and a huge user base from the early days.
Finding your niche
Without the advantages of having a long-established brand people recognise, successfully entering a crowded market place, in any industry, requires a unique take on an existing product. One way to do this is by finding an angle that’s still niche and offering something that none of your competitors do .
Staying with the dating example, Gluten Free Singles, Uniform Dating, and Purrsonals (if you really love cats), answer specific interests.
In any crowded marketplaces, new entrants to the market have a hard time gaining the number of customers they need to survive. Once a wave has hit, and duplicates start to appear, they struggle to break through unless they’re offering a better price. In the dating world.
Tinder bypassed this plateau partly by allowing users to connect their accounts with Facebook profiles and providing a sense of staying within your own network. They offered something completely different, and that’s why it worked.
Think about that in terms of the business that you run. Is there something that gives you an edge that you’re not promoting enough? Do you offer something that a select group of people would find useful? If so, it’s crucial to let those people know and possibly reposition your business slightly to do so. Even though you’ll be targeting a smaller pool of customers with a specialised business, you’ll be able to build up a level of trust that many larger retailers struggle with. Your customers will begin to see you as a specialist source of knowledge, ideas and products.
Whatever your business, here are four tips to make it more niche and attract the right kind of customers:
1. Do your research. Google AdWords and sites such as answerthepublic offer the opportunity to find out exactly what people are searching for when it comes to your industry. Use this as your starting point and then run some face-to-face sessions with your selected group to find out what they want.
2. Know your specialism – and prove it. Seems obvious, but potential customers look for clues as to whether you know what you’re talking about. Think about asking existing customers to give you a recommendation on your website or consider guest writing for a trade magazine. You can also start researching specific competitions, events and award ceremonies that you can get involved with.
3. Don’t be tempted to branch out with your products. Once you have successfully repositioned your business to be more specialised, the temptation to broaden your offering can be great. But this can dilute the trust you’ve built up with your niche group and cause you to start competing with bigger businesses, with more resources. Instead look to expand in different ways, such as another branch, or shipping internationally.
4. Make the most of the customers you have. Your best chance of sales come from the customers that you already have, so remember this when it comes to promotions and after sales care. Send them updates on new deals and offers in return for recommendations
So whether it’s telematics for delivery fleets, or first dates for people who love to cook, there’s a wealth of business success to be had by getting more granular with what you offer.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Kia Fleet sponsor of the Guardian Small Business Network Accessing Expertise hub.
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