Take a Niche, Grow a Mile

This article was written by Kim T. Gordon of Entrepreneur.com. Kim is the "Marketing" coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson.

Most successful marketing tales begin and end with a well-plumbed niche. In other words, the marketer has found the most-qualified group of prospects and motivated them to action. You'll rarely see a company that's risen to the top using a shotgun approach -- targeting a mass audience indiscriminately -- yet this is where many entrepreneurs trip up.

Failure to isolate the most-qualified niche can waste marketing funds, time and energy. I get emails and phone calls from entrepreneurs who tell me "everybody" can use their product or service. The trouble is, even the most well-financed business can't afford to reach everybody at once. And even if they somehow could, their message would have to be so generic that many different types of prospects wouldn't feel motivated to take action.

Just look at the way big businesses individually target their niches. Wireless companies, for example, have marketing campaigns that pitch small businesses, families and young adults. Each of these audiences constitutes a different niche that warrants its own set of campaign tactics and messaging.

Ready to expand into a new niche market? Here are three important steps to get you started:

1. Sharpen Your Focus

Take a long, careful look at your current customer base and divide it into groups with similar characteristics. Figure out what your best prospects have in common. This will define a niche market of individuals who are more likely to become customers or to make repeat purchases. Fine-tune your media buys and target your marketing messages to have the greatest appeal to the core group.