One of the questions commonly asked by entrepreneurs on the Internet is about what should be first, the products and services to market, or discover the needs and desires of a niche or target market and then generate such products and services. ?
Niche markets are portions of a market segment in which their members have common or homogeneous characteristics, that is, they coincide in their needs and wishes on a specific topic. In turn, these characteristics allow us to deduce if there are business opportunities for such niches that have not yet been covered by the suppliers of products and services.
As an example of a market niche we can name all those people (natural or legal) who want to know about specific topics such as: care of pets, sales techniques, water sports, marketing on social networks, etc.
When we are going to start a new company we must reflect on the question that we initially asked, do we create the products and then look for their market? Or rather, do we analyze the market (niche) and then generate the products and / or services that are not yet being served?
To answer this, I would first like to clarify that the Internet is not a means of mass marketing (to everyone in general) for the simple fact that millions of people use it, on the contrary, the correct thing on the Internet is to do niche marketing. This is because in this medium people search for specific terms of what they want or need and obtain the related results, that is, they do not receive and / or accept anything that is being "transmitted" sequentially, but everything works in parallel, with which people consume what they require in a very specific way and that is what they are hooked on.To the extent that we are able to meet the specific needs and wants of a group of people eager to acquire something, then we can be more successful.
When it comes to doing business supported through the Internet, it is best to first know the market niches and inquire about their needs and desires until we discover what everyone is looking for and cannot find, in such a way that we are the ones who find the solution and we will supply it to that market.
Then the big question arises: And where can I find out what are the needs and desires of a niche that represent a business opportunity?
Before starting to research a market, the first thing we must do is identify what it is that we would really like to do or attend to. To undertake any project it is necessary first to feel great enthusiasm and passion for what we are going to do since otherwise we would be failing with the first inconveniences that appear to us since we will see them as great barriers instead of seeing them as simple challenges.
After learning about the topic that we are really passionate about, we must then investigate what is offered on the Internet about this topic, that is, what products and / or services exist? Who provides them? How do they provide them? provides ?, What offers are made ?, What characteristics do they have ?, Do they manage communities in social networks ?, What are their competitive approaches ?, among other aspects. This information must be placed in a tabulated form in order to be able to compare each of the options that we have achieved and thus identify their differences.
The best tool that we can use to carry out this research are search engines and social networks (Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, among others). So we must master the search methods on these sites. It is also possible to use other offline means such as visiting the associations that group our market niche (eg Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Chamber, etc.) as well as reviewing the existing documentation in any other entity that may be related (magazines, books, trends, etc.).
Now that we know the above, with the information obtained we must create a matrix that allows us to identify the Opportunities that we can attend to, thanks to our Strengths compared to the weaknesses that we have detected in existing providers, as well as our own Weaknesses that we must improve and The Threats from which we must flee. This is known as the SWOT matrix (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats) and we must pose it to highlight what will be our Differentiating Market Elements that will allow us to present a unique Value Proposition that seeks to meet those needs and wants not yet covered.
Once we are clear about what our Differentiating Market Elements will be, we must design the Business Model highlighting our Strengths and focusing it on Opportunity attention in the discovered market niche. After this, we can create our Site or Web Portal based on these aspects.
The next step we must do is locate Where are our prospects and / or potential customers ?, that is, Where does our niche meet? What sites do they frequent? What media do they prefer? What communication schemes Do they use ?, What are their customs ?, among other aspects. By knowing the answers to these questions, we will be able to create the dissemination and promotion strategy for our products and services through these means and position our marketing campaigns in these places.
It is important to highlight that in this process we will have not only discovered who our potential clients are but also who our potential competitors are as well as the potential allies that we may have once we propose a complementary proposal (win-win relationship).
By doing these steps we will be able to achieve the success we are looking for since we will be prepared to adequately serve our potential customers, knowing in advance what they want to acquire and how we are going to provide it. For all this it is convenient that we seek the advice of consultants specialized in Internet business in such a way that we achieve our objectives in the best possible way.
Success for all…
