One of the first steps to business planning is determining your
target market and why they would want to buy from you.
For example, is the market you serve the best one for your
product or service? Are the benefits of dealing with your business clear and are
they aligned with customer needs? If you're unsure about the answers to any of
these questions, take a step back and revisit the foundation of your business
plan.
The following tips can help you clarify what your business has
to offer, identify the right target market for it and build a niche for
yourself.
Be Clear About What You Have to Offer
Ask yourself: Beyond basic products or services, what are you
really selling? Consider this example: Your town probably has several
restaurants all selling one fundamental product—food. But each is targeted at a
different need or clientele.
One might be a drive-thru fast food restaurant, perhaps another
sells pizza in a rustic Italian kitchen, and maybe there’s a fine dining seafood
restaurant that specializes in wood-grilled fare. All these restaurants sell
meals, but they sell them to targeted clientele looking for the unique qualities
each has to offer. What they are really selling is a combination of
product, value, ambience and brand experience.
When starting a business, be sure to understand what makes your
business unique. What needs does your product or service fulfill? What benefits
and differentiators will help your business stand out from the crowd?
Don’t Become a Jack of All Trades-Learn to
Strategize
It’s important to clearly define what you’re selling. You do
not want to become a jack-of-all trades and master of none because this can have
a negative impact on business growth. As a smaller business, it's often a better
strategy to divide your products or services into manageable market niches.
Small operations can then offer specialized goods and services that are
attractive to a specific group of prospective buyers.
Identify Your Niche
Creating a niche for your business is essential to success.
Often, business owners can identify a niche based on their own market knowledge,
but it can also be helpful to conduct a market survey with potential customers
to uncover untapped needs. During your research process, identify the following:
- Which areas your competitors are already well-established
- Which areas are being ignored by your competitors
- Potential opportunities for your business
Source..... sba.gov
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