There'due south a saying: "If you're talking to everyone, you're talking to no one." Information technology rings truthful, perchance more today than e'er before. Mass-marketplace advertising and marketing campaigns do merely that — market to everyone. So they actually can't be considered targeted campaigns.

At that place are some slogans everyone recognizes:

  • "Look more than. Pay less."
  • "The ultimate driving automobile."
  • "It's everywhere you want to be."
  • "When yous're here, yous're family unit."

Did you recognize those? Love them or not, you lot know them. (And only in case you weren't quite sure, they were from Target, BMW, Visa, and Olive Garden, respectively.)

Mass marketing isn't correct for every product or service. Marketing agency pricing, lack of specific targeting, and lack of focus on specific teams tin hateful that mass marketing tin miss the mark for today's teams. Modern marketing tools have evolved in capability and decreased in toll to the indicate that marketing messages can be spread farther and wider than before, which can be a double-edged sword. It's great to reach lots of people, but sometimes it's meliorate to market to one group and practice it exceptionally well.

If yous tin can focus on one chemical element of the market place, a subset, and put all your efforts there, that's finding a niche for your product or service. And niche marketing, where you undertake specific strategies to speak solely to your niche audience, offers some cardinal advantages. Who, what, when, where, why, and how, y'all ask? Well, let'southward swoop in.

Find your niche

Who?

Niche marketing is mayhap best described as a strategy to target a specific segment of the overall market and share letters that will resonate with that specific audience. A niche market can be found by looking at demographics (age, gender, marital status), hobbies, job roles, income, life stage (college student, parent of a immature child, retiree), geography, and more.

What?

Niche marketing is hyper focused and highly personalized. That usually ways it's hyper effective likewise, since people beloved personalization.

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(Source: Photo by David Paschke via Unsplash)

When?

Anytime! Use niche marketing strategies when a company is launching, when information technology's being reinvented, or because a niche market is exactly what the brand was designed to accost.

Where?

Online, in person, word-of-oral fissure, by post, via text — the options are virtually endless. One tip: Personal engagement tends to be most effective, so in person and give-and-take-of-oral fissure niche marketing strategies will probable return greater results.

Why?

Brands that use niche marketing may accept successfully identified a market that isn't existence served, or may detect their product or service is used in a new way by a market they didn't know existed. It'south frequently used by straight to consumer (D2C) companies. Think infomercials, newly popular shoe companies, Etsy sellers, that kind of matter.

How?

In that location are many ways to implement niche marketing: give-and-take-of-mouth campaigns, direct mail, social messages, targeted events, and more than. Permit'due south talk about some successful niche marketing examples. Some of these brands are familiar and some may surprise you...

10 successful niche marketing examples

1. Pabst Blue Ribbon

One of the nigh successful examples of niche marketing, an "hugger-mugger" campaign revived and re-popularized an older brand. It began organically, with bicycle messengers and "hipsters" in Portland, Oregon drinking, talking, and spreading the word near Pabst Blue Ribbon. PBR heard about information technology and a marketing manager engaged with the fans in Portland. He visited bars and passed out swag (like keychains and pins), and PBR began sponsoring small events similar bike races that the PBR lovers participated in. The company specifically took a dull, measured, depression-fundamental arroyo. Word spread, similar demographics in other cities began doing the same things, and a visitor that wasn't even considering itself to be a competitor to major brands similar Anheuser-Busch and Coors saw sales ascent. The brand institute its niche market, experienced a make resurgence, and continues its campaign today.

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(Source: Photo by Michael B. Stuart via Unsplash)

ii. Whole Foods

You likely don't recollect of Whole Foods as a niche business organization, but it targets affluent, conscious consumers who place a premium on health and wellness. Not anybody wants to spend their "whole paycheck" on groceries and so information technology's definitely a niche market place. Whole Foods focused on organic foods before you could find organics everywhere. The fizz continues today, as stores host events to innovate new products and the brand maintains its epitome as a luxury shopping feel. Shoppers trust the make to deliver quality. In fact, one of the chief reasons Amazon acquired Whole Foods was to access their customers, in role because of their loyalty and buying power.

iii. Foursquare

Y'all know Foursquare — the little white square (run into what they did in that location?) that small businesses, non-profit organizations, and independents can plug into their telephone or tablet to process credit card transactions. It tapped into a niche market that may non have the resources to pay processing fees to credit card companies only notwithstanding need that functionality to service their customer base of operations. It's a practiced example of "right product at the right time." Customers of those small businesses know and trust Square (especially since it hasn't been hitting by any information breaches to appointment) and appreciate that receipts tin be emailed instead of printed. The company has expanded its customer base of operations and now offers hardware and other services likewise. By empowering small businesses, this business organization has grown too.

4. Powell'due south Books

Powell's Books is known every bit the "legendary independent bookstore," which is becoming a niche business in today'south online globe. Powell's sells both new and used books in its enormous flagship store, where you need a map to navigate the aisles. The company embraced the Internet instead of fighting it and implemented a detailed social media engagement program with great use of hashtags. Powell's contributes to a multitude of online discussions and forums well-nigh books and sponsors local events with authors and giveaways. The company is known effectually the country for its expertise in its niche.

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(Source: Photograph by Jessica Ruscello via Unsplash)

5. Facebook

Wait, that's not a niche product! In its electric current form, no, but Facebook launched equally a highly-targeted niche service: an online site for Harvard students to make connections and share photos. After success on Harvard'due south campus, Facebook expanded to colleges and universities beyond the U.S. And then information technology became the ubiquitous social media platform we know today, available to everyone around the world. This is a prime example of how honing your product or service with a small group of users can ready information technology to launch to a wider audience (if that's advisable or in your plans). And bonus: Facebook is a expert tool to implement niche marketing for your niche product or service.

vi. TaskRabbit

It all began as a service targeting decorated moms in the Boston expanse who needed an extra paw with everyday tasks and errands. The core mission: offer a forum for those who needed assist with tasks and those who could provide that help. From assembling piece of furniture to helping with moving nearly anything you lot tin think of, TaskRabbit was there. Equally discussion-of-mouth spread nigh the ease of apply and amazing diversity of services offered, the user base grew. The company expanded slowly to other cities and connected with its core mission. This is another case of success expanding to a wider audience later testing the value proffer (and working out whatever kinks).

7. Under Armour

Did y'all know this brand started when the founder, a former football histrion, wanted a shirt that wouldn't be soaked with sweat later a few minutes playing football game? He developed a compression shirt fabricated of fabric that stayed dry and invested a few thousand dollars to produce 500 shirts. Those shirts were given to old teammates to effort and they loved them. Word spread, people wanted more than, and the company was born. Information technology has since expanded into many kinds of activewear and footwear but still targets a niche marketplace: those who don't want sweaty clothes when they exercise.

8. Casper and Purple

These are 2 of the leading online mattress brands that sell directly to consumers, eliminating the mattress store "center man." Casper has found success in publishing creative online content that drives organic traffic on related sites as well equally its own website — even when the content isn't specifically about mattresses. Purple harnesses its website and content (again, with some not nearly its mattresses) to deliver targeted advertising to visitors. Purple also created a "coupons" page so potential customers don't leave the site looking for discount codes (and possibly not render). The success of these two brands prove creative content that answers questions about the overall category instead of focusing solely on selling helps drive sales. Online searchers who read a web log post almost mattress types likely call up these niche businesses when they're shopping for a new mattress.

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(Source: Photo by Francesca Tosolini via Unsplash)

9. Lefty's San Francisco

This is a store defended to products for left-handed people — certainly a niche market. While some products are more jokes (left-handed coffee mug, anyone?), at that place are some items made specifically for left-handers. Lefty'due south has only one retail outlet in San Francisco, but it has an all-encompassing online presence. The company makes use of keywords to rank highly in Google searches, and utilizes pay-per-click (PPC) advertizing likewise. Because of those efforts, Lefty'due south has become an practiced resources on left-handed products.

10. Vermont Wooden Toys

Vermont Wooden Toys has been in business for more than 45 years. All of the company's toys are handmade by the owner and founder. All-natural, local woods products and no stains are used to create 125 different toys. While wooden toys have e'er been popular, the visitor experienced a overflowing of interest as a result of a toy retrieve in 2007 due to lead contamination and small magnets presenting a choking adventure. Despite a small spider web presence, an antiquated online ordering organisation only accepting PayPal, and no social media or advertising to speak of, families concerned most safe drove sales to new heights. Its popularity has continued with the spread of conscious consumerism and desire to shop local/U.S.-made products.

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The power of niche marketing

So what have nosotros learned? Hopefully it has become clear that niche marketing efforts can be a powerful tool for businesses focusing on a niche market. Word-of-mouth and online strategies are strong drivers of success, making it possible for even small companies to detect their target market and appoint.

Technology tools similar Wrike tin can assist organizations of all sizes manage projects and move the needle. In fact, Wrike makes it unproblematic to create and implement detailed niche marketing campaigns without losing sight of your larger, overall goals. Plug information technology all into Wrike and keep track on your dashboard to visualize your successes. Sign upward for a free fourteen-day trial of Wrike. And check out the resources below for more insight into niche marketing.

Resource:

  • 9 Niche Marketing Examples
  • The Unlikely Resurgence of Pabst Blue Ribbon
  • How to Connect with a Hard-to-Accomplish Audience: A Niche Marketing Strategy
  • vii Habits of High-Performing Marketing Teams