Niche Marketing Lesson for Your Business from a Burger Restaurant

By Cheri Alguire

Now in the current market and more than ever, you may be tempted to define your clients as any and every one who walks past you down the street. Everyone needs a place to live, right? Concerns over the economy and a desperate need for lead generation may persuade you to apply the salt-shaker method of marketing: sprinkle it all over and hope that something sticks! But this panic-mode thinking could be the biggest mistake you make all year, resulting in wasted time, money and resources.

In order to get the most of your marketing efforts, in this economy especially, you need to follow the rules of niche marketing. In-N-Out Burger fast food restaurants are a perfect example of niche marketing. Never meant to appeal to everyone, never meant to take over McDonalds’ or Burger King’s market share, this successful hamburger joint has a limited menu consisting of only three different sandwiches: the hamburger, cheeseburger, and the "Double-Double" (double meat/double cheese.)

Though times have changed since the chain opened its first restaurant in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California, little has changed at In-N-Out. The menu - burgers, fries and drinks - is still the same basic menu customers have always enjoyed. Have they expanded their menu to have other kinds of sandwiches and entrees? No. Loyal burger eaters know that when they want a good quality burger, IN-N-OUT is the place to go. They do not spend marketing money advertising the latest Chicken Sandwich Spectacular because they don’t have one. They focus on what they do best.
As a small business owner, what lessons can you learn from IN-N-OUT?

Now is exactly the time to refocus your time, money, and resources in a similar manner. When all three may be in short supply, it only makes sense to concentrate on your niche, the group of people most assured to bring you certain returns, the group of people you want to work with and concentrate on.

If you don’t know them already, choose who those people are.

• Who best benefits from the specific services you offer—and deliver--better than anyone else?
• Who already has benefited from your services and is now a “Raving Fan?”
• Who do you know who “talks up” your services and serves as your Goodwill Ambassador?

After you have determined the WHO, analyze the WHERE.

• What do these groups you have identified have in common and where do they come from?
• Are those who benefit most from your services within a certain age group? Geographic location? Job or organization?
• Those who are your Raving Fans are clearly past clients and referrals, but where do you find them now?
• The Goodwill Ambassadors are clearly your sphere, but where do you find them? The family tree? The immediate neighborhood? Church? Clubs?

Then of course, you must apply the HOW. How will you reach that target once you have identified it? If seniors are the most likely to respond to your services and inventory, you will probably not concentrate solely on internet strategies But similarly, if you have a Gen-X or Y population clamoring for your services, you need to be well established with the latest technologies, communication platforms including social media networking sites, and expertise. Know how to reach your clients and where to spend your time and money.

And remember your goals. If you are planning to double your business within the next five years, then the HOW must include the resources you will need to market to and service your niche.

Don’t succumb to the fear that if you don’t court every potential client, you won’t have any clients at all. Make your niche as carefully designed a part of your business plan as your budget. If you focus your time and resources and serving the burger-loving clients the best way you possibly can, you will attract more of the same. Leave the chicken-lovers to someone else.

This is the true key to Niche Marketing!

--------------------------

Coach Cheri Alguire has helped thousands of super small business owners and real estate professionals find their niche. Find about her book Branding & Marketing Mastery or her business planning guides at http://www.CheriAlguire.com

Discovering Your Niche Market

By Cheri Alguire

How many times in your business have you heard, “You need to choose a niche”? While nearly everyone talks about the benefits of a niche and that they need to find theirs:

• How do you really choose a niche?
• How do you know the right one?
• Will you really like it?
• Will it prove profitable?
  

For me, in the beginning it seemed to boil down to one critical question: How was I going to attract clients?

I understood finding my target audience from the marketing I had done in my previous businesses. After hearing the speakers, taking the classes, and reading the books about the importance of choosing a niche, I began to understand that to really have effective advertising, my business and marketing plans must start with a clear idea of what my niche market would be.

I am a business and life coach for Real Estate Professionals. Okay, there are still a million Realtors in the United States, but to be honest, when I first began coaching I thought that niche was too narrow. I knew there were other Real Estate Coaches out there. All I could focus on was the overwhelming feeling that came to me in trying to figure out how was I suppose to compete with the other coaches with that same niche. So, I decided I wasn't going to limit myself. I decided I was also going to work with small business owners. They were kind of like real estate professionals since they both had small business and I had owned several small businesses in the past. I knew there were a lot of small business owners out there.

I also told myself I didn’t want to get “bored” working with just Real Estate Agents. Now, several years later, after working with hundreds of real estate agents, brokers and managers, I have found a couple groups of ideal clients that excite me: real estate moms looking to balance their business and their life, busy real estate professionals looking to efficiently manage their time and brokers or agents looking to build an effective team.

Sometimes you chose your niche and it works out from the beginning. Other times, your niches evolve as you and your business change and grow.

------------------

Coach Cheri Alguire is a Business Coach who works with Real Estate Professionals, Small Business Owners, Moms, and New Coaches. To find out more about her new book: A Guide to Getting It: Branding & Marketing Mastery please visit http://books.cherialguire.com