Niche Marketing
...portion (subset) of
a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a
need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. A niche
market may be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers. A distinct niche
market usually evolves out of a market niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.
Such ventures are profitable because of disinterest on the part of large businesses and/or lack of
awareness on the part of other small companies. The key to capitalizing on a niche market is to
find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast
enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already (Wetzler 1).
Niche marketing is the process of finding and serving profitable market segments and
designing custom-made products or services for them. For big companies those market segments
are often too small in order to serve them profitably as they often lack economies of scale. Niche
marketers are often reliant on the loyalty business model to maintain a profitable volume of
sales, this also means that there is a gap in the market (Kotler 362).
Market-nichers avoid large markets and try to be the leader in a small market or niche.
Nichers have three tasks: creating niches, expanding niches, and protecting niches. Multiple
niching is preferable to single niching. In this essay I will identify three "nichers" (firms and/or
brands) and explain why they are "nichers" based upon the criteria in the chapter (Kotler 363).
A niche is a more narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits.
Marketers usually identify niches by dividing a segment into subsections. An attractive niche is
characterized as follows: The customers in the niche have a distinct set of needs; they...
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