Friday, May 05, 2006
The Power of Finding Your Niche
I talked the other day about discovering that my client's business was not really what I had always thought it was (May 3, 2006 blog entry). But I didn't get into the power that that discover brings.
We had always approached the business, MasterVisions Etched Glass Home Decor, as a site that sold home decor and furniture. As such, it was a weak entry in those broad categories.
As a home decor site, it was weak because it sells only mirrors, coat racks and clocks. As a furniture site, it was weak because it sells only coffee tables and end tables.
What sets the business apart is the fact that all the products include high definition etchings (the mirrors, coat racks, and clocks contain etched mirrors, the tables contain etched glass tops) that are far more detailed than is possible with any traditional type of etching.
We've always felt somewhat lacking as a home decor and furniture site because we couldn't offer a wider selection of products. Hey, you can't very well put etched glass in a sofa.
But the research I talked about in the previous post showed us that people didn't come to us looking for sofas and vases and candles. They came to us because we were the ONLY SITE that gave them an opportunity to own high-definition etchings of popular paintings -- or even their own photos. They came to us for a home accent that they could connect with more than anything they could find on any site of mass-produced products.
So we no longer have to try -- ineffectively -- to compete in a broader category. By discovering what the business really is -- a specialized niche -- we are free to reposition the site as a unique experience where shoppers can find accent pieces that reflect their unique personalities. And we can offer them a personalized experience that the big home decor and furniture sites could never begin to approach.
Planning is still underway on repositioning the site. I'll keep you informed as I make progress on it. But I expect it to free us to focus visitors on the advantage that our niche gives us over the general purpose sites instead of leaving us hoping that people wouldn't notice the areas in which we fall short.
And I expect that change in focus will result in a decided boost in sales. Yes, there is value to finding your niche!
Jeff
I talked the other day about discovering that my client's business was not really what I had always thought it was (May 3, 2006 blog entry). But I didn't get into the power that that discover brings.
We had always approached the business, MasterVisions Etched Glass Home Decor, as a site that sold home decor and furniture. As such, it was a weak entry in those broad categories.
As a home decor site, it was weak because it sells only mirrors, coat racks and clocks. As a furniture site, it was weak because it sells only coffee tables and end tables.
What sets the business apart is the fact that all the products include high definition etchings (the mirrors, coat racks, and clocks contain etched mirrors, the tables contain etched glass tops) that are far more detailed than is possible with any traditional type of etching.
We've always felt somewhat lacking as a home decor and furniture site because we couldn't offer a wider selection of products. Hey, you can't very well put etched glass in a sofa.
But the research I talked about in the previous post showed us that people didn't come to us looking for sofas and vases and candles. They came to us because we were the ONLY SITE that gave them an opportunity to own high-definition etchings of popular paintings -- or even their own photos. They came to us for a home accent that they could connect with more than anything they could find on any site of mass-produced products.
So we no longer have to try -- ineffectively -- to compete in a broader category. By discovering what the business really is -- a specialized niche -- we are free to reposition the site as a unique experience where shoppers can find accent pieces that reflect their unique personalities. And we can offer them a personalized experience that the big home decor and furniture sites could never begin to approach.
Planning is still underway on repositioning the site. I'll keep you informed as I make progress on it. But I expect it to free us to focus visitors on the advantage that our niche gives us over the general purpose sites instead of leaving us hoping that people wouldn't notice the areas in which we fall short.
And I expect that change in focus will result in a decided boost in sales. Yes, there is value to finding your niche!
Jeff
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