Using a Niche as a Market Strategy

There are two types of Interior Design firms: Those that truly specialize in a particular area (i.e. Kitchen and Bath designers) and firms that use a niche as a market strategy. Let’s focus on the latter, because if you are trying to create a message that appeals to anyone that may be interested in any form of Interior Design, you are spinning your wheels and wasting your resources. The best way to gain awareness is by marketing through the strategy of developing your niche. The biggest objection most have to this idea is that they do not want to box themselves into a narrow offering. However, this is not the case when you use a niche to create awareness.

     Let’s first look at 5 different strategies to develop a niche:

1)   By Industry

There are dozens of industries that you can focus on to develop a market for your company. Here are only a few: Law offices, medical offices, health care, hotels, restaurants, day care centers, yachts and much more.

2)   By Product

Office Furniture, Kitchen Cabinets, Window Treatments, Color, Antiques, Artwork and Residential Furniture are just a few that fall under marketing with a product focus.

3)   By Style

When you sell by style, you sell based on your own unique talent. Examples of style include: Modern, Traditional, Classic, Youthful, Tailored and Elegant.

4)   By Demographic

You can target a certain group of the market such as: Retiring Baby Boomers, Newly Divorced, and those relocating for their work.

5)   By Solution

A clever way to finding your niche is through offering great solutions to common and difficult problems. You can specialize in: Solar Control, Motorization, Home Staging and offering Solutions to the Disabled.

Now let’s address the objection of limiting your offerings and narrowing your market. I propose that you look at each of these niche opportunities as potential marketing strategies rather then a narrow product offering. You can actually have several marketing strategies working at the same time. Your decision to choose any one of these niches is not a lifetime decision. If you find that a particular niche is unsuccessful; you can cut your losses and focus on a new strategy. In fact, as you will soon see, you will want to rotate your niche strategies in order to grow your business.

 The idea of having a niche is to create awareness about your company, and awareness happens when you can create a story. It’s a fact that stories sell, just providing information does not. The beauty of working with niches is that you can create awareness on several fronts at the same time. It is a marketing strategy, not a straight-jacket.

 Let’s try putting together a few marketing strategies based on the above options. You can put together a campaign that appeals to the Retiring Baby Boomers with a message about the importance of color in the home. You have a great demographic and a message about color that will create awareness about your company.

How about appealing to Realtors with the concept of Home Staging? This is a great way to network with Realtors, a great source of potential referrals.

Even if you do specialize, in lets say window treatments, you can generate awareness by taking advantage of the growing interest in smart homes.

 As you can see, using a niche as a way to develop a market strategy is an effective way to bring awareness to the target market that you exist. Look at your strengths and find a strategy that will make the world take notice.