Define Your Niches by Your Shoppers’ Desires

Among advice most often given small to midsize retail businesses is to develop niches. That’s how to hold your own in the face of much larger competitors, it’s said. Be sure, though, your niche is defined by what the shopper wants. That sounds obvious, and it is. Still, I’ve seen retailers fail because they choose as their niche something they enjoy doing, failing to sufficiently attend to the desires, needs, and demands of their target populations.
     A feature article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel last week provides instructive examples of independent pharmacies developing niches the right way. Here is what the article said:

• Commcare Pharmacy has carved out expertise in programs for people needing dialysis, treatment for hepatitis, and aftercare for organ transplants. The stores carry only prescription drugs, not over-the-counter medications.
• Pride Pharmacy caters to a gay clientele. The welcoming touches include a “patient confidentiality room,” wood floors, and a sea-themed mural. Unlike many larger operations, Pride Pharmacy offers free home delivery.
• Arthur’s Original Pharmacy and Medical Supply is true to their name by not just selling, but also certified custom-fitting items including shoes for diabetic patients, braces, walkers, and wheelchairs.

     Whatever your retail business and whatever the size of your operations, how can you distinguish yourself in the consumer’s mind from the alternatives? As you think about that, here are a few tips:

• Diversify. Never limit yourself to only one niche. A tiny Sunglass Hut store carries accessories. Zappos got their start in shoes and now outfits the body above the feet. On the other hand—or more precisely, on one foot along with the other foot—Amazon will sell you shoes.
• To bring what you love to offer your marketplace closer to what the marketplace wants, cultivate the desire for the niches. Show customers what you think they should be hungry for, then evaluate how thoroughly they buy your pitch and your products.
• Update your niches whenever necessary. Consumers are drifting from the general to the specific, from the one-size-fits-all to the specialty and the customized. In introducing niches, reach out with a line extension and then pull in and eliminate your weaker lines. Avoid abrupt changes in your merchandise mix unless one of your niches is itself defined as always having something new for the customer to consider, as Grocery Outlet and Cost Plus World Market do.

Click below for more:
Maintain a Niche So You’re a Destination Location
Recognize a Need, Then Fill It
Update Your Niche Whenever Necessary