What is a Niche Market?
Is This For You?

Before we can answer the question, what is a niche market? -- it’s important to define a niche.

What is the definition of niche?

“Niche” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition) is defined as: “a situation or activity specially suited to a person’s interests, abilities, or nature.”

Translation to your work: It fits you! You fit it! You’re respected and appreciated for doing what seems natural to you, and amazing to someone else. You are energized by the tasks and activities involved. This job seems to be an extension of you. You wake up in the morning excited because you have work to do and you can’t wait to get started!

Hopefully, you’ve found your niche in real estate sales. When you work a job that suits your personality and skills, the rewards are endless -- you are doing what you love.

What is a niche market? For me... it's doing this -- creating this website. I’ve found MY niche in marketing and graphic design. Sharing my knowledge and experience in real estate marketing is what I love to do. I’m passionate about helping people be successful and this is an excellent opportunity for me to do that.

OK, OK, enough of the gooshy stuff. I’ll get back to subject at hand.

What is a niche market?

“Niche market” as defined by Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English, Preview Edition is: “a specialized and profitable part of a commercial market; a narrowly targeted market.”

Keyword translation – “specialized”: A specific group of potential customers that you are naturally drawn to and vice versa. Working within this group allows the fullest expression of your skills, talents, and knowledge. You find this group easy to communicate with; you have a natural understanding of their character; and empathize with their needs.

Often times, finding your niche market can be easy if you look from within your personal experience. This is where you’ll find your passion.

“Profitable” is an important key…

If your niche market can’t sustain the lifestyle that you are looking for then you have a couple of choices. Find other resources for the sales you need until the niche market develops, or don’t choose THIS niche market. Find another or move on without a specific niche. You can still make a lot of money without working a niche market.

Sometimes, as you gain experience and refine your customer list, your niche finds you. Remember… just as you are drawn to your customers, your customers are drawn to you and the services you offer.

OOOHH! Wait a minute. The definition said, “narrowly targeted market!?”

Uh, oh... did you hear that ominous music? oooooOOOOeeeeeeooooo.

Don’t be scared… The concern that often frightens agents away from employing a niche market in their business is this part of the equation. You may say, “I don’t want to limit my ability to make money by working with too few potential customers.”

For the most part this is an illusion! If the “profitable” part is intact, you can actually make more money this way. That is if you know how to find your niche customers.

The reality is… when you are operating from the most natural place for you with the people that you are most interested in, the possibilities for financial growth are limitless. All you need to do is focus on serving your customers well, translate your offers into the language of the niche, and be willing to find out how to reach more of these people.

Besides, you can still get business from people outside of this specialized group. Not everyone in your potential customer list is in your niche market. Plus, you will probably receive referrals from your niche market customers. They care about other people outside of this group and the ease with which you served them will leave them very happy. Happy customers refer you to other people they care about. That is the way it works.

You may find that you have too much work to take on customers outside of your niche. Wouldn’t that be GREAT! Too much work!

On the other side of this, if you insist on developing your niche market even though it doesn’t appear profitable, you will need to do more research on how to reach the people within this segment who have the money and are looking for your services.

The more difficult it is to reach the people, the more costly and time consuming the process will be to get what you want out of this choice -- if it’s possible at all. But, this is YOUR business… make it work for you.

Are you looking for a real estate marketing niche idea?

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