One major ingredient in the success of any business or organization, and which a lot of them fail to do, is to identify their market niche. A market niche is the same as a target market, or that specific group of people that a business or organization is trying to reach. Every business entity, group, organization, and even churches and ministries need to identify who their market niche is. Everything should start from here.
Once the target market is identified, it is easier to create plans, come up with advertising and promotional tools, and even choose a location for the business or organization. In fact, the name of the business or organization should be geared towards attracting its desired market.
Recently, my husband thought of a cool ministry name, "Kingdom Culture". When he researched on that name at Google, so many other churches came up with that same name. These churches were youth churches or were run by young ministers. This just shows that the name Kingdom Culture is more appropriate for the younger generation. This is its market niche.
I have talked to several church leaders whose main concern was to grow their church. They were puzzled why their church was not growing, despite their attempts to make it grow. And each time I ask the question: "Who is your target market?" they look at me with bewilderment, or they say, "Everyone who needs the Lord". I totally understand that God called us to reach every person for Him, regardless of age and background. Yet, Jesus Himself, during His time here on earth, made it clear that He came for the lost sheep of Israel. That was His target market. Paul, on the other hand was sent to the Gentiles.
I love how Rick Warren planned for his church. No wonder his church became a success. Before he even started with his first church service, he moved around the neighborhood, knocking on doors and talking to the residents. He then came to the realization that most of the people in his neighborhood were yuppies, just starting their families. They were also more laid back. Rick Warren anchored all his other plans to this specific market segment. He sent invitations to his neighbors for his church's first service that fell on an Easter Sunday. He dressed very casually in jeans and basically looked like everybody else. That first service turned into a regular service filled with people that continued to grow immensely. He was able to identify his market niche and was able to successfully tap into it.
There are several factors to consider when you are identifying your market niche. Following are some questions you can ask yourself personally and for your business or organization:
What is it that you want to do?
What are your strengths?
What can you do better than others?
Who are they types of people who you can easily deal with?
Who are the types of people who are more accepting of you?
What is your style?
To what groups of people does this style appeal to?
These are just some guide questions that you can use to finally identify your specific target market. From here you can start building your other plans.
When you have identified your market niche, the next question you need to ask yourself is: "Where are they"? The great benefit about identifying your market niche, before you even find a location for your business or organization, is that you can position yourself exactly where they are. However, if you already have a place and you are just going into the process of identifying your market niche, then it's fine. You just have to know where they are and reach them.
I have a Professional Writing business and one of my main services is Resume Writing. My market niche are graduating students, professionals shifting careers, people who lost their jobs and are applying for new jobs, and military people going into civilian jobs. So if I want to hand out some flyers as part of my promotional tool, I can do that in schools, recruitment agencies, coffee shops, military base, and professional networking group.
Going back to what I previously said, once you have your market niche, it is easier to create succeeding plans such as business name, advertising and promotional tools, and even business location. Everything you do should be geared towards attracting your desired market niche.
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