You have grown your business by advertising to your niche market. But now your “tried and true” sources are not delivering the same ROI or have maxed out their potential. This could be the best thing that happens to scale your business.
When you stay within your niche, you are cutting yourself off from potential new sources of income. If there are ways to expand the reach of your business, you want to explore them. Taking a step outside your comfort zone can pay off later on.
Marc Zboch, a business expert, shares the ways that businesses can learn to market outside their niche.
Deciding to Market Outside Your Niche
You may find that your sales returns are stagnating. You may notice a general lack of enthusiasm among your customer base. When you have fallen into a rut, this is a good time to consider new advertising outlets.
Look at Similar Markets
The first thing you need to do to create an advertising strategy that goes beyond your niche market is to brainstorm niches that are close to yours. For example, a flooring company may want to look into windows. You can place an insert into each other’s invoices or pay each other a referral fee for new customers.
Consider New Upsell Alternatives
How can you get more revenue from your current customers? While the original product will always have its core use, it is possible to expand its value by expanding its utility. For example, a lawn care company can also offer an irrigation system service contract; mosquito control; lawn fertilizing, and home pest control. A “mow and blow” customer worth $2,500 a year could now be worth $8,000 a year. Imagine if that business could buy competitors and quickly triple the value of their customers.
I did this with specialty insurance products and was able to pay for acquired Companies in as little as 90 days from the added upsell profit.
Look into Different Online Platforms
The Internet allows you to target customers in ways that were never possible before. This may mean looking at new avenues to reach your audience. While you may have had good luck advertising on Facebook, you may have a new market waiting for you on Instagram. If your business serves teens and young adults, you may even want to consider advertising on Snapchat.
Google has become the 4th most profitable US business for a good reason. It’s good at making its advertisers money. Youtube has a giant audience with few advertisers willing to make a video ad. Google retargeting allows you to advertise to your website visitors as they land on other sites. Google display lets your ad show on industry or other websites that your potential customer visits. Pay Per Click allows you to target people searching for information on the product you sell. If your competitors are advertising on these sources then they are making money from it. If they can make it work, so can you.
Repackaging Products
Repackaging your business’s products and services can also lead to new markets. It is a good idea to look beyond the expected customer base and think of new ways in which your customers can use your product or service. For example, a salon may want to start offering day spa packages which can be marketed to a more upscale market.
Think About Branding
Every time you make changes to the way you do business; you should consider what this means for your brand. Your consumer brand is the most important aspect of your identity. While it is a good idea to push the boundaries of your brand, Marc Zboch warns that you should not do anything that contradicts your brand. This could turn off existing customers and make your brand seem weak or fake.
Think about Different Kinds of Advertising
When you are looking outside your niche, it can be a good idea to look for new kinds of content you can promote. If you want to expand your reach, you should consider video, audio or podcasts, and blog posts. This will give your company a good base for online search results. For example, if you are running a hair salon, post a step-by-step video explaining a new hair coloring technique. This can make your business into an authority.
Podcasts are another area that many businesses do not approach because they feel it will be too complicated. A podcast can be as easy as reading a blog post online, or you can go one step further and be interviewed about your business. Many people enjoy listening to podcasts instead of reading blog posts.
Expanding Your Reach
When you expand your business’s reach through creative advertising, you should be able to bring in new customers and revitalize your marketing. Not every push for new advertising revenue will be successful, and it takes some trial and error to discover whether you have made the right decisions. Fortunately many ad sources can be tested relatively inexpensively. With a constantly evolving advertising plan, you will be able to bring in new business while keeping the customers you already have.
Marc Zboch reminds businesses that advertising is only one part of a marketing plan. New advertising ventures should be thought of as part of the plan, drawing on expertise and information learned in other pursuits. Understanding how marketing and advertising work together can help you expand your reach into new markets.
