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niche … 1. A recess during a wall, as for holding a statue. 2. A cranny, hollow, or crevice, as during a rock. 3. A situation or activity specially suited to a person’s abilities or character. 4. Ecol. a. The set of functional relationships of an organism or population to the environment it occupies. b. the world within a habitat occupied by an organism.
The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition
For years I struggled with the concept of niche. I knew that choosing the proper niche market was considered essential to business success, yet on behalf of me , as for several professionals, choosing a distinct segment felt just like the kiss of death.
When we dig in our heels against choosing a distinct segment , we are probably responding to the primary two definitions above. After all, who wants to try to to business during a hole during a wall or during a tiny, rocky place? If you think that defining your niche market means choosing a tough , cramped, and confining space, no wonder you resist.
People who bring their heart and soul to their work will resist niche marketing that tells them they need to restrict the ways during which they provide value to the planet . the great news is that choosing your niche market will do precisely the opposite: it'll free you to be the most important , most authentic, and most complete offer possible.
Consider the third and fourth definitions of niche. once you check out niche during this light, you'll see that you simply r perfect niche market is that location or domain during which you're most readily accessible to the people that are presumably to profit from (and thus value) the offer that you're and during which you are simultaneously most liberal to exercise your brilliance.
Your niche market is that the place during which you've got a natural competitive advantage because you occupy the proper place within the right ecosystem.
A good niche market is one in which:
-- you're highly visible and simply accessible to the people that are presumably to profit from your work, including prospective clients and customers, prospective collaborators and partners, et al. with whom value-adding activities are presumably to be interdependent .
-- you'll employ the widest range of your talents, skills, and training (your offer.)
There's a paradox in naming your niche market. once you give people a category to place your products or services in, it's easier for them to urge a handle on what you are doing and to recollect it. it is also much easier for them to understand how you differ from other professionals therein category. In other words, by putting yourself during a category, you'll also make yourself stand out because you distinguish yourself from others therein category.
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