Why Their Profitable Niche May Be Your Big Loser

Entrepreneurs choose a target market, but they need to choose you, too.

Photo by Frankie Garcia on Unsplash.

You may not know that Philadelphia’s slogan is “The City That Loves You Back.” Until 1997 we were the “City Of Brotherly Love,” based on the city’s Quaker heritage.

The slogan has been very successful for Philly. And it’s a nice reminder that a relationship — even a short one, even with an abstract entity — goes two ways.

When you’re starting out or when you pivot your business, you’ll be encouraged to evaluate your niche.

You’ll be encouraged to ask questions like, “Are they hungry? Can they afford to pay?”

But rarely do entrepreneurs ask the most critical question: will the market love us back?

First, there’s a simple way to define your niche in a way that helps you create successful marketing campaigns. Successful marketing strategies begin with niches defined by a market’s pain or problem. What’s keeping your audience members from doing, being, and having what they want? Why do they call you? Why now?

For example:

- Financial planners: People aged 35–50 who want to get out of debt, deal with the consequences of identity theft and plan for sending the…