- Your marketing strategy will determine whether you start big or start small
- Niche marketing allows you to target a group of people who are more likely to purchase your product or service
- Mass marketing reaches a larger audience, but does not always result in greater returns
Developing a marketing strategy is a necessary step any business must take in order to quickly find customers and generate sales. Your overall strategy can follow one of two routes: appealing to a wide audience in the hopes of attracting a large number of people to your product or service, or focusing on a smaller audience that may be more likely to purchase what you’re offering.
Niche marketing
Niche marketing focuses on a target group whose needs and interests are most likely to align with your company’s products or services. You don’t need to focus on just one group; a single product can easily appeal to multiple different audiences.
Your niche should not simply be your field of work, but rather focus on a specialty. For example, a marketing strategy aimed at those in need of home renovation will still cast a wide net; saying you specialize in restoring historic properties allows you to target niche markets, such as museums and people living in historic residences.
Niche marketing is often the most effective way for startups to begin advertising your company. It can be more effective in bringing interested people to your business than mass marketing, and it allows you to build a customer base without drawing too much attention from competitors. Niche marketing is also less expensive than mass marketing.
Mass marketing
Mass marketing aims to reach the largest possible audience and let them know about your business. Some examples include TV commercials, radio advertisements, billboards, and flyer campaigns.
When effective, mass marketing boosts awareness of your company and brings in a substantial number of customers. If you reach thousands of people with a mass marketing campaign, you’ll still see an upswell in activity even if only a fraction of them decide to patronize your business.
The main downside to mass marketing is that it’s very expensive. There will also be greater competition for the same audience, so you risk mounting a costly campaign only to find that the increase in sales does not offset the cost of your marketing.
Once a company has employed niche marketing and grown more successful, it can switch to mass marketing to try to reach a large audience. Mass marketing may also be more successful at the outset if your company offers a product or service that appeals to a wide range of people.
