Have you ever heard someone say: ‘I wish I could find…’. Well, that is often a clue as to what’s missing in the marketplace. Sometimes the things you take for granted could be a great niche product idea. What you find commonplace, others may find special.
So, how then do you identify gaps within the market?
With lots of market research of course! By improving your strategy, you could capitalise on niche, but important, demographics of consumers looking for new, exciting, and valuable products.
Find A Need
A viable product or (more likely in this case) style of artwork, depends upon having a market that it appeals to. If there aren’t buyers out there willing to buy the product, it’s essentially not worth selling.
Your first step is to determine if there are valid buyers for your product, or not. Market research is an important phase to conduct prior to releasing your product. Visit forums related to your chosen niche to ascertain what kind of products or artworks consumers desire – or are already buying. Can you see a gap in the market, or can you improve on it in some way?
By solving a problem that your audience has, you are likely to garner more business than by providing a generic alternative to something that already exists.
Play To Your Strengths
To be sustainable, your niche should be something that you are interested in. Let’s be frank; you’re more likely to put time and effort into something you love, than something you’re not passionate about.
Think to yourself, am I still going to be happy doing this in five years’ time? Do I have the means and the time to allow this to grow? Identify what skills will help you succeed in this venture and use them to your advantage.
You may have in-depth knowledge on a particular subject. Consumers appreciate this, as a high level of expertise provides additional value to a product. It also gives them reason to trust your product.
A Unique Approach
Finding a niche means differentiating yourself from others in the market, i.e. what can you do differently that people can’t find somewhere else?
Buyers are attracted to something that has its own point of view. It’s not about changing yourself to become something that a buyer wants, it’s adapting what you already have to be more attractive to consumers.
Buyers can see through insincerity. They tend to connect more with artists who lay bear their souls, or have a unique story. Maybe your products are all made from sustainable materials, or perhaps your artwork is strongly influenced by your cultural background. These are all points of difference that consumers readily identify with.
Do Your Own Market Research
There are several common tools that you can utilise to assess your buyer demographic to ascertain their needs. Firstly, Google Analytics can help you to determine who is buying your product, when, and where. Secondly, you may choose to develop and send out surveys featuring relevant questions for data analysis. The main goal of these surveys should be to ascertain the needs and wants of your customers, which you can then tailor your product to.
You could also look at popular keywords related to your niche. This will alert you as to what your potential buyers are searching for (and probably purchasing).
Lastly, it’s important to research any potential competitors that you may have. What do they lack? What are their strong points? By identifying these positives and negatives, you can use these points to your advantage.
Self-Evaluation
While it’s good to look externally, it’s also beneficial to do an internal evaluation. Assess the sales of your previous work – is there a piece that sold well? Ask yourself, why do you think it sold well? If you can pinpoint why something was successful, that’s half the battle! Perhaps it had more commercial appeal, or maybe it was something different or unusual. Whatever your answer may be, it should influence how you approach your future projects.
Stay Up-To-Date On The Latest Trends
It’s important to keep in touch with the market to notice how it evolves. Try to pre-empt how it will change by evaluating what trends are worth paying attention to or investing in. Identify what is shared on social media, printed in publications, and promoted by influencers.
There are plenty of fads that come and go, so remember to think long-term.
Work Hard
Nothing can be expected to happen overnight. Any business needs hard work and dedication to succeed. Apply your knowledge and work hard to sell and embody your uniqueness and you may just find a niche market in the process!
