I am a certified Style Coach, who currently works one-on-one with individuals in person and via Skype. My business is starting to fall off and I think my "niche" is too broad - e.g. women business professionals. Any tips on how to narrow a niche through research would be appreciated! Also any tips to expand online vs. in-person would be great as well.
I studied Psychology, but I’m also certified and experienced in Personal Styling. I love helping professionals in the art and design industries.
It’s usually much easier to find clients who are close to the niche of your circle of friends, your personal interests and your own life style. Think about what is your own clothing style in your personal time not at work.
First you need to know yourself. Who are you? What fashion style do you like and know the best? This can be your speciality and unique niche. Are you Bohemian, Arty, Chic, Classic, Traditional, Glamorous, or Romantic in your style? Maybe you know where to find all hippie, exotic, flamboyant, sexy, sophisticated or preppy clothing accessories in the city. Maybe you are fan of punk, metal or goth music and can dress accordingly. Choose one from your heart.
Who are the people around you: students, artists, public speakers, comedy actors, politicians, people the LGBT community? Your specialization can be also just helping others find their own personal style, define individual taste to express who they are in professional and personal life.
Tips to expand online: It is possible to meet clients on Skype. Keep in mind that colours are not represented correctly on a webcam over Skype, but despite that it is still a useful and important tool in this profession. Accompanied by PayPal for business, it could allow you to expand your business to long distance, even internationally. You can also promote your service online with Instagram and a blog of your choice.
Feel free to contact me If you have more questions or want me to assist you in the process of choosing the right niche.
I highly recommend reading the book "Blue Ocean Strategy" that is the best and simplest way to map out the landscape of the marketplace and identify opportunities or methods of differentiation.
If you don't have time to read the book I'm sure there videos out there summarizing and explaining the core principles.
We walk our clients through the Blue Ocean Strategy mapping and simply follow the process in the book, and it's quite powerful and valuable.
I don't know of any other process that VISUALLY REVEALS the opportunity in your market.
The other way is to look at your past clients:
Is there a majority of clients that you worked with that fall into a niche demographic?
Is there a subset of your clients that you enjoyed working with more so than others?
Is there an area of your expertise that you're more passionate about that would lead you to dive deeper into a niche? (IE: career transition, executives in healthcare, women in tech startups, Female executives for 7-figure startups, etc.)
Hope this info helps!
A niche market is a small subset of the market for a specific demographic, product type, a particular price point, and a certain quality. With less competition, you have higher chances to sell your product to the exact right people, that want and need your product. Since your target customer is right there, you will not have to spend as much money on marketing. For start-ups to enter the market and get off the ground properly, they need to place themselves in a relatively small niche. If there are a few competitors, it means that there is a market and a need for your type of product and concept. You can always tweak both your concept, values, business strategies and products to differentiate yourself from the others. If you want to get a reality check, you should visit a trade fair for your type of products. If you are making activewear you can for example visit ISPO Munich, which is the world’s largest trade fair for sports business.
To identify a unique niche in the personal style/fashion community try finding answers to the following questions:
Q.1. HOW do you find your niche market?
Amazons “best seller” page is updated every hour so you will have an exactly accurate list of products to compare with. If you are already in a niche market, you might answer these questions and find that you should remain in your niche or move away into a new niche where the opportunities are bigger for you. Make a long list with ideas, do not edit anything, at least not yet. The more ideas you have, the better it is.
Q.2. What are your passions and skills?
If this is your first business, you will soon realize that there are ups and downs, and you will realize how hard you have to work to succeed. You will work 24/7 on your business, and if your passion does not lie here, you should then NOT launch a clothing brand. Customers in niche markets tend to be deeply knowledgeable, and they will sniff your miles away if you are not authentic and if you do not know your stuff. Make a list of at least 5 things you are good at.
Q.3. What values do you want to run your business by?
The apparel market is extremely saturated. Today’s customers buy brands based on values and what they stand for. By making a list of values, you will narrow down even more on your target customer, demographic, and positioning. If you have a hard time coming up with ideas, start listing the values that you love about your favourite brands.
Q.4. Who is your customer?
For a brand to be successful, the brand absolutely needs to know who its target customer is. To know their preferences, where they shop, what they like, what they do not like, you must create a target customer profile before you start your brand. If you know people that fit your ideal customer profile, talk to them. They are most likely, not your ideal customer. We have written a post called How to define your customer. It is exactly about what the headline states, how to define your customer. Read the post to help you identify your target customer. And everything you do in your business, from the moment you have defined your ideal customer, everything you put out into the world should be for this person. It is vital to know the market you are entering. You should check as much what is not on the marketplace as what is. Talk to retailers and if possible, customers to get clarification on this. Figure out what makes them your competition, and then do it better or different. Make a SWOT analysis after you have done your market research. You will get some ideas about how to make your brand stand out.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
