MLM Marketing: Identifying Your Niche

May 17
2009

If you’ve just started with your MLM then you may still see the world through the eyes of a consumer.  This is good because you can relate to what a consumer expects/wants/needs; however it is bad because you tend to view the marketplace based on what exists right now.  Now I’m not suggesting that you need to come up with a brand new product, you are working with a company that manufactures your products and you have a business opportunity that are both your products already.  What you need to do is figure out how to introduce your products to the market in a way that satisfies the current needs of your niche market.

To truly identify your niche you need to know:

  • what are people buying today
    • what products are you consuming?
  • what is going on in the news
    • what concerns are being expressed in the news recently that connect to a need for a product or product(s)?  If your MLM products are health related look at recent health news, if they are legal system related look at recent increases in identity theft or legal problems, etc.  For your MLM business opportunity look at current issues that would have people looking into something they can work from their home, e.g. health issues in the work place, layoffs, market shrinkage, etc.
  • what are the latest trends
    • magazines are good for spotting trends.  Have you ever noticed when something has the current eye of the public that every magazine in the newstand has an article about it?

By examining answers to the above questions you can identify some very broad niche markets and then comes the real work.  You need to find out what products and services are being offered in each of the markets you identified but not only what the products are but how are they being offered.  What information are consumers looking for and what are consumers talking about on related bulletin boards or forums and chat rooms.  And lastly is there any terminology that is specific to this niche.

For example lets say you have a product that is useful for people with arthritis.  You would check out arthritis web sites and find out the latest concerns.  You would review arthritis bulletin boards and learn the terms widely used in the arthritis community and find out what people are looking for.  Never assume you know what they need. Within this market there are different types or arthritis and different levels of severity.  Each of the niches needs to be approached differently.

This gives you the basic constructs on how to brainstorm and identify potential niches for your MLM business and/or your MLM products.  Be sure to segment your niche as much as possible.  You can always group them back together later as you determine which are profitable… but I’ll save that for next time.

MLM Marketing: Finding Your Inner Niche

May 13
2009

I’ve said this before, your market is NOT everyone.  Although even top MLM superstars will say when asked who their market is “Everyone” it most definitely is not.  And even if it were you can not market the same way to everyone and expect anyone to respond.  You need to find your niche.  For example I know of one couple where the wife had been a nurse and while she loved nursing and the people it brought her in touch with she hated the hours and the pay.  She and her husband joined an MLM and decided their niche market would be other nurses who felt the same.  Note that it wasn’t all nurses just those who:

  • loved their work
  • loved the people they treated and worked with
  • hated the hours
  • hated the pay

This was their niche market.  Wikipedia provides us with the followng definition for a niche market:

A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing on; Therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intending to impact.

I would suggest taking it one step further.  Your niche market should be a market you love as in my example with the nurses.  Now some may disagree suggesting that if you love something it may be too narrow a market or that if you love it too much you may not be able to make sound business decisions regarding it.  Obviously you need a profitable market but you also need balance.  You want a profitable market that you have interest in.

I’m going to stay away from markets related to products as MLM products span the gamut from house hold products to health care to legal care and beyond.  Instead lets look at finding a niche market for your business. What do the following groups have in common:

  • Nurses
  • Doctors
  • Business Executives
  • Small Business Owners
  • Big Business Owners
  • Computer Programmers
  • Restaurant Owners
  • New Mothers

All of them are possible markets for your MLM business opportunity but you wouldn’t consider presenting your opportunity to each group in the same way.  For a new mother you might suggest that your MLM business opportunity provides a way to make extra money from home to provide for the needs of her child whereas for business owner you might tell them that your MLM business opportunity provides a business with no inventory needs and no staff to manage.  Each market has its own needs based on the career or circumstances.

Again you wouldn’t target all new mothers or all new business owners just those in your specific niche. For example are you wanting to market to single mothers or those with a spouse or significant other.  Do you want them to be in a specific age group or income level?  Each of these “sub” markets or segments of the new mothers market has different needs that your MLM business opportunity satisfies.

You need to do the research to find which specific segment of the market has the greatest need.  In other words you want to know that your market has what you have to offer but also how much or how badly the want it.  Additionally you need to know how profitable the niche market you are targeting is and what your competition is for that segment of the market.  By doing the research you are putting together an effective MLM business plan.

So how do you find your niche market?  Check back in a few days for some steps on how to identify YOUR niche market.

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