When Bill Bernbach thought up the top advert of the 20th Century to sell Volkswagen-Beetle, he probably didn’t realize how big of an impact “Think Small” would have on a generation. It worked. The car buying niche who wanted a smaller car chose Beetles, and that would change the way we think of “bigger and better” forever.

So here we are smack-dab in the middle of a challenging economy. You’re in business. Although times are tough, you’re working your niche. You’re on top of your game. You’re busy. Very busy. At the end of your day, you barely have time left over to properly assess the direction of your business and your niche. While this is great for income, it’s bad for your business. Here’s why.

As potential demand causes you to spread yourself too thinly, business suffers from a lack of planning and focus, and your niche takes notice. Become too busy for them, and you just might lose grip of your original goal to make it BIG in a small market. Today, while times are tough and you must get going, consider this advice.

Think smaller, and you’ll become a bigger asset to your niche.

The Complete Idiots Guide to Target Marketing will be available in August.

The phrases “target marketing and “niche marketing” get tossed around quite a bit, often used interchangeably — yet the two are not quite the same thing.

Both target marketing and niche marketing rely on looking at the entire potential audience for their products and services and breaking that huge group down into small, manageable pieces.  Understanding the people who make up each group allows you, as the business owner, to create highly specific marketing campaigns that will resonate with customers and inspire them to buy — usually at much higher rates than more generalized, mass market marketing campaigns.

One of the primary differences between target marketing and niche marketing is the size of the market segment you approach.  If the entire marketplace is a pie, target marketers cut that pie into eight pieces.  A niche marketer, on the other hand, cuts that pie into sixteen pieces.  Or thirty-two.  Or, in some exceptional cases, sixty-four.

You can cut that pie until you have no more than the merest idea of filling and crust remaining, and still have a lucrative niche.  Niche marketing is targeted marketing distilled, reduced to its purest essence: connecting the business owner directly with those customers, and only those customers who are interested in exactly what the business owner offers.

It’s a great strategy, but it’s not for everyone.  Target marketing offers business owners the ability to be efficient, connecting with a clearly defined audience, without confronting the sometimes self-limiting nature of niche marketing.

Excerpt from my upcoming book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing - August, 2009.
Pre-order your copy today.

Pitney Bowes—the multi-billion dollar mailstream technology firm—recently used mobile marketing at trade shows to raise awareness of its products, services and brand. Mobile Marketer Editor in Chief Mickey Alam Khan interviews Pitney Bowes director of trade shows Lenore O’Connor . . .

In this question and answer session, O’Connor shares how simple and compelling mobile marketing campaigns helped drive traffic to trade shows and to the Pitney Bowes booth. In two instances, the company was able to target specific audiences with an interactive program for event participants.

If you’re considering starting a mobile marketing campaign to engage your niche via cell phone, you may want to subscribe to Mobile Marketer’s free newsletter. Also, read this recent article to find out how 1-800-FLOWERS targets a new sector of one its most profitable niches via mobile marketing.

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I’d like to share a recent mobile customer service case study from the UK’s Mobile Marketing Association that reveals how National Express rail service’s customer relations department was a few cars behind the times. Just like many Nichepreneurs, they wanted an efficient way to hear from customers.

By employing a customer feedback system that uses SMS technology, they receive instant text messages from customers, and that helps the company respond to any critical problems or issues—sometimes as soon as the very next train stop. Mobile technology is crucial to helping them reach their goal.

Whether you’re trade show exhibitor or wanting to find a better way to boost customer satisfaction, mobile marketing and SMS technology just might be worth a try. It’s an exciting way to establish an instant, personal and direct link to your customers. Keep an eye on this via Mobile Marketing Watch.

Pitney Bowes—the multi-billion dollar mailstream technology firm—recently used mobile marketing at trade shows to raise awareness of its products, services and brand. Mobile Marketer Editor in Chief Mickey Alam Khan interviews Pitney Bowes director of trade shows Lenore O’Connor . . .

In this question and answer session, O’Connor shares how simple and compelling mobile marketing campaigns helped drive traffic to trade shows and to the Pitney Bowes booth. In two instances, the company was able to target specific audiences with an interactive program for event participants.

If you’re considering starting a mobile marketing campaign to engage your niche via cell phone, you may want to subscribe to Mobile Marketer’s free newsletter. Also, read this recent article to find out how 1-800-FLOWERS targets a new sector of one its most profitable niches via mobile marketing.

Thomas Edison tried hundreds of materials before he found the right filament for the electric light. What if he stopped trying? What if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed every day? How long do you think that might’ve left us in the dark before someone else came through with a brighter idea? It takes positive thinking to make things work.

I’m sure Edison confidently understood that his electric invention would eventually work. He must’ve had a persistently positive attitude. As a dedicated Nichepreneur^TM, you must possess the same sort of disposition. Do you have the right attitude to back bright ideas? How can you think more positively to help your business find its own spotlight?

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The economy has bottomed out. Unemployment is high. It seems disasters and catastrophes are just around the corner, every time you turn on the news. How can you keep a positive attitude? Try finding programs and websites that celebrate the good.

One Nichepreneur^® just told me about HappyNews.com. Read their credo:

We believe virtue, goodwill and heroism are hot news. That’s why we bring you up-to-the-minute news geared to lift spirits and inspire lives. Add in a diverse team of Citizen Journalists reporting positive stories from around the world, and you’ve got one happy place for news.

Read HappyNews, and begin your day with a better attitude for your business.

With positive news categories in international, national, business, arts and entertainment, science and technology, health, sports, opinion and others, you’re sure to find stories that match your niche and ultimately help you keep things positive.

Do you know of any other sites that help you stay positive? Share them.

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You’ve likely heard of simplifying your life, but what about simplifying your business?

There’s a growing trend to do more with less. That’s certainly true during this down economy. Many are finding inexpensive ways to do pricey things. For example: a home movie rental saves a few dollars at the local cinema. When it comes to business, as Nichepreneurs^®, what are we doing to “save on popcorn” and straighten the path to success?

Tell me, what can you implement today to achieve more in less time or with less capital?

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During the last Riches in Niches post, I introduced the idea of simplicity in business.

As I continue pondering simplicity for the Nichepreneur®—and while I’m thinking about how I can remove clutter from my work to find easier, more efficient ways to succeed—I’d like to share an entirely new term with you:

NICHE SIMPLICITY

This concept delivers the need to simplify our businesses and become more in tune with our niches. By removing the excess activities that aren’t contributing to success, we may begin to see riches in niches more clearly.

After all, to make it BIG in a small market, we must have easeful entrepreneurial spirits.

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You’ve likely heard of simplifying your life, but what about simplifying your business?

There’s a growing trend to do more with less. That’s certainly true during this down economy. Many are finding inexpensive ways to do pricey things. For example: a home movie rental saves a few dollars at the local cinema. When it comes to business, as Nichepreneurs^®, what are we doing to “save on popcorn” and straighten the path to success?

Tell me, what can you implement today to achieve more in less time or with less capital?

Here’s a great inexpensive and simple way to contact customers and promote your products/services.

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