Understanding Your Niche

Next to your product or service, the most important aspect of business operations is your niche. As a business owner, you have to identify your specialized market segment and tailor your products or services to fit its needs. Now, don't get all upset with me for saying this, but...it is absurd and unrealistic to believe that everyone in the whole wide world is a potential customer (exclamation). And it is as equally unrealistic to continuously add or modify your products or services at the request of a small group of customers (double exclamation). Focus here. Focus! Remember, we are looking long-term. So, in order to improve your business position, you must understand your niche.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” -Peter F. Drucker

Think about a recent experience when someone tried to sell you something that you chose not to purchase. Was there something specific about the product that turned you off? Were you already using a similar product and were not interested in switching? Or were you simply not a fit for the customer base that would use the product? Believe it or not, the same principles apply to other people as they come into contact with your business. You have to know your product or service. You have to know your market segment. You have to know what the customers in that niche want and need. Here are some examples of nifty entrepreneurs who know their stuff:

Mocha Tree Organics, naturally inspired skincare

Butterfly Consignment, where fashion has evolved

bobaloo!, cool stuff for cool kids

Red Chair Rue, modern urban senior photography

It is pretty cut and dry about the products or services they offer, and you can get a good idea just from their websites about the groups of people they are targeting. Understanding your niche is an essential piece for every business. If you don't have one, GET ONE!  And take your business...

...or wherever else you wish to go.  :)

It's Cool to be Square

Remember back in the day when you'd hit the department or bargain store and they'd copy your credit card information at checkout with one of those knuckle busters? Cha-Chunk! And sometimes you had to wait and wait and wait while they swiped it several times trying to get all of the numbers to copy. Cha-Chunk! Cha-Chunk! Cha-Chunk! How painstaking and time-consuming. After all of that, you probably could have done it for them with a piece of paper and a crayon!!!

And yet, there are many small businesses that still do it the old-fashioned way. They swipe with a KB, give the product to the customer and arrive home to input and process the credit card via computer, hoping and praying that the charge goes through. And if it doesn't, they take a business loss, and a customer walks away with FREE product. Why put yourself (and your business) through that?  Didn't you know that it's cool to be Square???

What is Square? Square is one of the coolest innovations in technology that makes credit card processing easy and affordable for small businesses and their customers. All you need is a compatible smartphone and a Square account. The potential for increased sales is at your fingertips.

What's the catch? Believe it or not, there is no catch. No application, activation or gateway fees. No early termination fees and no statement fees. Just a 2.75% transaction fee for swipes and 3.5% + 15 cents for keyed-in transactions. Square will process Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Amex with no additional costs incurred. And to jive with your eco-conscious philosophy, your customers can input their cell phone number or email address to have a receipt SMS'd or emailed to them at the end of the transaction.

How do I get started? Visit the Square website and submit an account application. After approval (which is almost instant), you will be prompted to setup your private account information and install the app on your smartphone. They will send the FREE card reader in the mail, but until you receive it, you can key-in your customer's credit card information.

Now THAT is pure genius!!