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Niche Marketing: Creative or Creepy?

September 13, 2013 by Rosemary 3 Comments

By Barbara Fowler

Niche-marketing: Creative or Creepy? It depends.

Yesterday I got a package in the mail. A mysterious package from Klout. I opened it up and low and behold, it contained three new products sent to me on a complimentary basis. They were VITA-K for “age spots”, VITA-K for “crow’s feet” and VITA-K for “deep facial lines” I was selected to receive these products because of my Klout score of 56, not because of my age (I just turned 60) and hopefully not because of some new “facial recognition software” that identified me as someone in great need of these products.

I signed up for Klout over a year ago. For those of you not in marketing or not familiar with it, Klout purports to measure my “influence” on the web and in social media. It gives each of us a score between 1-100 with 1 being no influence-basically incognito on the web (like my husband Tim, without a LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social account-although he does now have e-mail) and 100 (Barack Obama is a 99)

So, I am above the middle. in fact, somewhere in the 75-90 percentile. That is really not important because this post is about niche-marketing, not about Klout.

But think about what this skincare company did to market their new product.

They went to Klout and asked for people above a certain score. Then they must have also asked for some other things-gender, age, possible income, geographic location etc to further target their offering. I don’t know the specifics. I actually have no relationship to this company or this product. But I represent a “buyer persona”. More importantly, they think, based on my score, that I am more likely to talk about receiving this product and trying it. They don’t know if I will like it or not. Or maybe, they cross-referenced their offering with some sort of other weird algorithm that says I usually only review products I really like. (My mother taught me “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”)

In the past, to gain a market, this company would have considered magazine ads in places like, “Good Housekeeping” or “The Ladies Home Journal” or maybe “AARP “ magazine. They would have looked at TV ads for “Golden Girls” or “The Rockford Files”. How much would that have cost? That was marketing back then.

This is marketing today. It has changed. First, because there is so much information available on the web so I can do all of the research I want in advance of a purchase. And second because of the availability of data. Instead of marketing to a broad range of people-like all of those who read a magazine-companies can market to a much smaller group of people who are more likely to buy their product. The art and science of acquiring a customer base has been reinvented.

And this is not just about this product. A recent WSJ article shared how the Weather Company (formerly the Weather Channel) was helping companies pick their advertising spots. The Weather Co, supplies weather information to several smart phone apps. And now, it uses its data to help companies advertise. So, for example, if a woman is checking her weather app in Boston and it calls for rain, the advertisement shown might be for an anti-frizz product for her hair. If it calls for very hot temperatures in Atlanta, then the advertisement might be for a sale on air conditioning units. Micro-targeting then is not just based on buyer personas but also on many other variables. Effective targeting can really reduce costs and increase revenue

So, what about me? Was this effective? When I told people I had received the anti-aging product this morning, several asked if I was offended or if I though it was creepy? Not me. I was intrigued. I have already tried them and although I can’t be sure yet, I think that I might pass for no more than 59.

Please share your comments below.

Author’s Bio: Barbara Fowler is a CMO and Partner with Chief Outsiders in the Charleston, S. C. area. Follow her on twitter at @barbfow50 or contact Barbara at 908-956-4529 or email at bfowler@chiefoutsiders.com.

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog, Trends Tagged With: bc, Klout, niche-marketing

8 Powerfully Subtle Ways to Let Your Work Show Your Expertise

May 10, 2010 by Liz 15 Comments

It’s the Work We Do that Adds Value

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The Internet is fast being filled with people with skills and talent for hire. Some have worked online and off for years to attain experience and expertise. Some are using the Internet to re-career and reinvent themselves and us as a chance to prove themselves. Most folks who can afford it want to connect with the people who’ve got real expertise, not those who hope to practice until they do.

There’s no question that to be an expert, we have to be knowledgeable, authentic, and hardworking. Everyone pays dues to get to the top, but knowing what to work at helps a lot too, because …

For the rest of us, it’s hard to tell the guy with a professional camera from a professional photographer unless you share what you know with the rest of us in the right way.

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To be recognized as a expert requires communication skills and social skills as well as technical expertise.

8 Subtle, Powerful Ways to Let Your Work Show Your Expertise

A true expert isn’t a preacher or even a teacher. He or she is a guide who cares about and understands the folks he or she serves. Lead me value to your work and know its quality, then help me understand how it can be relevant and useful to the customers, clients, and people I value and serve.

A true expert, like a truly rich man, doesn’t need to tell you he is one … his value shows in his confidence, competence, consistency, generosity, humility, and his work.

Here are 8 often powerfully subtle ways to being recognized as a true expert.

  1. Be the expert you are, not the expert someone else is. You are the only you the world has. That differentiates what you offer from the start. Play to your strengths. Let your work demonstrate your strengths. When people ask about what you do … point to something you’ve done well and talk about it.
  2. Get known first as an expert in ONE thing. Decide what sort of problems you solve quickly and well. Find ONE niche or one vertical and solve that problem there. People look for a “go to” person for a specific need. You’ll grow a following faster if you solve one problem well. It’s easier to refer the expert who can prove one great solution than the one who can’t be pinned down. Once folks learn about you as a master one skill, they can find out about the other wonderful things you do.
  3. Write expert content in the language of the folks you want to serve. Readers want top-notch, quality, relevant content — information, answers, AND analysis. Your market can get news anywhere. Add your expert opinion, analysis, evaluation, synthesis, or predictions — in words and thoughts they can relate to and apply immediately..
  4. Be an expert at keeping track of your niche. Don’t overwhelm yourself … but don’t live in your own head and don’t live online only. Look for great ideas and innovation everywhere. Follow Alltop to get the latest news. Read print magazines, blogs, and news that cover the topics you cover. Pre-select it for people interested in what you do. Add value by explaining why you’re passing it on.
  5. Be an expert at specialized search and information mining. Make finding interesting content tidbits your expert quest. Get to be friends with Google Alerts and similar services. Follow terms around the Internet.
  6. Be an expert at sharing your work where your customers are. Be where your potential customers are. Don’t just Tweet a great photo. Say something about it. Tell a story about it. Not every great client is on Twitter. Not every great mind is either. Go to conferences; meet local businesses; visit universities; get to know the other experts and authors in your niche. Ask everyone for their stories and tell anyone who cares about the stories you’ve collected. Tweet, speak, visit, and comment on blogs. Get opinions and think about what people say. Talk about your work like you to talk to your friends about what you do.
  7. Be an expert at thinking deeply. Saturate yourself in the trends, and think about how they influence your work. Go deeper too. Find out what researchers are thinking so that you can offer your readers how you think the highest quality and most relevant information might change what you’re doing today and in the future. Always tie it back to them in real and relevant ways. It’s your field be interested in it and they’ll be interested in you.
  8. Have an opinion. Don’t just pass on information. What the Internet is missing is your informed expertise and unique point of view. You’ve learned and earned something. Show us how you got there and why you care about it. Share your passion for your expertise. Nothing is more appealing than an expert who loves what he or she does.

Awards are nice, but they’re not something our customers can use. Quality is important, but if my customers can’t see or at least feel the fine lighting, perfect composition, or the artfullness of that photograph … then the time it took to add it … to them will be just cost. Some folks need basic transportation to get to work not a Ferrari this time around — an expert recognizes that too.

When we do the work, invest, and offer what we learn freely and care about those we serve, our true expertise shines through. People need what we know and sharing it isn’t shameless promotion, it’s contributing value to the community.

Are you an expert? How do you let your work speak for you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

I’m a proud affiliate of

third-tribe-marketing

Filed Under: Business Life, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog, Trends Tagged With: bc, expertise, LinkedIn, niche-marketing

SOB Business Cafe 06-30-2006

June 30, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the title shots to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Benjamin Yoskovitz guest hosts at Steve Remington’s blog to ask us if we’re sure we know what our blogs are about.

What's Your Blog About Again?

Mike Sigers lets us in on secrets we need to know about selling.

Fraser talks about and offers video on the influence of effective communication.

Fraser on influence -effective communication

Marianne Ricmond returns from WOMMA with a message that is as old as the fifties wbout how we should see our customers.

Message from WOMMA: Open, Honest Communication

Easton lets us know why Business Blogwire is so popular. (All of this time I thought it was Yoda.)

Best of Business Blogwire

Related ala carte selections include

I was listening to Christine Kane while I was typing this and drinking coffee from a beautiful golden coffee mug from Tom Vander Well. Thanks, Tom!

Tom reminds us that upselling can be a way of helping out.

Upselling Doesn't Have to Be Hard Selling

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Filed Under: Content, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Ben-Yoskovitz, blog-promotion, Christine-Kane, communication, Easton-Ellsworth, Fraser, influence, Marianne-Richmond, Mike-Sigers, niche-marketing, sales, Steve-Remington, Tom-Vander-Well, upselling, WOMMA

Using Your Competition As A Means To Growth

October 6, 2005 by admin 1 Comment

I find it quite amazing that much of the advice given to people looking to start a new business (or blog for that matter) with the intention of making money is to look for niches where there is no competition. I think that this may be the worst thing in the world to do because if there is no competition how do you measure your success?

Although the 9rules Network has a different model from both Gawker and WIN we still had to look at them as competition for a couple of reasons.

  1. It allowed us to measure our own success. If our Network couldn’t enter the same discussions as those two then where did that leave us? There are more than enough blog networks out there, but if we couldn’t stand out in the crowd what good does that do to the blogs within our Network?
  2. Learn from their mistakes and profit from the successes. If you don’t consider someone as competition then you will ignore the mistakes they have made and could quite possibly make the same ones yourself.
  3. Competition keeps you focused and motivated. Pick a site that’s in your niche or close to it and compare the quantity, quality and frequency of your entries to see how you stack up. Look at how they market themselves then you should be able to answer why they are more popular than you. If you are #1 in your niche, look for other sites that are starting to get mentions and links. Competition can be friendly, but you also must stay ahead of the pack.

Embrace your competition as it can only help you in the long run.

Filed Under: Successful Blog Tagged With: 9rules, bc, Gawker, niche-marketing, weblogs-Inc

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