Niche market

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A niche market [note 1] is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that it is intended to target. It is also a small market segment. Sometimes, a product or service can be entirely designed to satisfy a niche market. [2]

Contents

Not every product can be defined by its market niche. The niche market is highly specialized, and aiming to survive among the competition from numerous super companies. Even established companies create products for different niches; Hewlett-Packard has all-in-one machines for printing, scanning and faxing targeted for the home office niche, while at the same time having separate machines with one of these functions for big businesses. [3]

In practice, product vendors and trade businesses are commonly referred to as mainstream providers or narrow demographics niche market providers (colloquially shortened to just niche market providers). Small capital providers usually opt for a niche market with narrow demographics as a measure of increasing their financial gain margins.

The final product quality (low or high) is not dependent on the price elasticity of demand, but the specific needs that the product is aimed to satisfy and, in some cases, aspects of brand recognition (e.g. prestige, practicability, money saving, expensiveness, environmental conscience, or social status). When there are needs or desires with specific and even complex characteristics, the market niche requires specialized suppliers which are capable of meeting such expectations.

Niche audience

Unlike mass audiences, which represent a large number of people, a niche audience is an influential smaller audience. [4] In television, technology and many industrial practices changed with the post-network era, niche audiences are now in much greater control of what they watch. In this context of greater viewer control, television networks and production companies are trying to discover ways to profit through new scheduling, new shows, and relying on syndication.[ citation needed ] This practice of "narrowcasting" also allows advertisers to have a more direct audience for their messages. [5]

With few exceptions, such as American Idol , the Super Bowl and the Olympics, it is not common for a substantial audience to watch a program at once. Still, networks do target particular demographics. Lifetime targets women and MTV targets youth. Sports channels, for example, STAR Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, STAR Cricket, FS1, FS2 and CBS Sports Network, target the niche market of sports enthusiasts. [6] [ citation needed ]

See also

Notes

  1. The English pronunciation of niche is more commonly either /nɪ/ (NITCH) or /nʃ/ (NEESH). [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marketing</span> Study and process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to customers

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In marketing, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers based on shared characteristics.

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Mass marketing is a marketing strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and appeal the whole market with one offer or one strategy, which supports the idea of broadcasting a message that will reach the largest number of people possible. Traditionally, mass marketing has focused on radio, television and newspapers as the media used to reach this broad audience. By reaching the largest audience possible, exposure to the product is maximized, and in theory this would directly correlate with a larger number of sales or buys into the product.

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An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.

Narrowcasting is the dissemination of information to a narrow audience, rather than to the broader public at-large. Related to niche marketing or target marketing, narrowcasting involves aiming media messages at specific segments of the public defined by values, preferences, demographic attributes or subscription. Narrowcasting is based on the postmodern idea that mass audiences do not exist.

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A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. Businesses that have a wide target market will focus on a specific target audience for certain messages to send, such as The Body Shops Mother's Day advertisements, which were aimed at the children and spouses of women, rather than the whole market which would have included the women themselves. A target audience is formed from the same factors as a target market, but it is more specific, and is susceptible to influence from other factors. An example of this was the marketing of the USDA's food guide, which was intended to appeal to young people between the ages of 2 and 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising media selection</span>

Advertising media selection is the process of choosing the most efficient media for an advertising campaign. To evaluate media efficiency, planners consider a range of factors including: the required coverage and number of exposures in a target audience; the relative cost of the media advertising and the media environment. Media planning may also involve buying media space. Media planners require an intricate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the main media options. The media industry is dynamic - new advertising media options are constantly emerging. Digital and social media are changing the way that consumers use media and are also influencing how consumers acquire product information.

The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with no identifiable preferences and expectations in a large market segment. Traditionally, businesses reach out to the mass market with advertising messages through a variety of media including radio, TV, newspapers and the Web.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:

Micromarketing was first referred to in the UK marketing press in November 1988 in respect of the application of geodemographics to consumer marketing. The subject of micromarketing was developed further in an article in February 1990, which emphasised understanding markets at the local level, and also the personalisation of messages to individual consumers in the context direct marketing. Micromarketing has come to refer to marketing strategies which are variously customised to either local markets, to different market segments, or to the individual customer.

In marketing, a microsegment is a more advanced form of market segmentation that groups a number of customers of the business into specific segments based on various factors including behavioral predictions. Once identified, microsegments can become the focus of personalized direct micromarketing campaigns, each campaign is meant to target and appeal to the specified tastes, needs, wants, and desires of the small groups and individuals that make up the microsegment. The goal of microsegments is to determine, which marketing actions will have the most impact on each set of customers.

A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.

It is a marketing strategy defined area or subject in order to achieve (hit) a clearly defined objective or target. The idea is to fire once, identifying the best market area to enter and the marketing efforts on customers there, like aiming a rifle to hit the bull's red eye.

A multichannel television service, also known as simply a television provider, is a type of service provider who distributes television programming to its customers for a subscription fee. Subscription television providers distribute television channels that offer different types of programming, typically including local television stations within their market, specialty channels that are distributed solely through multichannel television providers, and pay television services that offer premium content such as feature films and other original programming.

References

    • "niche". Merriam-Webster Dictionary .
    • "niche". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  1. Thivierge (March 20, 2021). "Digital Niche Marketing:Definition". Digital HEC Montréal. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  2. "3 Rules for Niche Marketing". Entrepreneur . Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  3. Chandler, Daniel; Munday, Rod (2011). A Dictionary of Media and Communication (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 290, 295, 421. ISBN   978-0-19-956875-8.
  4. Lotz, A. (2007), The Television will be revolutionized, pg 180
  5. Wasko, Janet; Meehan, Eileen R., eds. (2020-02-11). A Companion to Television (1 ed.). Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781119269465. ISBN   978-1-119-26943-4.