If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed we speak about niche businesses now and then. It is not hard to guess why: because starting a business in a field that does not have many competitors somewhat guarantees you clients in a shorter time and larger profits for a while… at least until competitors begin to sprout.
What we may have not published much in the past is about specific examples of businesses that took the niche market successfully, so you could review and emulate. So this week we set out to the Internet and tried to find one for you —and surely we did, PitBullTax Software.
What is PitBullTax Software? It is a web-based software application which allows some tax professionals to carry out their job in a more efficient and productive way.
Yes, we said some because PitBullTax is not for everybody. It has been specifically built for those tax professionals who help people getting out of trouble with the Internal Revenue Service, read CPAs, Enrolled Agents and Tax Attorneys. This, in the tax jargon, is known as a tax resolution software.
Let’s see how specific this is:
• This product is not for every Attorney, Accountant or Enrolled Agent out there.
• This product is not for preparing and filing tax returns.
• You will find this product useful only if you work helping people with IRS problems.
How specific is that?! A lot! It is a micro-niche marketing alive and kicking!
How to take a micro-niche, PitBullTax style
Let’s see how PitBullTax Software did it.
First step: Make sure you have a market
After the economic crisis of 2008 (remember that?) over 13 millions of American taxpayers have certain amount of tax debt, so, yes, there is a market. How can we prove it? Well, if you live in the US you must have heard those tax relief commercials on the radio or TV; so yes, there is a market.
What you can take from this: Always look for ways to prove —or at least signs of— there is a market before starting your business. You may save a lot of money and hard times if you do.
Second step: Develop a really useful product
PitBullTax Software markets itself as “the ALL-IN-ONE web-based solution for preparing, handling, processing, organizing and tracking of IRS Tax Resolution cases.” I am not a tax attorney, but there is no need to be one to understand that it is a big claim, and that you must walk the talk if you want to succeed with your company.
What you can take from this: Your product or service must be really useful for your target niche market; else, you run the risk of developing a full business around something not worth buying.
Third step: Advertise the product B2B, not B2C
Have you ever seen a PitBullTax commercial on TV? Me neither. Yet, that’s because micro-niche markets do not require mass media. Once your product or service is done, you need to go where your potential market may be and try to get your message out there. This could be in specialised magazines, trade conferences and fairs, business networking meetings or the Internet. Actually, when I checked PitBullTax’s LinkedIn page, that is exactly where they market their service.
What you can take from this: Before creating a business around your product or service, make sure to think how you are going to promote it too! Math is simple: no clients – no money; and no money – no business. It is a very important step!
Conclusion
As you may see, taking a market niche is not just a marketing theory. It is something you can put in practice with your own product or service. You just need to find a market, satisfy one of its needs really well (to make it worth paying you for it), and to promote the product or service to its potential buyers.