Finding a niche to drive online store success is something every ecommerce business owner wants. You know, really finding a specific audience who want nothing more than what you’re offering.
But why? I mean, shouldn’t you want the widest bunch of customers possible?
Actually, no.
When I started my first ecommerce business, I had an idea in my mind about who would buy from me.
My ideal customer (which is also called an avatar) was a woman a little like me. She was married, had kids, and drove a minivan. And she liked discovering new things.
Pretty specific, right?
But here’s why: I thought of that ideal customer when I looked at pretty much every aspect of the products I was selling. It helped me decide what products to buy and in what colors—and even how I photographed the products. That way I could make sure it would appeal to my ideal customer and everyone who was more or less like her.
I created my own niche…or at the very least made the most of an existing one.
And—without question—finding that niche allowed me to drive online store success.
For Maria Simpson, founder of 208SupplyCo and my guest on this week’s podcast, she didn’t have to create her own niche. The state she lives in—Idaho—has pretty much done it for her. But she has been able to capitalize on that niche beautifully with great tees, hats, and stickers in her ecommerce store.
One of the things I love about Maria’s approach is that she knew from the very beginning what she wanted to do in her new business as well as what she didn’t. And she’s taken a very different approach than a lot of people who are starting their own online stores.
You see, a lot of people think one of three things:
Option 1: You can’t sell tee-shirts! The market is really oversaturated.
Option 2: If you’re gonna sell tee-shirts, you need to buy a bunch of equipment and clothing inventory
Option 3: There’s always print-on-demand services you find online, but the margins aren’t great.
But Maria didn’t like any of those options. As you will hear on the podcast, she wanted to find a way to do the work that she excels at (including design) while NOT handling the printing, packing and shipping. She also knew her numbers from day one and wasn’t about to take a hit to her company’s bottom line.
So what did Maria do to make her business, 208 Supply Co, grow like crazy while selling to a niche audience AND letting her thrive in her creative role?
You’ll need to listen to find out.
BUT here are my Top 10 Takeaways from this episode.
- You can have a successful business without being the face of your brand.
- Your perfect business niche may be right around you.
- Find a partner who wants to grow AND is willing to handle the tasks you don’t want to deal with.
- Know your margins and work to improve them.
- Always send a “sale is ending” email.
- Look for micro influencers who really connect with their followers.
- If something’s working, keep doing it (no matter what others think.)
- Automate your processes as much as possible.
- Even if you’re an independent person, you still need a coach.
- Never let little things hold you back.
As usual, I’m guessing you’ll discover a few others, and I hope you’ll share them with me.
