Niche Market Archives - The Niche Marketer

Four Powerful Life Lessons I Learned by Working With One of Ringo’s All-Starrs

August 1st, 2003, I was late coming into my internship at Compass Records. We all were. We were all at our homes watching Good Morning America. Why? Well, we were just about to witness one of our artists performing live on national television with Ringo’s All Starr Band. Yeah, that Ringo. The freakin’ Beatle. That year’s roster included Sheila E., John Waite (the “Missing You” guy), and Colin Hay, from Men at Work. Yep, that Men at Work. You may recognize some of their songs like “Land Down Under”, “Overkill”, and “Who Can it Be Now”. I was barely 21 and I was fortunate enough to be working with a brilliant group of people that were focused on relaunching Colin Hay’s career. They were repositioning him as a solo artist, helping distance him from the famous 80’s sound to allow his amazing songwriting to flourish.

The record had just come out the prior month and there was so much media appeal. It was receiving pretty heavy rotation on niche radio stations across the US and the team had managed to get him on the TV show Scrubs. How wild is that? Here’s the video:

All of that was great, but this was the big time. National morning television, and, oh yeah, he was with Ringo. To all of our surprise, of the four songs that Ringo played, he let Colin play two.

We sort of trickled into the office that day. I remember giving high-fives all around. We were really excited to be part of something we knew was going to be big. The momentum that surrounded this release and the remaining tour with Ringo had not only the ability to sell a lot of records, but it could entirely reinvent Colin’s career.

At the time, Compass had only three full-time employees and three interns (myself included). I’ll never forget what it was like to see what an amazing job just three, super-talented employees could do. They helped someone make an extraordinary career comeback. They handled everything including input on the actual recording, distribution, radio promotions, public relations, and advertising. As a residual to this success, they managed to sell a ton of records in the process.

I had the coolest internship I could have ever asked for. It was a defining moment that changed my life. The team at Compass was amazing. They didn’t have me doing typical intern grunt work. They were incredibly inviting and allowed me to actually help take care of what needed to be done. For this record, I was able to help set up interviews directly with Colin. Nobody treated me like an intern. They treated me like part of the team.

So, what did I learn from this experience?

Everything Has a Niche

Acoustic Guitar - The Niche Marketer Blog — Photo by 42 North on Pexels.com

Sure, there was some mainstream appeal for this record, but it just wasn’t a top 40, mainstream album. For Colin, those days had come and gone. The audience had changed. The record was “Americana”, not pop and it was largely acoustic. Although there was likely some crossover potential to former Men at Work fans, that wasn’t the main focus. Outside of the mainstream appearances with Ringo, Colin’s record had a niche appeal. It was up to the team at Compass to define that audience. We built a profile around the most-likely buyer. This included listeners of influential independent radio stations like KEXP in Seattle and KPIG in the Bay area. It included readers of roots and acoustic music publications like No Depression and Paste Magazine. It also included shoppers of stores like Borders.

They didn’t waste our time chasing every opportunity. That wouldn’t be productive. By defining our niche, the team able to funnel the modest advertising budget, and more importantly, the human capital, toward opportunities that would resonate with the target audience.

Roles and Titles are Not That Important

Although there was a Director of Marketing, Director of Public Relations, and Director of Radio Promotions, the roles and titles didn’t really matter that much. Everything was a team effort. The success that the team had come from the camaraderie they had built. One great idea would spark another. One big success would build to the next one. Their positive attitudes were infectious. They believed they could do great things and they did, with just three full-time employees. I was just an intern and they valued my opinion. They made a difference because they believed in themselves and they believed in the products they were selling.

Embrace What’s Happening

Concert - The Niche Marketer Blog — Photo by Dom Gould on Pexels.com

I left the music industry in 2007. I’d grown up a musician and I always dreamed about somehow being attached to something I loved. I wasn’t in the industry for very long, but I’ll never forget the time I had when I was there. It was exciting. People that work in the music industry are some of the best marketers I’ve ever met. It’s a really tough business, especially in an era of streaming. It’s a business that is incredibly lean, fast-paced, and innovative. We were early adopters of social media. We were followers of the latest up-and-coming media outlets. We were always looking for a new way to hustle because if you didn’t, you would be sunk.

Although everyone I know that has left that industry has never gone back, they are the most creative people I’ve ever met. They’ve been able to excel in new industries and I’m guessing that’s because the music industry naturally attracts creative people. Most of us just followed our hearts, not our heads, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, when you get involved in something so special, like the project I worked on with Colin, you tend to get wrapped up in the task. What is happening almost doesn’t seem real. Looking back on it, I still have a hard time believing that it was a part of my life but it happened. Even though I remember it all well, I do regret not embracing the moment more than I did. It was unreal. Sometimes you just have to stop, take a breath, and enjoy life rather than be so focused on your next challenge. It’s something I still struggle with, but I think I’ll get there some day.

Careers Need to Be Continually Reinvented

man performing on stage — Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels.com

Colin Hay was someone that almost everyone knew. If you didn’t know his name, you knew his songs. However, even someone as famous and successful as him still needed to reinvent his career. If he hadn’t done anything after his time with Men at Work, he might not have been forgotten, but he certainly wouldn’t have had the satisfaction of a resurgence. He wasn’t afraid of putting in the work, going on the road, and continue doing everything he could do to stay relevant. Let that sink in. A guy that had one gold record and two platinum records in the US never quit. He wasn’t satisfied after that. His was relentless. He was humble. He was always learning. He believed he could do it. These were the reasons he was so successful.

Wrapping Up

I’ll never forget the kindness that I was shown by everyone at the label. With the experience I gained from that internship, I was able to step into a Marketing Director position at a record label immediately when I graduated college. Without this experience, I never would have gotten that job. Although my time in the music industry came to an end long ago, I’ll always take the hard work, positive attitude, and relentless pursuit of doing something amazing with me throughout my life.

Why You Still Want That Rolex

How Rolex Sells Watches by Creating Problems

I was 16 years old when my dad came home from New York with a gift. He opened his bag. “I thought you needed a new watch”, he said and handed me this gorgeous silver and gold watch.

“Woah, this is a Rolex,” I was surprised. At 16, the only thing I really knew about Rolex was that they were expensive. How expensive? I had no idea, but I probably shouldn’t be wearing this to my job at the grocery store where I pushed carts and stocked shelves.

He just kind of laughed. My mom laughed too. “It’s not real,” he said.

“What do you mean, it’s not real?” I asked. Still, I had no idea what was going on. Well, he didn’t get me a Rolex. As my friend Brendan put it, he got me a Fauxlex. Yep, a fake Rolex. It looked real to me, but I was pretty clueless. I’d never seen the real thing. Now, I’m almost 40 and I’ve still only seen a few real Rolex’s. At least, I think they were real.

I really didn’t care that it was fake. I thought it would be impressive if I could pull one over on someone. I wore it to school. I wore it to work. I didn’t really fool anyone. It clashed with my hoodies, Led Zeppelin tee shirts, and my giant green Doc Martens. Since it wasn’t fooling anyone, I leaned into the joke. I wore that Fauxlex everywhere until it finally met its demise falling 3 feet onto the concrete when I was banging on the glass at a minor league hockey game. It never really worked ever again.

Even at 16, I knew one thing about the Rolex brand. It’s what Rolex has built their brand on for over 100 years. A Rolex was a sign that you had “arrived”. You wore a Rolex because you could wear a Rolex. I knew that even at a time when a watch was more necessary than it is today, that the Rolex brand didn’t really fit much of a practical need. My Folex told time just as well until it broke. So how had they made such an aspirational association with a clueless 16-year-old when I wasn’t their target audience?

Rolex Creates Problems

Problems. As marketers, we’re pretty good at creating them. It’s a technique known as poisoning the well. The strategy is thousands of years old. You essentially tell someone their well is poisoned and that you are the only one that has the antidote. In high-effort consumer behavior, problem recognition is the first step in the purchasing journey. However, some products that involve high-effort behavior do not necessarily involve a practical problem, so problems have to be created. The way marketers typically create problems is by telling you that what you have is not enough. They then make a promise that what they are selling will make you fill in the blank: (happier, healthier, thinner, more successful, etc.)

So, how does Rolex do this? Does anyone need a Rolex? For that matter, does anyone ever really need a watch? Seriously though, there are ways to tell time all around us. We have clocks on our phones, tablets, in our car, just about everywhere. So how does a company like Rolex still exist? Does anyone need an archaic, analog device, that costs $7,500 for the “base” model? Although they have built a strong brand for over 100 years, how does a product thrive to be a $5 billion-dollar company when by all accounts, it should be on its way to obsolescence? Rolex has done what every high-effort consumer behavior expert dreams of doing. In my opinion, they nailed step one of creating problems.

One of their messaging strategies involves the same tactics any motivational speaker uses to get you to buy their products. It’s the “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” method. This strategy is on full display in their “Every Rolex Tells a Story” campaign where they feature people that have “made it”. Check out this ad with James Cameron.

https://youtu.be/RgpoRGq3oBs

So what did they do here? Again, it’s the “dress for the job you want” tactic. Wow, James Cameron. Who doesn’t want that kind of success? Since he’s doing an ad for Rolex, the watch must have somehow contributed to his success, right? They’re planting the seed that James Cameron and everyone else that is part of this campaign can attribute their success to Rolex. The beauty of what they are doing is that they are communicating that message (associating success with Rolex) without overtly saying this. If you hadn’t thought of what they were doing with this type of ad, would you be able to recognize this tactic? Maybe, but Rolex isn’t relying on their advertising appealing to logic. They’re relying on their advertising to appeal to emotion.

They do a fantastic job of convincing affluent consumers that if they don’t have a Rolex, they haven’t arrived. This strategy has been so successful that the basic concept of their messaging has never really changed. Rolex spends big money advertising in high-net-worth sporting events, publications, and websites. The way they advertise relies heavily on indirect normative influences. They realize that the person that is purchasing the Rolex is heavily influenced by the group of people they associate with. It’s the whole “if your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?” lecture that your mom gave you when you would blame your behavior on your friends. It’s not an uncommon strategy. For example, many companies do this with an overarching message of sustainability. Toyota does this with Prius. Burt’s Bees does this with everything they sell. Rolex just has a much smaller niche, and in my opinion, they do it better than anyone else.

High-effort consumer behavior, like the decision to buy a $7,500 watch, relies on problems. Sometimes, though, your problem involves a legitimate need. You need a car for transportation, your computer quit working and you need to finish your work, or your phone battery won’t hold a charge anymore and it can’t be used for more than an hour off of the charger. Although the way that you arrive at the problem when there is a legitimate unmet need is different than a manufactured problem, the way you buy things is the same. Rolex is just amazing at creating perceived problems that only they can solve. It doesn’t really matter if the problem is real or not.

Photo by **hassan mehdi** from **Pexels**

Consumers are Lazy

Once a problem is realized, the second step of a high-effort behavior is to look for information on how to solve your problem. This type of search could really be anything. It could be internal, like remembering past experiences or ads. It could be external, like getting a referral from a friend or researching alternatives online.

You might think that we put in a lot of effort into making a major purchase but that’s not really the case. There’s a term in cognitive psychology called the “Cognitive Miser”. Our minds are considered to be cognitive misers. This essentially means that when we make decisions, we’re sort of lazy, regardless of our intelligence. In general, we would much rather put in little effort to solve our problems than putting in extra effort and meaning. (Stanovich, 2009)[1]

This can’t really be true, can it? Yep. It’s true. What’s one of your biggest monthly bills? I’m guessing you said mortgage, well, either that or daycare. You would think that we do a considerable amount of research when finding a home lender, right? Nope. Definitely not. Our brains want to take the easy way out and find a solution that is good enough. One major study found that the average number of sources the consumer consulted when selecting a place that was likely going to determine the amount of their largest monthly expense…was two. (Lee & Hogarth 2000)[2] Yep, two. Let that sink in.

analogue chrome dial focus — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

How Can You Use This Information?

Alright, let’s say you’re a marketer and your potential customer realizes there is a problem, whether you created the problem or not. The next step is to be able to nail the information search portion of the high-effort consumer behavior journey. Now you know the secret that all good marketers know. If consumers only check out two sources before they make a purchase, and one of those sources is yours, you’re pretty much halfway there. So, the question is, how are you going to provide this information? Is it going to be through video? An informative blog, or series of blogs? Email to a customer curated list? Social media? Old-fashioned snail mail?

For a well-defined niche market, I usually take an omnichannel approach. This is a just fancy way of saying all of the above. Why? It doesn’t take an in-depth analysis of consumer behavior to understand that people are all different. While some prefer reading in-depth articles, others will skim just for the key points and takeaways. Some need the information delivered directly to their email, some want it sent to their desk, some want to watch an informative video, and some would prefer the interaction and community found on social media. This has been especially effective when you are dealing with a niche market because regardless of the medium, you are not dealing with massive media budgets. The types of markets I work with max out around 5,000 target consumers. I often work with targets of 500 or less. That takes a pretty targeted media approach, one where you can cover just about every type of communication for a pretty reasonable budget.

Can You Combine the Two?

Realizing that consumers are lazy, Rolex has done an excellent job in combining both step one and step two. Their advertisements create problems but they offer solutions. The solution, conveniently, is to buy their watches. One clever headline reads: “A Rolex will never change the world. We leave that to the people that wear them.” As a consumer, this plays to my ego and I just realized that I have a problem. I want to change the world, but I’m not changing the world. Bingo, step one of high-effort consumer behavior, check! How about step two? Well, they just told you. People that change the world wear Rolexes. Are we that gullible? Maybe. Maybe not. Are we that lazy? See Cognitive Miser theory.

What’s Next?

Once we realize there is a problem and consume information on how to solve that problem, we reduce our alternatives down to a few. This is typically 2-8 alternatives, which we often call the consideration set[3] (Allen et al., 1991). However, if you’ve already built your brand to be a frontrunner like Rolex, if you get to this stage, you’re going to have a higher probability to make the sale.

The final steps involved in a high-effort purchase are the actual purchase and post-purchase behavior. The interesting thing about the post-purchase behavior of Rolex customers is that the product is so coveted that the owner will always want it to be seen or noticed. By wearing a Rolex, they’re walking advertisements for the brand. Given the price point of the watch, it is highly likely that the person wearing it is monetarily successful. This perpetuates everything that the brand stands for.

Takeaways

For high-effort behavior, the first step in the customer journey is to get someone to realize there is a problem. Once that problem has been recognized, a consumer tries to find a way to solve that problem. Then, they narrow their choices and buy a product. How can you help them along the way? If you can do this as well as Rolex, you can roll the first two or three steps into one, giving you a greater likelihood of being chosen over your competition.

[1] Stanovich, Keith E. (2009). “The cognitive miser: ways to avoid thinking”. What intelligence tests miss: the psychology of rational thought. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 70–85. ISBN 9780300123852. OCLC 216936066.

[2] Lee, Jinkook & Hogarth, Jeanne M. Consumer Information Search for Home Mortgages: Who, What, How Much and What Else? Autumn 2000 Financial Services Review, Volume 9, Issue 3. Pp. 277-293.

[3] Shocker, Allan, Ben-Akiva, Moshe, Boccara, Bruno and Nedungadi, Prakash. 1991. Consideration Set Influences on Consumer Decision-Making and Choice: Issues, Models, and Suggestions. Marketing Letters: A Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 2, No. 3: 181-197.

How Bringing a Multimillion-Dollar Jet Through the Streets of Las Vegas Created a Niche Market

In Order to Create a Niche Market, You Have to Take Risks and Dare to be First

In 2015, I was sitting in the back of a brand new Dodge Ram at 11 PM at the McCarran Airport in Las Vegas trying to stay warm. It was freezing to the point where it snowed the next day. I was wearing multiple layers because I was about to walk with a newly refurbished multimillion-dollar jet through the streets of Vegas. My company was displaying this aircraft inside of the convention hall during our largest trade show of the year. Actually, NBAA is one of the largest trade shows in the US attracting owners, pilots, mechanics, and industry leaders from all over the world. I was pretty terrified because this was the first time I had ever done anything like this. Although I was confident we had a great product, there was no way of knowing if the major risk we took as a company was going to pay off.

This wasn’t just my first time. To my knowledge, this was also the first time anyone had displayed a jet of this size inside of the convention hall, so we didn’t really have the proxy to measure our success. I had a major case of imposter syndrome. At this show, we were competing with huge companies like Bombardier, Textron, Gulfstream, and Dassault. How could we compete with multibillion-dollar companies and stand out? They have teams of people who are much smarter and more capable than me.

My mind was racing and I was nervous about all of the things I couldn’t control. What if they didn’t measure the traffic signals properly and the tail runs into a stoplight? What if the belly scrapes coming out of the airport ramp onto the street? What if the tow bar head damages the landing gear? What if they couldn’t get it in the hall? (To be fair, the wingspan was larger than the opening of the door, so that last concern was somewhat legitimate.) I ordered carpet to be laid after the aircraft arrived so it didn’t get chewed up from a jet rolling over it. How was that even going to work? Did I order enough spotlights? No matter how nervous I was, it didn’t matter. All of the hard work, engineering, and craftsmanship that went into this airplane; now it was my job to make it pay off at the trade show. I had to stay confident and let all of the months of planning pay off. Our team had imagined this concept over a year ago and it was finally time to execute.

They opened the north gate at the airport. Since we were the biggest airplane, we were the last in line and we would be the last ones in the hall. After waiting nearly an hour for the caravan of airplanes to progress far enough to where we could actually get out of the gate, we were finally on the road. The Nevada State Highway Patrol was providing an escort, blocking the streets in front and behind the caravan as we slowly made our way up Paradise Road.

Nearly three hours later, we arrived at the Las Vegas Convention Center. We sat outside for a few hours as each airplane was carefully brought onto the trade show floor by a special tug which was operated by a guy that flew in from the UK. An hour and a half after we attached the airplane to the special tug, we were placed in the hall, ready for finishing touches before the show.

Creating the Niche Market

So, how did we arrive at the Las Vegas convention center with a refurbished jet? Was it just to display our quality of work? Was it just to be noticed? No, we were creating a niche market. To be successful in a niche market, you have to have a team that is willing to take huge risks to create an outstanding product at a reasonable price. You work together to create the niche. That makes the advertising pretty easy. Let me explain.

The Problem

Garmin was launching a new avionics program, known as the G5000, for a light jet called a Beechjet 400A (and the newer iteration, the Hawker 400XP). Our company was and still is, the industry’s leading Garmin retrofitter. So much so, that we have done more Garmin retrofits in King Air turboprops than all other dealers in the world, combined. However, this was the very first jet that would be certified for a Garmin retrofit, so transitioning from our expertise in King Airs to Jets was critical. We needed to leverage our experience in completing large Garmin retrofits to a completely new niche. This new market had a different type of buyer, with different buying behaviors. Although the audience was small (this system applied to less than 600 airplanes across the world), even conservative projections for the overall market saturation rate and our projected market share made financial sense for us to pursue this niche.

In our industry, being the first to complete a major project like this particular Garmin retrofit was critical. The business aviation community is small. Since our brand was so closely aligned with Garmin, an early lead in a new niche would establish credibility with the new target audience and lead to early success. Once that credibility caught on, we would be hard to catch.

Why This Niche Made Sense

As stated, we were Garmin’s largest aftermarket dealer and as they expanded into new niche markets, we wanted to expand with them and maintain our position as the industry leader. This market made further sense because we were an authorized service center for this kind of aircraft and we had many maintenance technicians that had 20+ years of experience working with the airplane. As a one-stop-shop, we would also be able to handle any avionics, maintenance, paint, interior, or landing gear overhauls the customer might need when receiving a large retrofit.

Action – The Big Risk to Be First

I remember the meeting. We were all sitting around the small conference room table discussing how we were going to become industry leaders. If we wanted to be the frontrunners, we would have to take some major risks. If we were going to pursue this niche and be the first to market, everyone who owned this type of aircraft, and everyone in the industry would need to know how serious we were.

“What if we bought an airplane, completed all of the refurbishments, brought it down the street, and parked it inside the convention hall?” The room got quiet. I don’t remember who asked the question, whether it was me or one of our other team members. It didn’t really matter because we were all thinking the same thing, but we knew there were huge risks. We would have the initial multimillion-dollar risk of the acquisition cost of the airplane. We would have additional costs tied up in the refurbishment. We would also have the opportunity cost of turning away some customers for the number of hours that this refurbishment required.

Although we knew there would be major risks, we knew there would be huge rewards. In addition to being able to sell the airplane after the show, if we succeeded in receiving several orders for the Garmin system at the trade show, we would have a major lead in the industry. As stated earlier, a head start in this program was all we needed.

For this November trade show, we started sourcing an aircraft in late spring. We found a 2006 Hawker 400XP, but the challenge with this airplane was that it needed engine overhauls. This added a major expense and additional downtime in our already compressed timeframe. Despite the challenges, we purchased the aircraft and began work. The entire scope of work included a major inspection, engine overhauls, Garmin G5000 avionics retrofit, special Vegas gold pearl paint job, and a refurbished, weight-saving interior with WiFi and color-changing LED lighting.

Marketing Actions to This Niche

From a marketing perspective, the biggest goal was to create an associative network in potential customers’ minds linking our name with the new Garmin G5000 system in this particular aircraft (Beechjet 400A/Hawker 400XP). This type of plan involves understanding how the brain works and how an associative network influences retrieval. As marketers, we know several things about this type of network. The first, and most obvious, is that stronger links are more accessible. That’s why we try to strengthen the links between brands (in this case, we were trying to strengthen the association with the Garmin brand).

Good marketers also know that there is a spreading activation effect, which allows for the free association between like-products. For instance, when you think of BMW, you may think of luxury cars. As another German brand, you may think of Mercedes or Audi. However, due to the luxury nature, you may also think about Rolex. Your brain could also think about leather. By putting a top-of-the-line avionics system in a pristine looking airplane, we were building a spreading activation centered around the Garmin system but also associated with “the best” quality. This included the best quality Garmin installation, but the best quality paint, interior, and engineering.

We also know that there is a sleeper effect, meaning that the actual message stays tied to recall much longer than the recall of the source of the information. Basically, I wanted to create a plan where we were seen as the experts in any and all sources that I could use.

So, to the best of my recollection five years later, here’s what we did.

Public Relations

There were several hooks that we identified in this story that made it interesting to the press. The first, and most obvious, was that we were the first Garmin dealer in the world that was going to attempt this type of retrofit. Even before the project started, we took the risk and committed to being the first dealer to deliver. That alone got the attention of the press in our industry. However, to truly make a good story before launching the PR strategy, we had to fully develop the five basic elements of the story. By committing to purchase an airplane and displaying it in Vegas in a short time frame, we had all of the components we needed. We had the characters (our team and brand), setting (Vegas), plot (buying and retrofitting an airplane with something that had not been done before), conflict (short time frame), and the resolution (successfully completed everything).

Once we developed the story arc, we sent and press releases and landed coverage with industry publications from the day the airplane was purchased. Our initial press release outlined our entire plan. We then had follow-up press releases that highlighted when we started the avionics system, and when the aircraft delivered.

From the day the first press release was sent, the top publication in our industry ran a feature on the project. The subsequent releases were also picked up by several other outlets. From a PR standpoint, all of the major trade publications wanted to know more and track the progress of the project. During the trade show, we had several articles published in the daily publications. Media outlets also conducted video interviews with our team members going over the project details.

After the show, there were residual public relations opportunities which included press releases when we sold the aircraft and after each milestone delivery (the first company to five installs, first to 10, 20, etc.)

VIP Event

We set up a cocktail event for owners and operators of this type of aircraft where they could come by at a certain time and have a drink on us. This was exclusive to our industry partners as well as owners and operators of this type of aircraft.

Digital Advertising

Our team developed a digital strategy to target operators of this type of aircraft via email prior to the show to let them know what all was included in the aircraft upgrade, where they could find us, and when they could attend our VIP event. We also created a preview video on YouTube and targeted our customers through YouTube ads.

We also set up retargeting ads to any viewer that visited our G5000 page and targeted emails to anyone who had visited this page a certain number of times.

Direct Mail

Our team designed eight-page brochures introducing the new system. To add to the feeling of luxury, we used a combination of soft-touch and high-gloss UV coatings. We had also mailed special invitations to our target audience including VIP identifiers to attend our VIP trade show event.

Social Media

Social media posts were scheduled before, during, and after the event on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Posts were boosted to the target demographic.

Result

Although we were all nervous about the huge risk that we were taking, this series of events of buying and retrofitting the airplane had major rewards. Prior to the system even being certified, we were able to pre-sell a dozen Garmin G5000 retrofits, which was more than all other dealers in the world combined. From the very beginning of this program, our team put a considerable amount of effort to be the industry leaders. However, it was not the result of just one series of actions. It took our entire company to believe that we could do it. When diving into a project of this magnitude, the first thing you have to do is believe that you can do it. With the entire company behind the success of the program, we were able to create a great niche market, one that has now ballooned nearly 30 systems sold, which again, is more than all other dealers in the world, combined. Throughout this process, we also found an opportunity within the LED lighting market. We have since created and now manufacture LED aircraft lighting and currently have 13 US dealers.

What I Learned

Building a niche market involves creating a product that truly connects with your target audience. Your market can be incredibly small. In this case, there were less than 600 potential customers in the entire world. However, the financial case for us to pursue this market made sense and it perfectly fit our brand. When you create a niche, what you are selling will apply only to a small group of people, and that’s okay. The bottom line is this: create something of incredible value to your audience that no one else can provide.

You can find out more about niche marketing here.