Image credit: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com Niche markets are quickly becoming popular opportunities for small to mid-sized companies looking to survive among large businesses. Specialized markets are not new. They have always had a place in the larger and broad-based markets that volume business models have historically been willing to overlook. Often considered too small to generate the required return on investment (ROI) usually courted by mega marketers, niche markets can be a haven of profitability for businesses willing to focus on the more fastidious consumer. Considerable success can be achieved by focusing on serving market segments that large competitors are unable or unwilling to serve. Niche markets exist across the entire spectrum of business and industry, consumer and business to business (B2B). Targeting niche markets in eCommerce requires strong, comprehensive content in multiple formats and across multiple channels. Creating successful content requires attention to narrowly focused, high quality and in-depth messages that seek to capture the attention of the few, not the many. Because the target market may already possess a comprehensive understanding of the products and services they are seeking, authentic, knowledgeable and detailed content is critical. “To effectively appeal to an audience that’s already interested in your field, you’ll need to hire a team that’s capable of digging deep into that topic,” says Kenny Kline, Managing Partner at JAKK Media. “That means every member of your team should already possess a strong interest and knowledge in your chosen topic. This may require a shift in your approach to hiring.” A strategy of attracting a loyal customer base over time will result in sustainable growth in market segments that often resemble closed communities where word of mouth between consumer members can make or break a player. Niche market websites need to be hyper-focused on narrow-niche keywords in order to stand out among the noise of the larger market players. “Most niche marketing websites use content to establish credibility, rank well in the search engines, and connect with visitors,” says Beeskow Blay. “Developing content, whether for the purposes of affiliate marketing or direct product sales, must be done in a way that delivers value to a niche audience. A deep understanding of, and interest in, your niche helps your message resonate with visitors and sets your brand above pitchy, shallow competitors.” Niche market success demands authenticity. Losing focus and trying to be someone you are not will derail progress to sustainability. Understanding the intricacies of both the targeted consumer and the solutions they are seeking is vital to credibility. Faking it can be fatal. In a mega-marketing world where more often begets more, there exists a place where less equals more and where the small and few can outperform the large and the many.