A niche market 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.
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
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
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.
While you may have explicit moving items effectively at the top of the priority list. Although you can build your chances of achievement by beginning with a niche market.
In practice, product
vendors and
trade business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
es are commonly referred to as ''mainstream providers'' or ''narrow demographics niche market providers'' (colloquially shortened to just ''niche market providers''). Small
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
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. In television, technology and many industrial practices changed with the
post-network era, and 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. This practice of "narrowcasting" also allows advertisers to have a more direct audience for their messages.
[Lotz, A. (2007), ''The Television will be revolutionized'', pg 180]
With few exceptions, such as ''
American Idol'', the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
and the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, it is not common for a substantial audience to watch a program at once. Still, networks do target particular demographics.
Lifetime
Lifetime may refer to:
* Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey
* ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band
* ...
targets women and
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
targets youth. Sports channels, for example,
STAR Sports,
ESPN,
ESPN 2,
ESPNU
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...
,
STAR Cricket
Star Sports (formerly ESPN Star Sports) is a group of Indian multinational pay television sports channels owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. Previously a part of ESPN Star Sports wit ...
,
FS1,
FS2 and
CBS Sports Network, target the niche market of sports enthusiasts.
See also
*
Market segmentation
*
History of marketing
*
Mass market
*
Marketing strategy
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Market segmentation