Let’s face it; we all have to be reminded to engage the best business practices when making every business decision. Do you think it comes naturally? Well; why do we spend time developing and coveting business process cheat sheets, and spend money for consultants to come in and identify what the current process is, and then, what steps should the business take to ensure that it is the most efficient and profitable process?
My point. So, let’s shake off the façade and go back to basics.
How often does your business or team evaluate its business model? It’s a good rule to visit it at least once a quarter. This way you will stay focused on making sure your business is on track for business development and growth. Playing the “business catch up” game is no fun and it causes market loss and low team morale.
As a communications major, we were taught to ask ourselves these 6 questions when writing an article; Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? Yes, simple. What I have found is that asking and answering these same simple questions in your business scenarios develops a great foundational model for your data analysis and reports presentations.
Let’s do an analysis on a “business target market” or “niche market”. Since I am a great fan of small-business’s, let’s apply the “who, what, where, when, why and how”, question process to define a niche market for a Lawn & Property Maintenance business. We can then use the model to develop a Microsoft Power BI data analysis and reports presentation.
- Homeowners between the ages of 40 and 75 who are busy, and retirees.
What services do they or would they want? Let’s say:
- Homeowners and retirees who are interested in year-round yard maintenance to include snow & ice removal and small in-home repairs.
Where? Choose a specific area, city or town. Let’s choose:
- Topeka, Kansas’s surrounding counties: Shawnee County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Osage County, Wabaunsee County
When? Let’s restate:
- Homeowners and retirees who are interested in “year-round” maintenance.
Why? Let’s restate:
- Homeowners are busy, and retirees want to spend time enjoying life.
How? What is an estimate of your current customers annual income? Or, based on your pricing analysis, your potential customers will have an income of let’s say:
- Homeowners and retirees with an annual income of $50,000 plus.
So now that we have outlined the answers to our favorite 6 business questions, let’s focus even further to channel in on this business niche. Here we go again... 😊:
Who are the people in Topeka, Kansas’s surrounding counties? Or, who are your current customers? Let's say:
- Niche 1) Homeowners ages 40-75 who are busy.
- Niche 2) Retirees.
- You can have more than one niche market. Remember; niche markets are developed by identifying needs or wants that are not offered by competitors in order to market to a small but lucrative sector of the population. Niche marketing identifies a population segment that is likely to buy a particular product or use a particular service.
What
are their common characteristics and interests? Let's say:
- Both niche markets want to spend their time doing other things.
- Both niche markets care about the “care” of their homes.
- Both niche markets have annual income of $50,000 plus.
Why do customers or would people choose your business to provide this service? Let's say:
- Your business services are a convenience.
- Your business is dependable.
- Your business charges a fair price.
- Your business payment options are easy.
Here are more things to think about. Try building your own business analysis. For example:
Target Market Evaluation - Ensure that there are enough target people/options that fit all the business criteria. If there aren’t enough then re-evaluate your target market. Try answering these questions on your own:
