Ever hear the expression, “jack of all trades, master of none”? It essentially implies that a generalist can do the whole lot decently, while a specialist does one thing extremely well. The identical holds true once you’re a web based business owner.
Carving out a distinct segment market and positioning yourself because the go-to brand for a particular audience not only establishes your credibility over competing generalists but additionally leads to a more focused business. Out of your unique value proposition to product line extensions, specializing in a distinct segment market makes it easier for the fitting customers to say, “That is for me.”
For those who’re racking your brain trying to think about your first product idea, coming up with a particular area of interest is an amazing place to start. There are countless profitable niches you may pursue, with the chance to area of interest down even further. The secret is to discover a distinct segment market you may master and that has a viable audience of consumers.
Below, we’ll go over what a distinct segment market is, discover one, and find in-demand products to serve it. Plus, we’ll have a look at nine area of interest market examples (including specific product ideas) which might be ripe for brand spanking new players.
What’s a distinct segment market?
A distinct segment market is a definite segment inside a bigger market, characterised by unique needs or identities. For example, in the ladies’s shoes market, niches would come with eco-friendly shoes, orthopedic shoes, or climbing boots. These niches have specific requirements distinct from the overall market.
Nearly every market could be further refined, or divided, by the particular needs and preferences of its constituents. A few of the commonest ways to define a distinct segment are based on:
- Price (luxury, moderate, discount)
- Demographics (gender, age, income level, education level)
- Level of quality (premium, handmade, economical)
- Psychographics (values, interests, attitudes)
- Geographic (residents of a certain country, city, and even neighborhood)
Selecting to concentrate on a distinct segment is a strategic business decision to serve a certain customer base higher than competitors who goal the larger market. Let’s take a have a look at some examples.
Nine area of interest market examples (and area of interest products you may sell)
While you would possibly have specific trending products already in mind, you may increase your odds of success by starting with a distinct segment market after which drilling right down to find area of interest products with a possible market fit. Here, we’ll explore nine larger markets to indicate you ways they each contain various kinds of area of interest markets and product opportunities.
Remember this list of area of interest markets and product ideas for 2022 is solely a spot to begin your seek for a possible area of interest market—you may at all times go in a totally different direction or find other area of interest opportunities inside each category:
- Conscious consumers
- Health and wellness
- Pet owners
- The LGBTQ+ community
- Travelers
- Gamers
- Homeowners
- Distant staff
- Locals
1. Conscious consumers
Sustainability has grow to be a hot topic amongst consumers of late. Based on a survey by IBM, nearly six in 10 consumers were willing to vary their shopping habits to cut back environmental impact.
The rise of the conscious consumer has paved the best way for vegan, eco-friendly, and cruelty-free variations of conventional products. If there may be a product that’s regularly purchased by the mass market, there may be likely a distinct segment of conscious consumers that can embrace a greener alternative.
Up to now, firms seeking to appeal to this area of interest market might donate a portion of proceeds to a cause, but now most consumers care about how the products are sourced and produced as well.
Bee’s Wrap, for instance, is looking to exchange plastic wrap with options constituted of beeswax. This natural alternative to food storage will not be only environmentally friendly but additionally more economical for consumers since it’s reusable.
More area of interest product ideas for conscious consumers
- Reusable drinking straws
- Cruelty-free cosmetics
- Vegan-friendly apparel
- Menstrual cups
2. Health and wellness
The worldwide health and wellness market reached a worth of $3.31 trillion in 2020. With the coronavirus pandemic raising concerns about health, individuals are beginning to take well-being into their very own hands.
Health and wellness refers to caring for your mind, body, and spirit. Some sub-niches on this market are personal care, nutrition, preventative medicine, and alternative medicines. For those who’ve bought a gluten-free product from the food market, you’ve contributed to the health and wellness market.
Happiness Abscissa found its place within the health and wellness area of interest through selling scents. Its products contain specific combos of scents that improve your state of well-being and happiness. Every scent, developed by a neurologist, is packaged right into a soap tin, candle, or perfume customers can enjoy anytime they need a lift.
The product opportunities on this area of interest are limitless: food and beverage, beauty and private care, skin health, immunity, digital products like ebooks, and recipes. Though you don’t should be an authority to begin a business on this area of interest, it’s idea to team up with knowledgeable to develop secure products for patrons.
More area of interest product ideas for health and wellness
- Melatonin gummies
- Mushroom-infused coffee
- Massagers
- Kombucha brew kits
- Oil diffusers
- Oat milk
3. Pet owners
Total expenditures for the pet business within the US alone was an estimated $99 billion in 2020. There are a number of opportunities to develop a distinct segment inside this market across various kinds of pets, lifestyles, and more.
Only Natural Pet is an amazing area of interest business example on this market—it sells the whole lot, including natural food, flea and tick repellant, outdoor gear, toys and beds, and more. A pet owner can come onto its website and find anything they need for his or her pup.
While most individuals own fish, dogs, or cats, there are also unique pets like horses, lizards, turtles, and even chickens, each with their very own potential opportunities.
More area of interest product ideas for pet owners
- Pet cameras to observe and interact with pets when you’re not at home
- GPS pet trackers
- Personalized products with pets’ photos
- Organic pet food and treats
- Pet accessories and clothing
4. The LGBTQ+ community
The LGBTQ+ community is big, and these consumers have massive spending power. Per LGBT Capital, estimated purchasing power is upward of $3.7 trillion globally.
Brands that make authentic connections with this market are in the very best position to serve this area of interest. Just ask underwear brand TomboyX. Originally a t-shirt brand, co-founder Fran Dunaway saw the chance to hone in on a particular consumer group’s must sell underwear “for any body.”
More area of interest product ideas for the LGBTQ+ community
- Makeup specifically designed for LGBTQ+ subgroups
- Pride-inspired designs
- Clothing made for certain body types
5. Travelers
The best way consumers approach traveling is evolving. In actual fact, travelers have gotten more environmentally conscious. Based on Booking.com, greater than half seek sustainable options but have difficulty finding them.
This gap represents an enormous opportunity for brands to step as much as the plate and support eco-friendly initiatives through sustainable products. And travelers are searching for greater than just green options. In addition they search for authentic local experiences, convenience, and long-term trips.
Nomatic is a luggage brand geared toward travelers, especially digital nomads who prioritize functionality. You’ll be able to see this audience focus represented across its entire business, from its product to its copywriting.
More area of interest product ideas for avid travelers
- Smartphone accessories for traveling content creators
- Practical and comfy athleisure for frequent flyers
- Scratch maps for individuals who love collecting travel experiences
6. Gamers
“Gamers” is a catchall term that comprises quite a lot of subsets: mobile gamers, PC gamers, console gamers, tabletop gamers—the list goes on. There are greater than 2.7 billion energetic gamers across the globe, and nearly half spend money on their hobby, amounting to an industry expected to be value over $211 billion by 2025.
Shazim Mohammad launched his online store, Glorious PC Gaming Race, with products specifically geared toward PC gamers. It’s grow to be a seven-figure area of interest business that principally runs on auto-pilot.
Mobile gaming, specifically, is taking up, accounting for 91% of the market. Plus, more women are entering the market than ever before, a trend that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
Inside this category, you can too area of interest down based on popular genres (like first-person shooters) or consoles (just like the Nintendo Switch).
More area of interest product ideas for gamers
- Ergonomic products for long gaming sessions (controllers, chairs, blue-light blocking glasses)
- Decals to personalize consoles, controllers, etc.
- T-shirts referencing features of gamer culture
- Accessories for mobile gamers
7. Homeowners
Home ownership is changing. What was once the norm is not any longer, and a percentage of US consumers are trending away from homeownership. There are lots of reasons for this, equivalent to the rise in the fee of living and salaries that may’t sustain.
As such, not only is home ownership in flux, however the definition of being a house owner can be changing. Homes are increasingly being become investment properties or shared spaces that generate additional passive income, because of the appearance of home sharing via Airbnb and VRBO.
This paved the best way for August to launch its own line of keyless entry and residential security products for homeowners. One among the most important features is guest access, allowing hosts to grant access to renters for specified time periods.
More area of interest product ideas for homeowners
- Home security cameras (in-home, doorbell, smart home devices, etc.)
- Furniture/home decor for small apartments
- Home solutions for renters (equivalent to no-drill blinds)
8. Distant staff
The rise of distant staff is basically because of two influences: more self-employed contractors and more firms open to the thought of distant teams after pandemic-related closures.
There are lots of reasons for this. For one, allowing employees to work remotely increases job satisfaction and productivity. These staff are also more engaged and two times more likely to work greater than 40 hours every week. And people who go the self-employed route are typically searching for more freedom and a greater work-life harmony.
A recent Gartner survey of company leaders found that 80% will allow employees to work remotely at the very least a part of the time after the pandemic, and 47% plan to permit employees to earn a living from home full-time. In a PwC survey of 669 CEOs, 78% agree that distant collaboration is here to remain for the long-term.
Freelancer At Work is an example of an organization serving this area of interest market of freelancers with products that may help attract potential clients. They sell laptop decals that publicize what you do wherever you select to work.
Keeping these distant staff’ motivations and lifestyles in mind can assist you discover product ideas to assist them and the businesses that employ them achieve their goals.
More area of interest product ideas for distant staff
- Desk toys/decorations
- Decor for home offices
- Laptop accessories for individuals who like coffee shop work sessions
9. Locals
Even the world’s biggest brands are adopting local marketing approaches through targeted campaigns. And rightfully so: they’re competing with a consumer-driven movement to support local small businesses.
But when you’re only selling online, it may well be difficult to determine a neighborhood presence. Luckily, there are methods for ecommerce sellers to get in on the movement by their city or country as a distinct segment market.
Apparel company Peace Collective, for instance, was founded in Toronto and around Toronto pride. The brand has expanded to appeal to Canadians nationwide in addition to to fans of varied NBA teams.
More area of interest product ideas for locals
- T-shirts with slogans specific to a culture or city
- Apparel with local sports teams
- Prints/photobooks of a particular cityscape
Methods to find your individual area of interest markets
Each latest and established entrepreneurs and marketers in search of an untouched area of interest market will first need to determine an outline of the larger market and drill down from there. Your area of interest shall be a subset of that market and can help define the whole lot from:
- The product features you aim at your market’s needs
- The pricing strategy in your products
- Production quality
- Your positioning/branding
- Your digital marketing strategy
Selecting a distinct segment gives your online business a competitive edge from the get-go. For those who attempt to launch your online store in a crowded product category or market, you’re going to face a troublesome uphill battle against the established competition. Specializing in a distinct segment helps you compete not necessarily by selling different products but by doubling down on a particular a part of the market.
Although there’s no single option to select a distinct segment, there are lots of methods you may employ. From easy Google searches to constructing a mind map to using keyword research, there are lots of ways to construct a listing of possible niches and find product opportunities.
Start with Google searches
The perfect option to start brainstorming area of interest ideas is by understanding what other online retailers are selling in a product category or to a certain audience. Starting your area of interest selection with basic Google searches is an amazing option to get the lay of the land. Let’s use “cruelty-free makeup” as a start line. From there, we’re capable of discover a goldmine of potential angles and rabbit holes to go down, equivalent to “vegan skincare” and “not tested on animals.”
Through trial and error, you may explore different angles and trends until you discover an underserved audience or demand out there. Remember that even when a competitor is targeting your area of interest, you may still compete by doubling down on a more specific segment of that audience. Remember: it’s about being a specialist, not a generalist.
Construct a mind map
A mind map is an amazing option to discover niches in your potential business ideas. Since mind maps mimic how our brains think, they’re an intuitive option to organize your thoughts and expand on ideas.
Constructing a mind map may help generate product ideas quickly while also encouraging you to explore different area of interest paths. You should use a free online tool like Text2MindMap to create an easy but effective mind map.
Here’s what we got here up with for our cruelty-free product idea:
Use Google’s suggestions
Ever notice how once you start typing something right into a Google search, it shows you suggestions before you even finish typing your query? These are Google’s most-searched-for related queries, which you should use to your advantage to seek out a distinct segment in your product category.
Google will only show you a number of suggestions, so you might need to use tools like Keyword Tool or Answer the Public to collect and organize all of Google’s suggested searches.
We plugged in “cruelty-free,” which returned suggestions we could pull a possible area of interest from. Here’s a small sample of the outcomes:
Drill down with keyword research
This next method for uncovering a distinct segment uses Google’s Keyword Planner tool. Keyword Planner is a resource from Google’s promoting platform, Google Ads. The Google Keyword Planner is comparable to the Google suggestion tool we discussed above but more advanced and customizable.
To make use of this tool you must have a Google Ads account (you may enroll at no cost). Log in to your account and choose Tools from the highest menu (it’s the wrench icon) and choose Keyword Planner.
Enter your most important area of interest idea and see your results. You’ll be able to adjust your location settings on the left to be certain that you’re targeting areas you would like to reach. You can too add filters, remove branded keywords, and see suggestions for other really useful terms to look into.
Looking through these results can provide you with idea of potential niches related to your original search term, and sometimes even the demand for specific popular products you would possibly want to contemplate. Don’t be afraid to dive deeper and take a look at quite a lot of related search terms.
Alternatively, you should use the Keywords In all places browser extension to see search volume directly under your Google searches when you don’t have a Google Ads account.
Search for passionate communities online
The web is pretty good at organizing itself into communities based on shared interests, passions, and hobbies—in other words, into niches.
You’ll be able to consider specific communities that you simply yourself belong to or hunt for ones that show promise by:
- Sifting through the most visited Wikipedia pages under “hobbies”
- Digging through the most energetic subreddits to search for passionate audiences and listening in on their discussions
- “Listening” to community-oriented hashtags on Instagram and Twitter, like #vegansofig and #vegancommunity, to seek out opportunities to area of interest down.
Methods to evaluate your area of interest market ideas
Now that what to sell online, you must be certain that there’s an audience for it. In the beginning, your area of interest market and products are only ideas—a hypothesis of what you think that will resonate along with your audience.
While targeting a distinct segment as your focus will make it infinitely easier to seek out potential customers and persuade them to purchase from you, you must make sure there are enough buyers in that area of interest to make it viable. For those who determine your area of interest is just too small to generate reasonable interest and profit, consider pivoting to a distinct audience inside that area of interest or promoting a distinct product. You won’t really know what is going to resonate until you are attempting.
Even when you do achieve success early on, niches change, and it’s as much as you to evolve along with your audience and adjust your positioning over time. You would possibly even introduce latest products to your line as opportunities present themselves.
Listed below are some ways to judge a brand new area of interest market idea:
- Construct your audience first. Kickstarter campaigns generate buzz and awareness about products before they’re even developed. While this may occasionally not be the route for you, you may still introduce your idea and gain followers before the thought has come to fruition through email opt-in pages, social media campaigns, and other online tactics. This fashion, you’ll have an engaged group of potential customers ready and waiting for once you do launch.
- Test before you invest. Start with a small batch of dropshipping products and run a campaign to your targeted audience. Solicit feedback from customers who’ve made the primary purchases or send a number of out to influencers and ask them what they think. It’s essential to get feedback early on, especially when you’re developing a brand new product, so you may perfect it before it goes out to the remainder of the world.
- Dig deeper into your area of interest. You already did the keyword research to discover your area of interest market, but you may go much more in depth. Analyze blogs, social media, Amazon reviews, podcasts, influencers, and other key areas in your area of interest to realize insights. Are you able to solve an issue that repeatedly comes up?
- Research consumer trends in your market. It’s essential to be up to this point with what’s happening in your chosen area of interest. Resources like Facebook IQ, Think with Google, and Nielsen consumer research will assist you understand consumer pain points, desires, and breakout trends. Arrange Google Alerts for related keywords and frequently monitor social media conversations to remain on top of what’s trending.
When it’s time to truly market your product, remember to hone in in your specific audience’s needs and commonalities. What makes this area of interest market different from the broader market, and how are you going to appeal specifically to its wants, needs, and preferences?
Understanding the unique needs of every area of interest makes it possible to talk on to them in your marketing campaigns—you’ll have a greater probability of attracting a buyer’s attention and winning their business by making it clear that your product is specifically for them.
Read: Methods to Conduct a Market Evaluation
Moving forward with a distinct segment marketing strategy
Now that select a distinct segment market and generate product ideas your audience will buy, it’s time to show your idea right into a reality. Listed below are a number of resources to get you began, whether you propose to make it yourself, work with a manufacturer, or dropship:
Which products or trends have you ever noticed recently? What would you add to this list? Tell us within the comments below.
Illustration by Rose Wong
Area of interest markets FAQ
What does area of interest market mean?
A distinct segment market is a segment of a bigger market defined by its own specific needs, preferences, or identity that makes it different from the market at large.
What are examples of area of interest markets?
- Conscious consumers
- Health and wellness
- Pet owners
- The LGBTQ+ community
- Travelers
- Gamers
- Homeowners
- Distant staff
- Locals
What’s a mass market and what’s a distinct segment market?
A mass market is about reaching as many individuals as possible, while a distinct segment market is about reaching only a particular group of individuals. An example of a business catering to a mass market is a national food market chain, while a distinct segment business example may be a neighborhood butcher shop.
How do I select a distinct segment?
Select your larger mass market after which drill down into the possible niches until you discover one which appeals to you. To seek out ideas, have a look at search trends, construct a mind map, or browse on social media. This blog post will take you thru defining and validating your area of interest from there.