Since commerce first began it has been apparent that selling your products or services meant advertising them - not just anywhere, but in the most appropriate places.

This means knowing the lifestyles of the people who can benefit from your product or service and where you're likely to find them. This is considered as a niche or niche market.

A niche merely means a small section within a market.

One example may be men's running shoes which is a sector of the market for shoes.

A niche focuses on people with a particular hobby, those who live in a certain geographical area, or those of a specific culture.

Having a product that appeals to sector within a market enables a business to better serve its desires or needs.

Niches in ecommerce

Niches play a critical part in business, regardless of if they're supplied by dropship suppliers or other more traditional forms of supply chain management.

Companies must advertise of their products or services in places as TV commercials, magazines, or newspapers where customers are likely to find them.

For example, beer commercials are aired during football games, toys or cereals for children are advertised when cartoons are shown, and ads for computer systems are placed in computer magazines.

Hence, advertising children's cereal during a baseball game would be fruitless for the cereal producer.

Choosing a niche

The best kind of niche should relate to a personal hobby or work experience you have.

The more knowledge and interest you have in this area, the better equipped you will be in meeting customers' needs.

Entrepreneurs are likely to choose a niche within a career field they've worked in.

For instance, a general practice lawyer may want to open his own firm serving those with divorce cases.

There are countless numbers of niches that serve our world's marketplace today.

Computer software can be broken down into several niches as accounting, video games, music, educational, etc.

The shoe market includes niches as men's, women's, walking, running, therapeutic shoes, sandals, and so on.

Hygiene products can be categorized as cosmetics, perfumes, deodorants, shampoos, and soaps for both men and women.

Even things like cell phones can be broken down into cell phone watches, accessories, carrying cases, simple phones and smart phones amongst others.

Know your competitors

To be successful, you must have a cutting edge on your competition.

You must find out who sells what you want to sell, find out what area they serve, and sample the quality of their products or services by buying from them at least once.

Then think up ways you can make your goods better than theirs or even offer things they don't.

So, if you want to repair bicycles, find out where other bicycle repair shops in your hometown are and see what services they offer.

You may offer services as repainting, adding accessories as lights or locks, or free delivery and pick up of bikes near your shop.

Credentials and references help service-oriented businesses.

If you have a license or certificate, make it known to customers. Have references of past customers a prospect can call to share the satisfaction of your service.