- 12 March 2007 -
Transforming Your Niche into a 'Sweet Spot'

I just returned from the first NASF Management Conference, where I had the opportunity to sit in on some interesting educational seminars. One of the more interesting talks was delivered by Robert Gordman, author of the book titled, "The Must-Have Customer—7 Steps to Winning the Customer You Haven’t Got." The primary objective of Gordman's presentation was to inspire attendees to start thinking about how they can either turn a niche into a sweet spot, or study the marketplace to identify an untapped sweet spot for the long term.

One of the basic tenets of the sweet-spot strategy is understanding your customer base. Gordman identified three types of customers: "core," or the most loyal clients who love your product and are willing to pay a fair price for it. "Opportunistic" customers view your offerings as commodities and only buy when the price is right. "Must-have" customers are potential accounts who look a lot like core customers. The must-haves, however, are the types of customers a surface finisher needs to be doing business with if it’s going to remain profitable.

The only problem is, the must-haves are someone else's core customers. Gordman advises turning these potential clients into core customers by increasing the effectiveness of your communications. In other words, knowing their rules and needs are critical to winning them over.

One of the rules of developing a sweet spot is exhibiting a mentality that no one can serve it better than you. You should be able to leverage your strengths to create a customer-relevant position in the marketplace. "You must have a clear vision of where your company can go based on a rational analysis of where your core and must-have customers [are going]," Gordman noted.

In order to find your sweet spot, Gordman said you'll need to do some research by asking your core and must-have customers relevant questions to learn more about their businesses. At the same time, you must take a hard look at your own business and identify what changes are necessary to turn your niche into a sweet spot. In short, by asking the right core and must-have customers the correct "fact-finding" questions, a surface finisher can learn what it takes to leverage their strengths, create a customer-relevant position, and develop that elusive sweet spot. - Greg Valero, g.valero@elsevier.com