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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®








 Marketing your brokerage
Analyzing the Business Climate


  

Setting Marketing Strategies

Analyzing the Business Climate

Creating Your Market Identity

Planning Your Advertising

Coordinating Company and Salesperson Marketing

Developing Public Relations Strategies

Enhancing Customer Service 		  Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Current (or Planned) Market Niche

First identify your current market by:
  • Occupation
  • Average home price
  • Space needs
  • Current residency
  • Frequency of move

Then consider these questions:
  • Is the niche large enough to be profitable?
  • Is the niche growing, either in terms of total size/population or frequency of purchases?
  • Is there a lot of competition in your niche?
  • Are there outside influences that could affect the viability of this niche? For example, if you specialize in selling new construction, a zoning change that slowed growth might narrow your market.
  • Do you have some way to set yourself apart from this competition that will appeal to the niche?
  • Do you have the skills and experience to meet the demands of the niche?

TIP: If you don’t have a clear picture of your current market, create a table listing customers from the last year or two. Make columns for education level, previous owner/renter, size of house, price of house, and neighborhood. Then look for similarities.

9 Niche Options

Be sure that your niche choice is not too crowded with competitors and is large enough to support your business:

1. Special type of customer—seniors, first-time buyers, Internet buyer
2. Service—either extremely high level of service or value for a lower price
3. Lower commission or fee-for-service
4. Special types of properties—condominiums, second homes
5. People in certain professions
6. Geographic—only one or two proscribed areas
7. Speed of sale
8. Higher sale price than average
9. Wide range of services

The 4 P's of Marketing >