Niche Market Determination

[moltar]

I am still trying to write a business plan [webmasterworld.com] :)

I am starting an official website development business. I am trying to narrow down a potential client base i.e. niche market. I don't have any particular industry in mind and it's difficult to choose one. Current clients are all over the place and I don't see any trends. I figured I will pick strictly by the means of data analysis. I think the ideal niche market would have the following qualities:

• High annual net income
  
• High profit margin
  
• Few to none website developers in the field
  
• Having a website translates into higher profits
  

I just want to be sure that those are the key factors. Is there anything I missed? Anything is wrong with that list?

The data is offered by the government for free. I could get it and analyze each industry. Then check out yellow pages and do some research online to see if the businesses have websites.

What do you think?

[DXL]

All things considered, there really isn't a niche market when it comes to web design. No matter what the market is, granted its one involving good money, a few people out there are aggressively going after anyone in that business from city to city.

If anything, I'd say that my "niche" was dealing with Latin-owned businesses because I happen to speak Spanish, it made earning the trust of those business owners easier and made communication a breeze. Aside from that, I've tried to go after particular markets only to realize someone else usually picked it clean in my area.

Really, why limit yourself. I'd go after any and every type of business, then over time you may find that you have a considerable number of clients in a particular field (doctors, lawyers, dentists), and can use networking and referrals to your advantage.

[Even_Steven]

DXL, the advantage of going after a niche market, is that you can drastically lower your development costs and development time by creating "cookie-cutter" websites designed to meet the needs of a specific niche.

The real estate agent niche is a perfect example of this. There are already many website builders who focus solely in this niche. They use a template that's designed to meet the needs of the real estate market, and can whip out ready-to-publish site in a matter of hours. It's just a matter of filling in blanks, and dropping in a photo.

As for a niche market, you might try building contractors. These guys have absolutely no time to build their own site, and many hardly ever touch a computer. Yet there is great consumer-demand for contractors due to the real estate boom. Come up with a cookie-cutter design, offer a low-price "complete package", and advertise in all the trade magazines.