Micro Niches

Jun21
2009 8 Comments Written by Prasad

Wikipedia definition of Niche -

A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing on; Therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact.

A micro niche is a much more focused and a smaller component. For example if you take people who listen to Techno music in the Indian market, thats a niche … people who listen to Tiesto only (and he is GOD :) ), then that’s a micro-niche.

I gave the music example specifically because I was talking to a good friend of mine about airing Techno. Niharika works for Red FM, and handles their marketing activities and although I am not a listener, I would have been one. Had they played Techno :-) , then I would have been an ardent follower. Then it simply became an MBA-to-MBA talk, and the final answer came out as simply as this – I am not their target segment.

That’s why I have a Worldspaceradio at my home. Thats why I listen to the System channel. They cater to my needs, however small a business I represent.

I actually am willing to pay a premium for that service. What normally was free for Red FM or other channel users, I have to pay something like Rs. 3000 a year. But I get what I want at the end of the day. I think businesses should cater to more and more micro-niches, especially businesses which are planning to enter a red ocean. They need that small group of ardent followers. What say?

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  • Aina

    Techno? What are you Swedish? :D

    • http://www.kidakaka.com kidakaka

      hehehe .. i wish it were that famous in India :)

  • http://blog.dsignbeyond.com/ Hypnos

    Point hai boss.

    At the end of the day it boils down to how big that small group is – would it be profitable for the company to cater to such a small segment. If they are making even one rupee out of that, there is no reason they should not be.

    And if they are losing money right now, but can predict income from that group/activity, or can predict a growth in that segment, then also it is worth following.

  • ni

    hey….it boils down to two words ‘It depends’ …:-)

    It depends on what your advertisers are looking for…
    And It depends on the current regulatory scenario…

    The point is though you are listening to radio, you don’t pay radio operators for that service. Radio makes money through advertising, and is in the business of selling numbers. i.e. number of listeners, to advertisers. Therefore it makes perfect ‘business sense’ to cater to what the advertisers want.

    Another angle is…Since radio only has 24 hrs to sell per day, the objective is to maximize the premium you can make on each spot. Which again boils down to more numbers of listeners = more money!

    This problem can be easily solved by the govt. if they allow (the case in most established radio markets abroad) multiple frequencies per player per city. If Red FM has 2-3 stations in Mumbai they can offer niche formats for different audiences. (Including some day Techno for Kida!)

    Until then, everyone will go after the lowest common denominator i.e. the masses….and play only popular music!

  • http://maxmayur.wordpress.com Mayur

    I think its time we have some thing like a radio on demand. I live in Thane now and its well over an hour’s drive from my office in Andheri. Imagine a situation now. I’m sick and tired of the office and want to listen the best of music on my car radio. However flipping the 8 channels and still not finding good music makes me even more sick. So why not I handpick some songs I wish to hear in the next one hour and the radio station plays only that (some thing on the lines of VOD). I pay per playout (the way I pay per view)

    Looks possible?

  • http://maxmayur.wordpress.com Mayur

    And of course, I forgot to add, this way you can cater to the niche of the niche market. :-)

  • http://www.kidakaka.com kidakaka

    Actually, its possible if Radio was broadcasted over IP. What say Ni? When can we have that :-)

  • http://maxmayur.wordpress.com Mayur

    Its possible with the wireless networks as well… just the receiving set up needs to be modified to receive digital signals through a wireless network and then convert them to be played on the radio.

    Its possible!