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Showing archives from 11/2004.

Niche Marketing Rolls Again #2: Curves Fitness for Women & Personal Training

Posted by Michael Cage on Tuesday, November 30, 2004

No matter what the business is, niche marketing makes attracting new clients at higher prices/fees/rates much simpler.

Several months ago a personal trainer asked me how to grow his business. I suggested marketing training and private gym use for women only, an under-served market in Northern Virginia. A few trainers do it, almost all market it poorly.

It wasn't an original idea. One of my frequently-used small business growth suggestions is to restrict your market to increase your profits, shrink client acquisition costs, and increase client lifetime value; but, in this case, I swiped the idea from Curves and from my wife's experience trying to find a "women-only" personal trainer.

This post from Michelle Miller about Curves founder Gary Heavin winning "Entrepreneur of the Year" from Ernst & Young is well worth a read. Here is a short except:

Starting with a $10,000 investment and a single gym in 1995, Heavin now lays claim to what is (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) the fastest-growing franchise in history. Today, there are more than 8,000 Curves facilities in 25 countries, accounting for more than 80% of the women's fitness market. From Day One, Heavin's mission was simple and has never wavered: just get women to step inside a gym. In promoting fitness and wellness, Heavin saw that women often feel uncomfortable exercising in the presence of men. He also noticed that women's social tendencies, even while exercising, are to talk and benefit from each other's company - leading to the circular layout of his small gyms so ladies can chat while exercising. Heavin recognized early on that women are time-challenged, so he devised a workout that lasts a mere 30 minutes.

Tipped off by Dane at the Business Opportunities Weblog.

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Bad News Is Good News For Computer Consulting Business Owners

Posted by Michael Cage on Monday, November 29, 2004

In the computer consulting business, bad news can be good news when it comes to getting new contracts. Over the last year, the consultants I work with have seen huge spikes in business due to "easy entry" consulting sales for things like spyware removal, virus recovery, and backup solutions.

Because selling prevention is much harder than selling a cure, the easiest sale to make is the small business owner whose business has been thrown into disarray due to computer problems. The guy who wouldn't pay a few hundred bucks to have virus and spyware protection installed on Monday, will pay thousands to recover from the damage on a Tuesday.

It's the proverbial "it'll happen to the other guy, but not to me" syndrome.

Anyway, aside from all the money they have been making, the good news is the importance of previously "techie" things like network security, computer protection, and a bulletproof backup plan is getting more and more press. And, slowly, it is seeping into the general awareness of the market making it even easier to sell "prevention jobs" ... not just the "cure jobs."

The latest info?

Yet again, small and medium business spending on information technology consulting and solutions has grown. A growth of 6.6% from 2003.

According to Forrester:

"Security tops buyers' wish lists, and nearly two-thirds of SMBs will buy new servers and networking equipment this year. Dell dominates mindshare among PC buyers, who on average expect to replace one in four PCs next year. The direct channel will receive the lion's share of PC and other hardware purchases by SMBs, but buyers are split on where they'll turn for hardware support. On the software front, many are in the market for finance and accounting software, and a surprisingly high number will consider hosted apps."

Many thanks to Anita Sharpe at Small Business Trends for pointing out the Forrester research.

P.S. If you are in the computer consulting business (or network, IT, or security consulting) and you aren't getting rich right now, the problem is your marketing. It hasn't been this easy to sell technology consulting solutions since the tech boom. In some ways, it's even easier now.

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Niche Marketing Rolls Again

Posted by Michael Cage on Sunday, November 28, 2004

When mass market companies offer products to a broad audience, there is oodles of profitable business to be scooped up by nicheing to highly-responsive and underserved segments. This article from Startup Journal talks about several companies offering "family-friendly" alternatives to computer games, Hollywood, and more.

While edgy videogames like "Grand Theft Auto" and gory movies like "Saw" are popular entertainment, eGames and other small businesses have pursued their own niche -- family-friendly entertainment. These firms say there's a rising demand for games and movies without the profanity, sex and violence often featured in the top sellers of large movie studios and videogame publishers. "The market was telling us that if parents could buy products and be 100% guaranteed that they weren't going to be surprised with the content, they'd be very interested," says Rich Siporin, vice president of sales and marketing of Langhorne, Pa.-based eGames. The company started in the early 1990s under the name RomTech and sold a hodgepodge of PC software, Mr. Siporin says. It gradually began to focus on games, and by 1999 it decided to change its name and sell only family-friendly PC games, most for less than $20. The company doesn't target the 18-year-old boys who favor such offerings as Grand Theft Auto, Mr. Siporin says. Instead, the underserved market includes younger children as well as older adults, including 35- to 40-year-olds who want "casual games whether traveling with a laptop, or at home on the PC," says Mr. Siporin.

...tipped off the by always insightful Jeff Cornwall.

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