SME corner: Find a speciality and stay ahead of the pack

Jones the Grocer owner and chief executive Yunib Siddiqui gives advise for a niche business on how to retain customers in the face of copycat competitors.

I launched a new online business in a niche field three years ago. When I first launched, I was the first UAE company to offer this service. However, since then, five or six competitors have sprung up offering almost exactly the same concept. I would go so far as to say some are actually mimicking my idea. A similar thing happened when deal-sharing websites such as Groupon and Cobone first came on to the scene. There was one and suddenly there were several. I have to admit the competition worries me, so how can I ensure I stay ahead of the pack? MM, Dubai

Discovering a niche and launching a business successfully to satisfy a specific market segment is a great achievement. In an open market with relatively low barriers to entry it is inevitable that competitors will creep up on you.

It is very important to remember that companies that compete solely on price rarely compete with those that place an emphasis on service, innovation or quality. Often mimickers “cut and paste” your idea and make price their differentiating factor. If your competitors are better capitalised they can keep dropping prices at the expense of their brand positioning.

Defending your niche is about making sure you continue to provide service excellence, innovation and a quality product. Monitor your competitors’ prices but don’t get drawn into a battle over price because it will be at the expense of your brand. If Apple launched a US$200 computer it would erode the perceived value of its brand with existing customers.

Stay very customer-focused so you can understand precisely what their needs are. Then create marketing content that is aimed at your target audience. I know you are a niche market player based in the UAE but let’s pick the international bank HSBC as a good working example. After a careful customer study HSBC identified expats as a valuable niche among its worldwide customer base. The bank operates a website aimed solely at expats (www.expat.hsbc.com).

Apart from expat banking services you will find advice on moving country, blogs, tax planning, expat insights and case studies on expat life. This is a great example of how you can show a community of niche customers you truly understand them. This reservoir of content makes it easier for HSBC’s customers to retell the story to others and also builds a pool of knowledge that can be accessed by the bank and its customers.

Keeping a razor-sharp eye on your niche audience’s needs and understanding it thoroughly liberates you from the struggle to be a product-driven service provider. Instead, you’ll find yourself being driven by the needs of your niche customer. Now you can innovate and promote new products and fine-tune existing ones.

For a moment I’ll assume that your online business tailors adventure holidays to remote offline destinations. While researching your audience you realise that a subset of your customers are corporate executives who need to be kept informed about their business and market while on their remote adventure holiday. Here’s an opportunity to find a way to create a service that provides each customer a snapshot of important messages and news about their business or market segment at the end of each day’s adventure. By researching your audience you’ve found an opportunity to broaden and deepen your niche.

After you understand your customers’ needs, spend time brainstorming with your team. Figure out which need to focus on and then specialise in it. Narrowing your focus results in better specialisation. In the online world this leads to more targeted content and makes it easier for you to be discovered on the internet with your keywords. The better the keywords the easier it is for you to stand out against your online competition. Being very clear about what you do will also make you “known” among your customers for providing that service which spurs referrals and creates opportunities to bolster the relationship.

With competition on the horizon, it’s easy to panic and lose sight of your long-term vision. Assess your strategy as you evolve your product and services but ensure that you keep your team focused on your broad vision.

In summary, my advice to you is to really focus on what your niche audience needs. Keep your long-term vision alive. Create content that reflects a thorough understanding of your customer. Keep an eye on price but don’t compete on price. Don’t be everything for everybody – specialise.

Yunib Siddiqui started his first business in London at the age of 22. He is the chief executive and owner of Jones the Grocer in the UAE. He can be contacted at [e-mail]