A pleasant SLAP in the face (Or what experience taugh me about niche products)

"Dear Diary"

It could easily be the title of this blog post, as the content following is based 100% on my recent personal business experience.

It starts with my decision to change job role & company at the end of 2017 after spending 9 career years in a multinational giant where I grew professionally & personally. A circle of amazing challenges, memorable experiences was about to close as I decided to take the risk & move to another company of a different scale & size.

I took the brave step and left behind the massive sales volumes of a super-fast consuming brand, with (nearly) endless budget, for a niche product market.

THE MYTH

It starts with the definition of what a niche product / market / audience is all about:

“A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines as the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact. It is also a small market segment”.

People tend to think about niche products or market critically & be conscious: "Does it worth to be bothered with such a small consumer audience? It must require so much effort to keep your few customers interested & focus. Mistakes must cost a lot & must be punished very hard. Is there really a career progression in niche product companies?"

Well, in reality is all about perspective & the corner view that a one evaluates the situation. Apple, believe it or not, is a niche product. It is consumed by 14% of global population but grasps 74% of profitability. Samsung on the other side is accessible to 74% of global population but grasps only 14% of the profit pool.

Niche products are not so bad now, are they? J

 A SMALL PIECE OF REALITY

Don't get me wrong, although it is a pleasant situation to be in now, it hasn't always been the case. As everything in life, every change hurts due to the human instinct of resistance & willingness to stick to "what is familiar & comfortable".

- You are an acknowledged individual that matters

Niche product companies tend to have a lean structure where levels of seniority are limited & flexible. The distance between the CEO & the Sales Rep is small & therefor every individual has a voice that matters & expected to be heard. Yes, sometimes Decision making still might take time but it is a joint piece of outcome where peoples' business PoV is taken into consideration.

- Fake professionalism is absent

That's my favourite one. Because of the lean & flexible structure every individual is visible and no one can survive via corporate bullsh****ng (which is a huge disease in multinationals). People are true to each other & will challenge you, even say straight to your face if something is bullsh*t. Then most probably will have a beer with you outside a meeting & have a laugh. And that's a real privilege as it helps the business move on with sh*t faster but also build real human relationships.

- Stretching is the norm

Let's face it, Apple is the exception in the case of niche products. 9/10 you really have to work with limited budget, limited human resources in a challenging environment that you have to stretch your creative way of thinking in order to overcome competition. And that is fine because there is an element of surprise & excitement there that keeps you on your toes & keeps you going because people are listening & acknowledging.

- Sky is the limit

Think about the following: When you are small player with so many opportunities for growth around you, then the only way is only up! You have so many cases to share your PoV & showcase your work that you are always in exposure & also helping the business to progress. Cool Stuff!

- Caring is at the core

Every sale matters, every meeting counts, every single story needs to be told. Attention to detail provided in a simple manner is the way of doing business having in mind the right time every time. People have the feeling that this is there own company & the more they care about it the more prosperous will be.

A "Dear Diary" confession:

I cannot promise that this is the business environment that you will face in every single niche product company. As I said, this blog post is based on my personal experience so far & should be "inhaled" as such.

What I do know though is the following: If you ever come across to a niche product market opportunity, TAKE IT. It will be a pleasantly painful experience that will grow you mentally, personally & professionally. Think about the following: If you can succeed in an environment with tight budget, tight human resources that people sometimes are brutally honest with you testing your temper, is there anything stopping you in succeeding anywhere else under any circumstance?

And that's for me the biggest asset of working for a niche product market ;)