Catering to Niche Markets

• Posted on: Oct 9 2014
• By: Beautiful Forever
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Reaching out to niche markets offers several benefits to cosmetic practices.

Most aesthetic practices serve a culturally mainstream popu-lation, and for many years, that was enough to have a busy and profi table practice. However, increasing competition combined with the economic downturn in 2008 conspired to change the situation.

Where it was once a challenge to keep up with new busi-ness, over the past several years, many practices have strug-gled to remain profi table. In response, a growing number of cosmetic practitioners are fi lling their books by reaching out to specialty or niche markets. Here are some examples:

• A physician in Northern Jersey has strengthened his practice by reaching into the Russian émigré market.

• A Manhattan doctor has expanded his business by reaching out to men, one of the fastest-growing patient populations in aesthetic medicine.

• A dermatologist in Florida’s South Beach area has tapped into his own Cuban roots to serve the Cuban-American market.

• A physician in North Miami Beach is reaching out to Or-thodox Jews, offering services that cater to their medical needs, while respecting their faith.

• An Egyptian-born doctor north of Detroit is reaching out to the Arab-American market, trading on his

linguistic skills and cultural sensitivities to provide distinctive services for that audience.

Other examples include physicians in Oklahoma and the Dakotas, who serve Native American patients, while others serve Florida’s Haitian community.

REACHING NICHE MARKETS

There are several factors that make marketing to niche mar-kets an attractive proposal. They often have their own local media, which allows practices to directly reach the target market with distinct messages. In urban areas, individuals

in the same ethnic, lifestyle or gender groups, often cluster together. Major cities, such as New York, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have so many ethnic and lifestyle groups that savvy cosmetic physicians are segmenting their markets and building brand loyalty, referrals and profi ts.

There are four primary types of niche markets:

• Those based on race

• Those based on distinctive national ethnic origin

• Those based on lifestyle and orientation

• Those based on gender

• Those based on age

deliver messages directly to the target group.

When you market to any niche group, you are tell-ing them, “you belong here, and you are welcome here.” Markets that are traditionally underserved by the medical

aesthetic industry respond with loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals to providers who reach out to them and treat them with respect and sensitivity.

MARKETING TO NICHE MARKETS

To successfully market your practice to a niche market, you fi rst need to understand what defi nes this market. You do

not want to seem like an outsider. If you are a member of the niche market you are targeting, you are at a distinct advantage. If you are not a member of the niche market you are targeting, seek out community members to get a sense of what makes this group feel respected and special when it comes to cus-tomer care. Create pre-tested, culturally sensitive messages to avoid unseen cultural landmines.

When it comes to choosing your marketing avenues, two tactics can be used. Niche markets often have their own

BUSINESS CONSULT

local media, allowing practices to deliver messages directly to the target group. You can also expand your current market-ing—both in-house and external—to refl ect a broader patient base by featuring models or patients from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles.

Create distinct websites and collateral marketing materials that target niche groups through relevant images. If your target market does not speak English, translate the site and your brochures into their language.

Also make sure that your receptionist and patient care staff can speak the language and understand the culture. For example, if you run ads in Spanish, Russian or Arabic, your receptionist and staff must speak the language. If you don’t

speak the language, run your ads in English in the ethnic media so prospective patients know what to expect.

There are real opportunities in reaching out to niche mar-kets. If you take the time to understand these patients and their specifi c concerns, they will reward you with repeat visits and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

Cheryl Whitman is the CEO of Beautiful Forever,a national aesthetic business consulting fi rm that helps

physicians develop new profi t centers for practice growth. Contact her at cheryl@beautifulforever.com.