Niche Marketing

Segmenting the vast consumer market into bite-size pieces helps to tailor a marketing approach that can capture borrower business. Some lenders are doing it well, but others have yet to use the tools that can net select slices of the mortgage market.

To the untrained eye, the current mortgage lending and refinancing boom may seem a perfect time to rest on your past success. A booming housing market may not be the obvious chance for lenders to pursue niche marketing strategies.

After all, most lenders have their hands full already with new homebuyers, refinancing inquiries and other details. Many companies reserve their proactive marketing efforts for slow times, when customers aren't just walking in unannounced.

Business strategists will tell you, however, that when business is good it's precisely the right time to test new markets, new tactics or seek new audiences. If the venture succeeds, then it adds to an already robust activity level. If it doesn't meet expectations, there's far less at risk than a make-or-break effort to revive business during a slow period.

Reaching a new customer calls for advance research and planning, whether the goal is a new audience, a new geographic market or a different sort of product.

Answering the "why" question of whether to pursue a new opportunity is easier than the "how" of what methods are best for reaching that target. A TV ad campaign may include network, cable and spot market choices for placing ads.

Testing and retesting to see what works has made a mantra of the phrase "Ready, fire aim" as companies constantly refine their methods for reaching the customer at the right time and with the right message using the right medium.

There may be new territories, ethnic markets, overlooked product lines and untapped potential just waiting to be discovered-or rediscovered.

Niche Marketing |