Experts Discuss Net Niches.

Business Editors

eHealthcareWorld 2000

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2000

In an eHealthcareWorld 2000 conference panel discussion titled "Developing a Niche: From Target Identification to Strategy Implementation and Measurement," experts on Internet marketing reported strategies for identifying a niche market and developing a business plan within that market.

Some of the key points presented were the importance of understanding trends, understanding the consumer, and being able to define specifically the services a company will be providing.

Mark Josephson, About.com, said that it is essential to be able to summarize the concept behind a company in one sentence. With a clear definition of the company's mission it will be easier for consumers to grasp and use the services, he explained.

Josephson warned, though, that once the niche has been identified, it is sometimes important to "...start broad to understand the consumer marketplace." While still maintaining a strong understanding of what will be offered, one should not completely assume the direction of a site. He used as an example a pregnancy website in which one of the most popular features is a "belly gallery" to which pregnant women can send in pictures of their enlarged stomachs - a feature that obviously was not part of the original design.

In a related program titled "Niche Marketing: Understanding the Depth of Opportunity," Thadeus Grimes-Gruczka, of Cyber Dialogue, talked about the importance of understanding the consumer within the chosen niche. Key points he presented on successful Customer Relation Management (CRM) included:

-- Efficient customer acquisition

-- Reduction of attrition through the establishment of loyalty programs

-- Benchmarking of normative data

-- Coordination of marketing

-- Importance of a predictive model

-- Improvement of the overall customer experience

On the topic of understanding the consumer, Marc Raheja, president and founder of Achoo.com, stated his company found that polls on websites were helpful in understanding the people who were using Achoo.com when it was in its initial phases.

Raheja, from Canada, talked about the feeling of starting a business next to the giant marketplace of the U.S. He quoted a past Canadian prime minister who said, "Being a Canadian and being next to the United States is like sleeping next to an elephant. Every time we move we get crushed." However, concerning the ability for smaller companies to succeed against the larger eHealth companies, Raheja later added, "In Africa there is a saying among the Pygmies that even an elephant can be eaten one bite at a time."

This report was compiled by NewsRx.com editors from staff and other reports.

NewsRx.com ( http://www.NewsRx.com ) is official online news sponsor of the eHealthcare World 2000 conference ( http://www.eHealthcareWorld.com ), Las Vegas produced and managed by eMarketWorld.