Niche market
A narrow, specialised market segment with a limited number of clients sharing homogeneous and specific needs. A niche reduces head-on competition and supports premium pricing, at the cost of a smaller addressable volume.
In practice
Well-chosen niche markets are defensible: an accountant specialising in estate agents offers services that generalists cannot match at a comparable price. The rule: better to be number one in a 20 M€ niche than number twenty in a 2 Md€ mass market. Niches evolve — today’s niche can become a mass market if larger players enter. Monitoring competitive entries is a permanent strategic obligation for any niche incumbent.