While there exists a rather large potential for profit when marketing for a specific audience, the process is not without its disadvantages. The work that must be put into analysis and research is often overwhelming and the unwillingness to put in the effort is frequently the downfall of businesses seeking to target a niche market. While this process can certainly be time consuming, it is essential that a business looking for a niche market complete this research. In performing the necessary market analysis a business can gain an upper hand on its competition. The main goal of businesses looking to target a specific audience is to identify the needs of this niche market and learn how to better serve them, thereby increasing their sales and profit. Without the research and analysis it is nearly impossible for a company to do so. Within the analysis a business should aim to obtain information on the extent of their market, trends within the market, competitor prices, particularly those selling a similar product or providing a comparable service, and the preferences of this niche market also. The information you collect and examine must be accurate if you are to make a well- educated and beneficial business decision. As such one can see how rigorous this process can become, especially when one considers the need for information authentication. While conducting this research can be quite painstaking, there are means through which a business can alleviate some of the stress associated with market research. Businesses can easily take advantage of the methods of conducting a market assessment in order to obtain better quality information with fewer errors. Using libraries, business publications, questionnaires, media sources and information obtained from government agencies can make the process of market analysis much less chaotic and simultaneously make it seem like less of a disadvantage.
