3 Tips for Breaking into a Saturated Market

Let’s say you want to open and ice cream parlor, but there are already 10 in your city. Maybe you want to start a dog walking business but all the pooches are already being walked by the four others who have already established themselves.

Does that mean it isn’t worth a shot? Not necessarily.

Competition is a good thing, and sometimes you just have to get a little creative. Following are three tips for breaking into a competitive market.

In the ice cream example, most likely the parlors that have the best location and products are already pulling in a ton of business. It may be hard to get customers to come try new ice cream even in a good location. If they never try it, they won’t know that it tastes better. However, if you have a “healthier” ice cream option, maybe with vitamins and minerals, or better tasting low fat ice cream, you can tap into the “health crowd” sub-market.

Consider the dog walking example. Maybe there may already be others offering dog walking services, but do they bathe your pet or maybe offer courier services to the vet? If your service added on these offerings at a competitive price, then you could break into a market. Busy pet owners might welcome help with more than just walking their dogs.

Of course with any business, regardless of whether the market is saturated, most new business owners will need financing. The problem is, the bank will look at the market when determining whether or not they will grant the loan. This means it will be necessary to convince lenders – whether looking to get traditional or unsecured business loans – that you have a plan for that potential problem.

Though these examples are a little over simplified, the point is that sometimes you have to jump completely away from the box, not just think outside of it, in an effort to break into a market that may seem to be cornered. Finding a new way to offer the same service or product is not always easy, but once you do, you could be well on your way to doing what you love and being your own boss.