The market world is increasingly becoming specialized. Instead of offering a wide variety of goods or services, businesses prefer to cater to a select few. Also known as a niche market, serving such a well-defined segment gives businesses more time to focus on their customers’ needs and provide them quality service. However, the challenge is competing with bigger brands and how to beat them at their own game by using the key to niche marketing.

The key to niche marketing lies in getting ahead of the competition. This means getting to know your niche market, offering them services most big brands cannot provide, advertising heavily and giving them something more that just a smile. In order to use the key to niche marketing more effectively, one must be ready to abandon old marketing concepts, be creative and resourceful.

One element abandoned by the key to niche marketing is the principle of place. With the rise of the Internet, advertising, promotion and service have never been easier to get the key to niche marketing. You can do business online, set up shop in its virtual space or update an existing establishment and its services. The key to niche marketing is to know what your market segment more than the competition and meet their demands.

The key to niche marketing begins with research. You have to know your market segment intimately: what are their needs, their lifestyle and buying behavior. How often do they need your product/service and are they willingly to pay more for quality. All of these must be taken into account because it will help you define the key to niche marketing. The pricing, advertising and promotion rests on their response and is another part of the key to niche marketing. You can also create packages for your customers that suits their tastes by using the key to niche marketing.

Reading articles of related topics, interviews by other marketing professionals and using other techniques developed by successful business people will also help you build the key to niche marketing. Here is where Go.Rom.com fills in the blank of your personal research for the key to niche marketing. Go.Rom.com is a website that provides vital information about your potential customers, how to attract them to your site and gives you the principles of the key to niche marketing. Often it is the business with the most information and uses it well that wins the marketing game through the key of niche marketing.

The key to niche marketing can give you a chance to use the Internet in its full power. Once you’ve established the key to niche marketing in your own business, you are well on your way to expanding by including other services in your business. Say you are a wine seller that does specialty blends with your own vineyard. Go.Rom.com can help increase the traffic of your website through keyword searches as part of the key to niche marketing. It can also help you find wholesalers for equipment, partner with niche affiliated programs to create awareness, such as a wine fair, or create additional products/ service to compliment your current niche like a complete set of wine glasses or wine racks. The key to niche marketing is really to pay attention to the customer needs and give them quality in return. You will be rewarded by loyalty and increased niche-base through word of mouth, which is the best form of advertising any business can get, all this by unleashing the power of the key of niche marketing.

Cutting into a PVC pipe is not a lot of fun, but trying to do it while it’s buried in the ground can be a real challenge. A sprinkler repair was what prompted this tip.

You can easily cut a plastic pipe with a strong string or length of wire. Run the line under the pipe; hold the string or wire ends in both hands, and then use a back-and-forth seesawing motion. The friction will cut right through the pipe. Talk about a timesaver (and backsaver)!

A rescue from mildew

Question: Our canvas awning has mildew on it from being in the shade. I can’t use bleach on it because it is dark blue. What else can I try?

Answer: If it’s possible to expose the awning to a half-day of direct sunlight, that would help. Also, try spraying it with lemon juice with a little salt sprinkled on it. Let it sit in the sun with this on it, and the combination should kill the mildew.

Restoring marble

Q: Our entry hall has a marble floor that has become dull and dirty. How I can restore it to the beautiful surface it was originally?

A: Use a very fine abrasive powder and a soft cloth. The best source would be a polishing kit made for marble that’s available at most home centers or flooring dealers. They are easy to use and work quite well to bring the shine back. If the floor is large, you might want to rent a buffer.

Al’s and Kelly’s tips

Rather than throwing away an old toothbrush, save it for cleaning around the house. Keep one in every bathroom to clean stubborn spots in the shower and on the floor. Keep one in the kitchen for cleaning those hard-to-reach spots, and another one for scrubbing dishes. They are great in the shop and garden too. Just make sure you don’t get the old toothbrushes mixed up with your new ones!

If you need a quick funnel in your shop or garage, use something we all have — an empty plastic milk jug. Just cut the jug in half across the middle and use the top half as a super funnel. You can keep it around for a while or just throw it away when you are finished. You can always get another one when you need it.

Readers’ tips

I run a small lawnmower-repair service and have advice for your midseason lawnmower tuneup. After cleaning the outside of the mower, remove the spark-plug connection and prop the mower up so that you can clean the underside. There usually will be a heavy buildup of grass and debris underneath, and it is good to clean it off before it rusts the metal. It’s better for the blade, too. You can even spray it with a little used motor oil to prevent grass from sticking and to prevent rust on any bare metal spots.

I’ve had two top-of-the-line garden hoses stolen from my yard, so I’ve taken a new approach. I still buy good stuff for my gardening, but I make it look “old.” My new hoses have lots of duct tape wrapped around them, and they look as if they are ready for the trash. Even my garden tools have been distressed to look old. I’m not missing any of them anymore. I guess even the thieves know a good steal from a bad one — or so they think!

It’s been a good day for the hounds today – firstly because we had four guests on board for a mini-cruise for charity, and secondly, well, I’ll tell you about the secondly later…..

Today we welcomed back on board Cheryl, who came on our very first charity cruise last October. We’ve noticed a pattern – it’s hard to persuade people to come on a charity cruise for the first time, but once they’ve been, people always want to come back.

Anyway, Cheryl had some visitors – an old friend, Nathalie, from France, and her two sons Fabien and Renon. They were charming company and the boys enjoyed their time on the helm. They certainly got a different view of London – firstly East London by canal, a brief tour of Three Mills with its mix of old and new tidal structures, a good view of the Olympics project and a lock, albeit not the genuine manual article! I hope they had a good time – it’s not a tour that’s generally available to tourists!

I picked up four random guests while waiting to go up Old Ford Lock – they were two couples walking the towpath who were fascinated by the boat and by the canals. I gave them a lift up to the top of the lock – they said it made their Sunday!

We cruised up to Mare Street Bridge and turned just beyond the railway bridge – there’s plenty of room to turn here – we must remember that as Richard has turned somewhere else up here where he only had a few inches to spare!

On the way up we stopped at Three Mills; on the way back we stopped at the Northern Outfall and walked over to Viewtube – it’s a great facility. We had a good look at the Olympic site before saying another reluctant goodbye to our guests. They had plans to visit Greenwich and were booked for a flight on the London Eye at 7pm so they needed a faster mode of transport! Luckily, Pudding Mill DLR is easily accessible from Viewtube.

The new weir which protects the new moorings at Three Mills

We’d had a lovely morning’s cruise, but now we had to race back to Limehouse for the second good greyhound happening – we needed to drive to Ipswich to collect our new foster dog, Lynx.

Lynx’s owner’s tale is not ours to tell, but she’s found herself in pretty dreadful circumstances and needs to get some pressure off by fostering Lynx for a while. She’d determined to get herself back on her feet and take him back – this may take some time so he may well be with us for up to six months. It could be less, but if we get to the six months then we’ll need to review the situation.

We picked Lynx up from Ipswich and so far he seems to be the most gentle of hounds – he, Blue and Lou are getting on famously. I am astounded at how harmonious things have been – it’s early days but keep your fingers crossed that it will continue. From time to time Lynx will be blogging so that his ‘mummy’ can keep track of his adventures and be reassured that he’s well and happy. Will we be good foster parents? Well, we know how to look after a greyhound, or two, or three, so Lynx will have the best care we can offer. He will be treated as ours whilst he is with us so will pick all sorts of habits, both good and bad! Will we be dispassionate, kind but emotionally detached – of course not! When it gets to the end of the six months expect sobbing, lots of sobbing But if Lynx goes back to a happy home then we’ll know that we can manage a fostering and can  hopefully help another needy hound….

This will be a rare review. In this review the Veggie Eater will accompany the Meat Eater to a barbecue joint. In this review the Veggie Eater will wind up happier than the Meat Eater. In this review exposed brick will be ridiculed and price point explored. Please fasten your seatbelts.

The Blind Pig No. 55 is a new upscale barbecue restaurant on 12 South. The term upscale is not ours. The management has chosen this expression with which to describe their establishment. The interior is very sports bar in design and attitude. There is a strange nod to “style” whereupon the plaster was torn off the walls in places to reveal ugly red bricks. Let us now plead with every restaurant designer in Metro Nashville: “exposed brick” looks ridiculous if it is unnatural. The “exposed brick” has us worried from the moment we walk in.

The next issue at the Blind Pig No. 55 is service. There appears to be a wait person for every customer in the place, a virtual army of servers in black t-shirts. And yet it takes forever for food to be put in their idle hands. They stand around the bar area looking ill used and bored. It’s even hard to get to the restroom for all of the waiters standing around. The kitchen forced inordinate wait times on both of our visits. The rest of the diners appeared to be suffering from the same syndrome. Guacamole should not take 45 minutes to be served.This is a tale of two restaurants: the sides place and the meat place. I will now try to elucidate the meat part of the menu. It’s a standard barbecue line-up punched up with the addition of lamb shoulder. Ribs come in baby back and St. Louis style. They hit the table smelling of smoke and there is a moment of hope. The first visit dashed that hope with an overpowering rub and too much smoke. The dry and slightly chewy baby back ribs were lost in a smoky haze. The chicken was moist and had decent smoke. Lamb shoulder was indistinct and forgettable. For the second visit I vowed to wipe the slate clean and try again. I try to order a Barbecue 101 sampler that was on the original menu. My attempt is to give as many meats as possible a second try. I am a forgiving man. They tell me the Barbecue 101 is no long offered. I finally make a deal (a deal that takes 10 minutes to broker) and get the half order of St. Louis ribs and pulled pork for $19. For exhibit A we will now present the photo of $19 dollars worth of meat. Please note the meager little pile on the side. This is in fact the pulled pork. I took a bite and experienced tough pig with mediocre flavor. Even slathered with sauce the pork is sub-par at best. If you call yourself a barbecue joint in Tennessee your pulled pork needs to be many levels above this in quality. You will be judged harshly for below average pig. The St. Louis ribs are well cooked: moist and tender. The rub and smoke were still overpowering and the meat was completely lost in the deluge. Lest I remind you of the price (please note the picture) – $19.
Okay, fine. We’re reasonable people. What we find most odd is that the barbecue restaurant falls down in the meat department and manages to stagger to its feet when it comes to sides. The chefs have clearly decided to be a bit inventive and try some new things. The sorghum beans are okay and perhaps the weakest member of the sides line-up. Blue cheese sweet potatoes are an interesting twist. The Kentucky Spicy Cole Slaw has a nice bite and good flavor.

Jolicloud v1.0 is set to bring with it full touchscreen support, just in time for the mass number of tablets and convertible netbooks that are due to hit the market. There’s no release date for the latest version, but we’ve attached a video after the break that shows a demonstration of the touch-enabled Jolicloud OS running on a Samsung NB30 netbook with touchscreen display.

France will begin issuing authorisation for online betting operators from the second half of 2009 after agreeing with the European Union to open up the market, Budget Minister Eric Woerth said on Friday.
The comments follow a meeting between Woerth and Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy this week to discuss proposals that would avert court action against France by the EU over restrictions on online gambling.
Brussels has given France a final warning to change its gaming rules or be taken to the European Court of Justice.
“Being realistic, we’re beginning a controlled opening up of online betting, which we have presented to the European Commission,” Woerth told reporters.
France has agreed a “controlled opening” of its gaming sector, which is composed of two monopolies — PMU for horse racing and Francaise des Jeux for lotteries.
But EU authorities are still waiting for detailed provisions before making a final decision on suspending legal proceedings.
Woerth said the government would seek to preserve its share of revenues from the gambling sector, which he put at 5.3 billion euros ($8.27 billion), but he said there was no alternative to meeting EU demands.
“Proceedings against France for our monopoly as regards online betting have been open since June 2007. In these circumstances, either we dig in our heels or we change our position,” he said.
He said a law would be presented in parliament after the summer break and a regulatory authority established by the beginning of next year. The first approvals should be issued in the second half of 2009.
“Regarding horse racing, only parimutuel betting will be allowed,” Woerth said, referring to the system in which the total sum bet on a race is placed in a pool and the final prize is not set until all bets are placed.
“For other forms of sports betting, we will hold discussions with leagues and federations. There, we will not have parimutuel betting but fixed odds betting,” he said, referring to a system in which the prize is agreed before bets are placed.
“We also want to open up casino games like poker but also roulette or black jack,” he said.
Woerth said licences would require minors to be prevented from betting and would contain strong protection for gamblers given the risk of addiction, as well as restrictions on advertising and controls against money laundering.
The European Union’s top court, the European Court of Justice, has ruled that gaming firms registered in one EU state must be allowed to operate across the 27-nation bloc unless there is an overriding national public interest not to do so.

The goal in a real estate negotiation is to reach a good agreement – one in which the underlying interests of both buyer and seller are met. The results of a poor agreement often return to haunt the parties after closing. Many of our real estate clients have been experienced negotiators in other industries, and we have learned from their skill and experience. Review these tips as you prepare for the purchase of your home.

What do you want to achieve in the negotiation?

The first step in getting what you need is simply to let the seller know – in a clear and reasoned way. For most people, the highest priority is the price they will pay for the property. The best way to establish this is by a market analysis of the neighborhood. Set an offering price range that makes sense. Knowing your range allows you to balance the price with other needs. Your interests might include:

Buying at the lowest price possible.

Setting a closing date that meets your time frame.

Settling any repair issues fairly.

Having your concerns heard and addressed.

Locking in an acceptable mortgage loan rate.

Clearing any title or survey issues that come up.

Completing your relocation and job change process.

Getting your family settled into a home and neighborhood.

Forging a good working relationship with the seller.

Having no future problems after closing.

Is an adversarial or cooperative approach more effective?

Effective negotiation does not result from stubborn demands. There is nothing more destructive to the negotiation process than combative behavior. Professional negotiators try to preserve the relationship between the principals. The goal is to avoid an impasse in which neither seller’s nor buyer’s goals are met. In many cases, the contract negotiation process begins with some initial distrust between buyer and seller. Effective negotiators move in the direction of trust as quickly as possible.

In preparing your offer, let the marketplace establish your price, while remaining very complimentary of their home. Buyers sometimes submit a letter to the seller pointing out deficiencies and explaining why their house is not worth what they are asking. This will always backfire and start the negotiation off with a defensive seller. Sellers have an emotional attachment to their home, and will have a strong negative reaction to a critical buyer