The Canada Business Network is a resourceful government service to aid Canadian entrepreneurs. In this particular article, Canada Business discusses what niche marketing is, what to think about before implementing a niche marketing strategy, and what approaches to take to implement it.

The article explains that niche marketing focuses on grouping customers by need. This is one area where market research is cashed in. Once you have conducted your research, you can cater to the needs of each niche group individually, which yields better customer satisfaction and ultimately higher profits.

Some criteria that the article stresses should be considered before starting niche marketing is to ensure the segment of customers is large enough, the expertise needed to cater to the segment, and whether potential growth in the market is forecasted. These are all important things to consider as it determines whether or not it is a worthwile investment.

Three steps they suggest to implement niche marketing are to first identify the most profitable segments of the market, then to tailor a fitting marketing strategy, and lastly to adapt your products to meet each group’s needs. I feel that this is an excellent condensed overall guide to niche marketing.

Tim Hortons is stepping up their game. Timmies has recently decided to expand their menu by adding espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos. Darren Zakus intelligently notes, “By doing this, Tim Hortons has identified that a weakness of their company and products is that they only offer basic coffees and that they are surviving on being a Canadian company while competing against other coffee companies such as Starbucks”.

Tim Hortons is launching a new line of specialty coffees to expand within the coffee market. Source: CBC News

This was unambiguosly a smart move for Tim Hortons, as it expands the company into the specialty coffee market, which has proven to be very profitable. Also, people may now see Tim Hortons as a low-cost substitute for more expensive coffee shops, such as Starbucks. However, Tim Hortons’ greatest hurdle will be competing with other quick service coffee companies, especially McDonalds. Tim Hortons will have to hope that its brand name and strong consumer loyalty will attract customers to its new product line.

Tim Hortons is a very innovational company, expanding their menu substantially throughout the years to even include a variety of lunch and dinner items. However, this latest innovation could be its best in a while. Retail consultant Wendy Evans puts it, “They were founded on coffee so it makes sense to expand on that”.

Facebook is indeed the world’s most popular website. It’s hard to believe this after learning about its beginnings, but nonetheless it is the truth. Facebook is truly an excellent example of great entrepreneurial success. In Kevins article, The International Innovator, he outlines Facebook’s substantial impact on society as well as its initial purpose.

Kevin makes a great point about what Facebook is used for today versus what it was originally created for. Today, everyone brand of person is on Facebook, from the old grandma down the street connecting with her family to the 12 year old girl posting pointless pictures of herself. Today, Facebook is a social media site, almost completely for connecting with friends and “friends” alike including sharing photos, opinions, and events. Although Facebook is very beneficial, creator Mike Zuckerberg’s original vision was to create a university “network”, a very innovative and creative idea. The network would be used for projects as well as general university interaction.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. Source: Forbes

Entrepreneurship is a highly underrated stream of business. Although it is not very popular in business schools, entrepreneurs are responsible for the vast majority of innovation and hold much of the world’s wealth. Think about that next time you use a product.

As of recent, we have heard much about the financial crisis in Greece outside of as well as inside class. The problems have been worsening, with Greek government taking drastic measurements including cutting spending and raising taxes. This has left many Greeks in horrible positions, unsure of what to do next.

Panagiotis Tsiriotakis imports olive oil into Canada from his family's farm in Crete. His business is hurt by current strikes in Greece. Source: Tsiriotakis Family

Closer to home, many Greek-Canadians are becoming affected by Greece’s economic woes. Greek-Canadian John Nikolouzos helps run the Greek Food Market in Toronto. Nikolouzos stated that many Greek customers, who are a main part of the store’s demographic, see the shocking news on television and are spending less as a result. Vacation packages to Greece have also suffered. With smart economic moves and a new prime minister, Greece hopes to get back on track, although it will be a difficult and long rejuvenation. The European economic crisis has put many in great peril across the world, not just in the respective countries. Kyriakos Katsanikakis, Greek-Canadian restaurant owner and Vancouverite, noted that it doesn’t matter where you are, “In a globalized economy, we are all connected and affected by it”.

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