Big Fish, Small Pond

"Big Fish, Small Pond" is a style of positioning where you carve out a niche within a larger, existing market. Instead of competing with the market leader head-on, you focus on dominating a specific subsegment of the market.

When to Use This Style

• The market is well-defined and has a clear leader: This style is a good choice when you can't compete with the market leader directly.
• There are underserved subsegments: You have identified a group of customers with unique needs that are not being met by the market leader.
• You have a clear advantage in a subsegment: You have a product or service that is uniquely suited to the needs of a specific subsegment.

The Work Involved

• Educate the subsegment: You need to convince the subsegment that a general-purpose solution is not meeting their needs.
• Prove your superiority: You need to show that you can meet the specific needs of the subsegment better than the market leader.
• Meet the basic category requirements: You still need to be "good enough" on the basic requirements of the overall market category.

Cautions

• The subsegment must be large enough: The niche you choose must be large enough to support your business goals.
• The market leader may respond: If you are successful, the market leader may try to compete with you in your niche.

Related Concepts:

• Three Styles of Market Positioning
• Head to Head
• Create a New Game