“The perfect business model must have a way to build in its own high-margin products that can be sold while processing reliable renewable revenue streams at any margin.” Mitch Thrower
Once identification of a business model has been made, correct mapping of its target market is essential. Having a strategy to aim a product/service at ambiguous market segments results in spreading yourself too thin, especially when resources are tight. Market positioning of products is of paramount importance for successfully generating revenue at a quicker pace. For example, I was consulting with a startup organization who is launching a business in the mobile social networking area . They have specifically developed a service for the 15-21 age range, exclusively for the Chinese market. Even though the market is exploding for mobile usage in China, by selecting a niche segment they can become a much stronger adversary to competition.
It is only after a market segment has been selected , a niche market to operate in identified, that you have to develop revenue strategies. These strategies can be aimed at capturing multiple subsets within your market segment. For example many online service providers give you multiple options to sign up for their service. At one my companies we use Highrise(CRM tool) which allows you to sign up either as a single user, small medium enterprise (SME) or a full fledged enterprise implementation. This strategy gives them the capability to develop revenue streams faster, at multiple levels. Ultimately this provides the company with growth, stability and flexibility to adapt itself to changes in economic situations.
The example mentioned above shows a company which has not selected any clear market segment to promote its products in. Many SMEs find them a more cost effective alternative to other such CRM tools. Positioning a product for mass market appeal is a strategy which I have not used extensively in any of my ventures. It is a harder process and one, I think, you could grow into rather than jumping into the deep end for it. For every facebook, google or amazon there are thousands of similar services which never got similar traction. Correct market segmentation provides you with structured direction and enables you to develop specific competencies. These can result in major competitive advantages in the long run.
When developing your Go To Market strategy, paying attention to niche markets and building multiple level revenue streams around it, could become your winning strategy.