The effect of niche marketing on sales performance: The mediating role of customer intimacy

In the 21st century the sales environment has become very complicated as a result of behavioral, . Identifying the factors that improve sales performance is an important aspect of the job of sales managers and can have a vital impact on the survival and success of the company. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of niche marketing on sales performance according to the mediating role of customer intimacy. This research is applied based on the purpose and descriptive-correlation based on the nature of the method. The statistical population of this research includes managers of industrial companies in the city of Arak, Ilam, whose number is equal to 210 people. For sample selection, according to Morgan's table, 132 people were selected based on simple random sampling method. The data collection tool in this research is a standard questionnaire. In this way, to measure the variable of niche marketing, the standard questionnaire of Dalgic (2017), to measure the variable of customer intimacy, the standard questionnaire of Mohaghegh Montazeri et al(2021), and to measure the variable of sales performance, the standard questionnaire of Yazdan and Khorsandi (2020) was used. The results showed that niche marketing affects sales performance and its dimensions, that is; Acceptance by customers, customer loyalty, optimization of sales territory and market share have a positive and significant effect on industrial companies in Arak city. Also, the mediating role of customer intimacy in the influence of niche marketing on sales performance has been confirmed.