Imagine if you have been wooing a huge client for a while and you finally land them. They provide you with so much work to keep you so busy that you can’t attend to other customers. Also, you may not have enough time to look for new clients. However, you may not be worried because you are getting the money from your big client. Immediately, they decide to stop working with you.
It could be because of a new merger and the new executive who previously hired you has been fired. It could also be the fact that the client decides to hire an in-house team for the type of work that you do. They might even choose to outsource it to another team. Whatever the reason, your services are no longer needed. Just like that, you are trying hard to replace a huge chunk of your income.
It’s easy enough to fall into the trap of putting all your eggs into one specific client’s basket. It’s easy enough to be enticed when a client asks you to repeatedly bid on projects or treats you like a part of their company. However, you need to be strong enough to resist this temptation. Remember, doing this will cripple your business. With the marketplace constantly changing, there are new tech, tools and options available to your clients.
Within a few months or weeks, a product or service you provide to them could be available affordably elsewhere. The same can be said for all types of business not only B2B businesses that deal with corporate clients. If you are offering your products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, you know they are careful about their budgets. They are constantly trimming whatever they can from their budgets. Your consumers will also be cash-conscious too. Everyone is wary of commitment, especially with the recession.
What You Need To Know About Diversification
It simply involves getting into new markets and creating new products. Diversification in a changing world can be quite risky if it takes a lot of time and resources from your main business. However, with proper research, you will be able to exploit and create significant growth. You may even minimize the risks associated with having one revenue stream. Most successful diversification strategies rely on the core business to create new and complimentary services.
However, the specific diversification strategy of any business depends on a thorough assessment and knowledge of the market, economy and the existing business resources and skills. Here are 5 top ideas to help you attract new clients as you satisfy your existing customers.
- Start Thinking Differently
Do you want to have a diverse client base? Start by creating a diverse line of products and services. You can brainstorm various ways that your services or products can be changed to target different people or niches in the industry. For instance, if you are currently dealing with beauty salons, you can also work with beauty supply stores or drugstores.
- Diversify Your Marketing
If you are looking to attract different types of clients, you need to look for them elsewhere. You can start with social platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter to reach new prospective clients, especially those you haven’t tried before. It doesn’t cost anything to do this. You just need to invest time into it.
- Get Referrals
Use your current customers to reach new customers. Most people have contacts in other niches and industries so you can get new customers effortlessly through referrals.
- Give Them More
Is there an easy and fast way to extend your services and products to your existing clients? For instance, if you have a coaching business, you can add time management and business organizing skills to your services.
- Team Up
If you are worried about jumping into a new niche or industry, you should team up with other businesses to offer new services and products. It’s a great way for both of you to reach out to new customers. You will save time, reduce expenses and reduce the overall risks.
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.