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Diversifying your business
Act Now for the Long-Term
Diversify and thrive - ways to diversify your business
It’s no surprise that a diverse business is a resilient business. The more ways of doing business you have, the more likely you are to succeed when confronted with challenging events. And with the future currently more uncertain than ever, diversification can be a long-term solution for helping build resilience into your business.
We understand that this is easier said than done, and diversification can feel daunting. After all, if things are working well at the moment, it can be attractive to double down on your usual approach. But broadening your vision rather than burrowing further into your niche can result in healthy growth and a more future-proofed business.
Let’s get into some ways that you could approach breaking new business ground to help you diversify.
Adapt your current service
Before you jump ahead to what could potentially be bold, brilliant new ventures, ask yourself if your current product, service or offering can simply be adapted or modified to reach a wider or new audience. The most basic iteration of this could be moving online in some capacity. Moving online can mean setting up an eCommerce venture, creating new systems (like online booking) to streamline reliance on staff being physically present, or creating minor processing changes that make it easier for you to deliver your existing service.
Find a new niche
For some businesses, diversification isn’t about going broader and bigger – it’s about sharper specific focus by honing in on a specific customer base with unmet needs rather than attempting to be all things to all people.
Take a good look at your industry and tune yourself into your customers. Perhaps it’s different age groups, new local audiences or wider international customers, but try and spot opportunities to develop new products or services that could reach new customers in ways your competitors aren’t doing.
Merge or acquire
Speaking of competitors – as the old saying goes, “if you can’t beat them, buy them”. You may be in a position to purchase an existing business with products or services that work well alongside your own. This can be a fast track for diversifying and growing far more quickly than you’d be able to do organically. But, going down this path requires a good understanding of how the company you’re acquiring slots into your existing offering – it’s no good buying something that doesn’t make any sense alongside your business. Concentrate on what you already do well and look for opportunities that neatly compliment it.
Diversification doesn’t necessarily mean any one particular thing. It’s a multi-faceted idea that’s going to vary from business to business. The key to long-term success is looking at your immediate surroundings (your customer base and existing services, processes and offerings) and identifying where the most sensible and strategic areas for diversification lay. Remember, when faced with an uncertain future, a broader business means a more resilient business.
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