It’s no secret that around half of businesses fail in their fifth year. There are many reasons for this with a myriad of different situations for all kinds of business out there. Yet, what it illustrates for all is that it can be extremely hard. Sometimes you can try absolutely everything you know, putting in all the time and doing everything you think is right and your business will still fail. You need to be able to say that you gave it your all. No regrets. One of the ways to bust your business survivability is to branch out into other areas. Diversify your product or service range. There are many ways you can do this, depending on what kind of business you’re in. The hints and tips below aren’t at all prescriptive, but they could help your mind focus on the right areas and you could still go away with a new idea for your business. It’s all about the brainstorm. Whatever direction you take your business in, good luck!
Reach More People
At the outset, you’ll want to look at what you already do and ensure it’s reaching the most people it possibly can. If it isn’t, then you’re not giving what you offer the chance to stand on its own two feet. Think about where your business operates and go the other way. If it is a traditional street side business, you may want to focus on the online aspect for a while to pull new people in. Look at social media, maybe even consider a digital agency. On the flip side, if you are a business that operates online, think about your local community. What can you business offer it and can you push it out there. Look at the traditional forms of advertising. Hand out flyers and leaflets. Give out samples to your key demographic. You need to be the driving force behind your business in all things. You can consider your international markets too if you haven’t already done so. If you can offer people in your community something useful, then there will be similar communities in your country and abroad. Focus on every single market you can and open your business up, just make sure you check the trading regulations for each country before you try to sell into it.
Listen To What People Say
Taking on feedback is a huge part of building a successful product or service. You might want it to be perfect, but it can only be perfect by listening to other people and improving upon your product. Always ask for feedback and improve. You might not be able to please everyone. Enable people to write reviews. If you can, email everyone who buys your product asking for feedback or a review. You can even offer your service or product to industry professionals and blog writers. Their exposure will not only get you more reviews, but their expertise can help improve your product. Don’t be one of those pig-headed business owners that think they know everything there is about their industry. All good business leaders and owners listen to feedback and always want to please the customer. You just need to set your business up in a way that enables people to give it in a constructive and easy way. It can’t be a chore to them. How many times have you ignored a company asking for feedback? It isn’t easy, but if you can somehow incentivize it it will be a whole lot easier for you.
Use One Business To Launch Another
If you’ve already got a successful platform you can use it to launch your other business, so long as they are in some way related, with similar products or services. It becomes much easier when you’ve already done the hard work. You can ramp up by using your platform to advertise the coming product, maybe by counting down or giving away freebies for your launch day. Just make sure it works well the first time. You don’t want to be in the position where your new offering is going to weaken your existing one or do your business damage. Make sure you think it all through and make it land well. Again, research is the key here. Be assured in your approach and get advice anywhere you’re unsure.
Up The Content
To broaden your offerings, you need to be able to interact with people. One of the best ways to do this is through social media. You can use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin to interact with your customers and prospective customers. The key is to keep things fresh by creating new content on a rolling basis. This is really tough if you’re doing it all yourself. You might want to hire a writer or content editor. It all depends on what direction you’re going to take your business and where priorities lay. One thing will always ring true though, most successful businesses have social media presence. At least give it some thought.
Help The Local Community
This is a great way to get free exposure for your business. It’s especially important if your business relies on the local community for success. There are many ways to help. Donating to local charity is one way. If you don’t have the money, think about volunteering in local projects. Be it building work, gardening, rubbish cleaning etc. Think about what your business does and how can it help out. You might not be good with building, but if you run a food business you can feed everyone for a day or two. Things like this garner good feelings towards your business and can boost sales as word of mouth travels around. You don’t want to overdo it, as it can eat into your profit and if you’re barely making one this could be a key mistake. Just think about what you can do within your means. Sponsoring local juniour sports teams is another way of helping out, with it you’ll get your business name on their shirts, so it’s helping you too while making you look benevolent.
