Diversify Including Donuts
While on a 17-hour layover in Amsterdam, I had the opportunity to stroll around for several hours. What caught my attention was the vast number of independent stores, cafes, and restaurants lining the streets near the central station.
In Canada, particularly in Vancouver, there are numerous pizza-slice and fast-food restaurants in the downtown core. In Amsterdam, on the other hand, I saw a pizza joint that presented a strikingly different concept. Instead of their product line simply consisting of pizza and other traditionally Italian dishes such as spaghetti and lasagna, they offered donuts, muffins and even waffles in addition to their standard fare.
Their display window was very organized, colourful and enticing. It reminded me of when I speak about the importance of offering a diverse line of complementary products and/or services. Today, most businesses cannot survive by specializing in a single product line or service. If you want repeat business, you must diversify.
Financial advisors are now more focused on life and health insurance products than ever before to complement their usual investment services. Drugstores now include groceries such as dairy products and frozen foods on their shelves. Even in my own business, I offer a wide variety of services, including a virtual build-your-marketing-plan program, face-to-face consulting, workshops, my Lift Strategies book, and keynote presentations.
The key to success in diversification is that the products and/or services need to complement one another so the brand doesn’t get watered down by a lack of focus. A good example of excessive diversification can be seen in shops you encounter when you visit a small tourist town. Have you noticed how some of the shops are spilling over with all sorts of products that seem to have nothing to do with each other? These shops carry volumes of inventory and are trying to be all things to all people, which has an adverse effect on their overall image.
When diversifying, plan out your product or service lines strategically. Test and change accordingly. Add one at a time to see how each one fares. Give it time to breathe so you can track its real outcome. Ultimately, you will build a healthy and diverse range of products or services that will enhance the reputation of your business and have a positive effect on your overall bottom line.
Can you think of other examples of businesses that have done a good job of diversification?