When you’re launching your business, expansion may not even be on the radar. It’s consuming (and exciting) enough to be living your dream, landing new clients, seeing inventory fly out the door. But at some point customers may begin asking for additional products. Or you may find sales stagnant at a certain level. Yet you’re not ready to hire a sales force. What’s the answer?
Ingenuity. There are numerous ways to create additional revenue streams without compromising profitability or peace of mind.
1. Consider the obvious. Sometimes what’s right under your nose (or under foot) can become a lucrative business venture. That’s how a former landscaper started his poop scoop business. When he wearied of removing dog waste from customers’ lawns before he could begin landscaping, he painted his truck with a giant Dalmatian and contact information. This mobile advertising helped turn a former business annoyance into a successful new enterprise. The landscaper phased out his seasonal business in favor of one that’s easier, perennial, and more profitable. Of course, he could have simply used XSORB Pet Clean-up, but then he might still be landscaping. Perhaps spill containment will become his next venture.
2. Diversify. Customers have become attuned to “one-stop shopping”: they appreciate being able to buy related items without making another trip. So if you’ve hit on a successful idea with a teashop that sells teas of every description, figure out what complements your product line and will increase customer appeal and purchases. One teashop owner who is also a chocolatier combined his businesses, making the artisan chocolates onsite at the teahouse. Now customers savor delectable confections with a tea chaser.
Of course, it’s inevitable that such a business will need a good spill containment plan, though likely one that’s very different from a machine shop. That’s why we offer our spill clean-up products in various combinations: to make it as easy as possible for your business to have the spill solutions you need on hand, for any situation that might arise. By using one of our eight XSORB Spill Programs, you’ll save up to three-quarters of what you’d spend on other methods or programs which means a lot more money available to grow your business!
3. Favor the loyal. Clothing stores do it. So do sandwich shops and car washes. Boost business by giving regular customers a discount, or one free (or discounted) item for every ten they buy. You could offer a relevant Impact Absorbents product as an inducement that also helps patrons keep your business in good shape a double-duty incentive. Event centers, for instance, might hand out FiberLink Spill Squares along with vouchers for soft drinks.
4. Buddy up. Cross-promote with complementary businesses. For example: a health club may be interested in carrying your line of workout togs in exchange for member discounts on your products. You can also offer a club day pass to anyone who buys your merchandise.
