Step 1: Offer new products/services
One way to grow your business is to offer a new product or service that your existing customers will buy or that will bring in new clients.
Identify potential products or services that enhance what you have and that your customers have indicated they’d be interested in buying from you. Any new product needs to complement what you already sell, not be a substitute, otherwise there will be no growth in sales.
Many businesses need new products and services to keep ahead of the competition and to keep up with the evolving market. In addition, technology is moving so fast that often there are opportunities to add to your sales growth by identifying how you can change what you sell through the internet. For example, most major grocery chains now offer online ordering and delivery, which means some customers may never actually set foot in a store.
Before committing to a new product or service
Check financial feasibility
Make sure there’s a market for the product and that you can actually create it. Diversifying into new products is a medium- to high- risk growth strategy because new products and services cost time and money to source or develop.
Develop a prototype
Invest time and money in research and development to create a prototype product (or a template service) to present to your customers.
Test with customers
Test your product with your target market and record and analyse the results. You’ll be able to determine if the demand exists and if there are changes you could make to the product before taking it to market.
Protect intellectual property
Be sure to protect your intellectual property (IP) for any new product you develop. IP is a valuable asset and worth protecting by registering it with the Intellectual Property Office. Work with a qualified lawyer to protect your IP properly – and to make sure you’re not breaching anyone else’s.