Diversification in life is a smart strategy, from your investments and finances through to your business as well. Depending on the structure of your business, diversification of your services might be the helping hand you need to drive real business growth. It’s ok to admit that your business is better at some aspects of operating than it is at others, after all, who says you have to be the best at every stage of your supply chain? Diversifying your business’s services could change the way you compete, but it can be hard to know where to start. Use this guide to get you started on your diversification journey.
Heavy lifting
One of the best places to start when it comes to diversifying your businesses services is where the heavy lifting is. By heavy lifting, we mean areas that deal in time-consuming legislation and compliance, like your finance teams. Diversifying your financial operations with an organisation like i3Group can help shift the burden of a compliant-heavy department to an external provider. This shifting of weight, so to speak, will give you more time to focus on the areas of your business that position you better in the market, relative to your competitors. Not only will you get time back to refocus, but you’ll also benefit from the dedicated expertise of these external providers.
Audit time
Diversifying can also be about identifying opportunities that you otherwise wouldn’t have spotted, had you not taken the time to look. Diversifying or innovating within your business is about taking stock and identifying opportunities to connect the dots. Take the time to assess your core skills and competencies as a business. Then consider whether the technology, intellectual property or licenses you own could be used to solve other customer problems. You may just find that you have all the ingredients to solve customer problems you never thought possible, all you needed was the right recipe card. Auditing your business capabilities is a great way to identify potential new markets to diversify your business into.
Workforce management
Another simple way to diversify your business’s services is by looking at your people. Advertising a position, interviewing, hiring and onboarding a new employee are all hugely time-consuming tasks. That time is crucial to business success, but a large part of the front end could be done by someone else. Diversifying your recruitment to a specialist firm can not only save you a lot of time, but the vetting process conducted by professional recruiters is often much more thorough than what your business could have achieved. That means higher-quality candidates to interview and a better contribution from day one in your business. Diversifying recruitment is all about finding the right agency for your business. A specialist recruiter is what you want as it will mean they have a good understanding of what to look for in an employee.
Short term fix
If your business services are largely focused on project work or short term contracts, then consider mirroring your workforce to match. Diversifying your workforce to match the work your business wins will not only help keep expenses down but in tougher times you won’t have to worry about losing employees and the payments that go along with that process. Instead, maintain a transient workforce that matches your workload. Then when you bid or tender for new work, you’ll know exactly who you need and for how long. This approach can present risks, but if managed well, can help diversify the types of services your business can offer.
Diversifying your business’s services is a great way to identify new revenue streams, keep expenses down and even capitalise on external expertise. If you are thinking of diversifying your business’s services, use this simple guide to get started.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
