Most businesses want to grow anyway they can.
But not all business growth is good growth.
Say what?!
That might sound crazy on the surface, but you probably realize that not every customer is created equal. Every business has its best customers and customers that are not so good.
If you’re looking to get the wrong kind of customer (along with a few headaches) then here are the ways to do it.
Otherwise said, these are ways not to grow your business.
1. Discounts
This is my number one item on this list for a reason. Once you discount your service or product it’s really hard to ever get that customer to pay full price. It can work for some companies. It seems like cable companies get away with it, but I’m not a fan.
It’s better to take the time to find the people that will pay the right price for your product. If you use discounts then you’ll have customers that buy the discount instead of the service. That’s only sustainable until the person finds a better discount.
People that buy your service are likely to stay with you longer and that means more revenue.
2. Contests
Contests are very similar to discounts. You’ll get people that are looking to win something instead of people that want your service.
It takes longer to grow your business by being picky about your customers, but you’ll be happier while you grow. You don’t want to work for people that aren’t your ideal customer and people that want discounts and contests can be demanding and they also won’t be loyal.
Take the time and put in the effort to grow with your best customers.
3. Going Outside Of Your Main Product
This one can work, but you have to be careful. You can’t just go from product to product or service to service. You can test new products on occasion, but realize that it’s a test. If you promise a customer that you’ll do something different you’ll probably have a few headaches. You can use that test to see if it’s a new opportunity.
But I wouldn’t make a habit of it. Usually these situations don’t work out to your benefit in the long run and if you do too much of it you might even stress the business. The best thing to do is to find the formula that works for you and find as many customers that fit your formula.
At GBW, we do blog posts and we don’t do other things for the most part like ebooks, guides, etc.
4. Getting One Huge Client
It can be really tempting to get one really big client. In fact, when you’re starting out this will almost always be the case, but as you get bigger you want to have a balance.
For one, if your biggest clients leaves then you’re really in trouble and you might even have to close the business.
For two, your big clients will almost always push you around. It’s just the nature of the beast. They know that you depend on their money and they’ll work to get extra work from you. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s common.
Find a way to get the same or near the same amount of money from each client. This makes it easier for you and you’ll be happier running your company.
5. Going Outside Your Target Customer
Like going outside your main product you also don’t want to stray too far from your main customer. It really helps to identify who your best customer is and then go for more customers just like them.
Again, you can experiment, but if you go all over the place with customers you’ll struggle to create systems for doing things in your business and that strains the company.
Always work on honing who your target customer is and each time you get an inquiry, run it by your target customer profile. If it’s a match then make the sale. If it’s not a match then tell them that you’re not going to be a good fit.
I’m speaking from experience on these. I’m sure you can back me up if you think about how you’ve acquired some of your worst customers. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to tell people that we’re not going to work with them. It saves both parties time and headaches.