Surfside Group

Did your blood pressure rise just thinking about this ‘what if?’ You’re not alone. So many businesses (of all sizes and in all industries) fall into this trap of landing a handful of large accounts and building their profitability around those clients. It’s easy to do, yet extremely dangerous. You've heard the horror stories. Don’t become one of the statistics!

Here’s how to safeguard your business against large client disappearing acts:

1.    Build your client database. Yes, this is the overwhelmingly obvious solution. But if it’s so obvious, why do so many businesses ignore it? Even though your company may be doing really well by serving one or two large clients, make sure you are constantly building the total number of clients in your database. When a large account or two goes away, if you have enough of the smaller clients, they will keep your business afloat.

2.    Cultivate your small client list. Again, this is fairly elementary, yet so often ignored. Just because an account is small today, doesn’t mean they will be that size forever. Treat all of your clients as though they are large and extremely important to you and your business. They are important! And someday, they may grow into one of your giant accounts.

3.    Diversify. Find new uses for your product or service. Begin targeting industries or types of businesses that you may have ignored in the past. If one industry or segment begins to weaken, you can still rely on business from the others.  To do this, you’ll need to do some research and strategizing on how best to approach a new market. For example:

• If you only serve one particular industry right now, is there a way to make some changes to appeal to other industries? When the residential construction industry began to slow down, one of our clients began marketing to another industry where regulatory issues were beginning to create demand for their product. They are now also making inroads into a third, even more profitable market niche.
• If you target the consumer market, is there a need for your product or services in the corporate world? This can apply to so many situations. Whether you are a financial advisor, landscape architect, or cleaning service, there are ways to adjust your strategy to target institutional and corporate clients. Of course, this works in the opposite direction too. If you market to other businesses, can you think of ways you can also serve individuals or households?
• To tap into a new geographical market, consider what is needed to serve that area. Will you need additional offices, equipment and vehicles? Or, can you partner with another company already serving that region? 

If the thought of losing your largest clients frightens you, then you know it’s time to begin putting some of the above mentioned plans into place. Losing a client is not something any business wants, but it shouldn’t result in the death of your company.  That’s just macabre!