Crafting Revenue Streams
Stop leaving money on the table! You have done the work to attract and build a customer only to allow money to stay on the table. Craft additional revenue streams around your product or service that can drive new income and connect new customers.
When the majority of businesses are created, they have a specific product or service in mind. The business works hard at developing that product or service so that it provides value to their customers. The spend the money and energy on marketing efforts to engage with potential clients. All of this is good but isn’t enough.
There are a few ways to increase a customer base without hurting your current business. These can include some eCommerce, Membership, and Education.
eCommerce is a powerful way of adding an additional revenue stream. There are several companies that will even drop ship the purchased items, so there isn’t any inventory. eCommerce can be something you currently offer to a new product. The sky is the limit. The only real rule is that it needs to be connected to how people perceive your business. If you do IT work, the eCommerce has to be something related to IT. This is to keep your credibility.
Membership or Subscriptions are another powerful way of driving new revenue. Subscription services are everywhere. You can get subscription services from everything from food to razor blades. People are already comfortable with them. These services create an automatic income stream that can be developed. For instance, if you sell vacuum cleaners, create subscription service for the bags that are used. Subscription services keep people engaged with your brand.
Finally, one of the more current streams is educational services. Teach people something. Showcase your expertise. Education services create new audiences that can be developed. For instance, if you are IT company, educate people on specific things they can do themselves to protect themselves or their families. This places you in a position of an authority and a trusted resource as well as drive some new revenue.
One of the most powerful things a business can do is to utilize a hybrid approach, bringing together all of the above into a comprehensive program. This allows businesses to maximize the revenue developed while enhancing the public perception of their brand.
There are some cautions that go along with creating revenue streams that need to be mentioned. First, it has to fit within your business model. Basically, it has to make sense to someone looking at your business. If you are an IT company and sell pots and pans on your website, there is a disconnect and people will view you skeptically, as they should. However, if that same IT company was offering a membership where they were educating people about computer security, it would make sense to the public.
Secondly, any education can not been perceived as a “sales pitch”. The goal of marketing is NOT to get a customer but to be seen as the authority within your product or service. There are so many businesses that can not help themselves and feel the constant need to just sell, sell, sell. Utilizing a subscription to develop clients is a great plan. It allows them to start with something small (a monthly fee) and get to know your company. If you go in and try to continually sell to that group, they will begin to feel their investment was a trap to just get their money which will hurt your brand and create new issues for you.
Finally, it has to have a perceived value to the customer. If the goal is to get people to engage with your company, any connection point needs to have a perceived value. The question needs to be answered as to why someone should connect with you. If you answer is all about you or your company, you are off base. It has to be about the customer and value. If they perceive value, there is value. If they don’t see the value, there is no value, no matter what you think.
At Operation Crusader, we work with companies to enhance new review streams. Just reach out and let’s talk about your business.
