For many years, if not decades, one of the basic things taught in business schools is identifying a target market. And there is significant value in that. Having a specific target market or demographic enables businesses and firms to direct their resources to a certain group of people because it offers the highest potential for sales growth; having a target demographic helps businesses and brands establish a loyal customer base; and if we aim at nothing, we hit it every time.
But just because we have a target market doesn’t mean we have to ignore all other sectors of society. Focusing on one age group or type of individuals might cause us to miss out on all the growth we can have when trying to cast a wider net to reach all kinds of people. Moreover, there are plenty of advantages to having a diverse client base:
- Having a more diverse customer base helps protect our business. It helps mitigate risk because if one sector of society turns away from us, we at least have more people willing to patronize our products and services.
- A diverse clientele helps provide more layers of financial stability and security. It provides our business with more opportunities to work on a wide array of projects, with different kinds of teams and individuals.
While there is value in identifying our target market, having a diverse client base also doesn’t hurt. Here are the benefits of having a diverse range of customers and how to build it.
Partner With Marketing Firms That Specialize in a Diverse Clientele
If your brand has only ever been working with the private sector, for example, now is the time to consult with a marketing agency that specializes in business-to-government marketing plans and strategies. Engaging government contractors is vastly different from trying to catch the attention of for-profit organizations, so you will need all the help you can get. Venturing out of one’s comfort zone is always challenging, and if you can consult with a firm that knows its way around the new terrain you’re trying to explore, then that is an investment you need to make.
When partnering with other firms, you need to ensure that they share the same value of achieving a diverse client base so that they understand the foundational basis of your business moves and choices.
Diversify Your Services and Products
If you want to reach different kinds of institutions and markets, then your business also needs to be able to offer an extensive lineup of products and services. It’s that simple! By expanding your product and service portfolio, you immediately engage more organizations and individuals who can later become loyal clients or customers.
However, when diversifying your products and services, you need to make sure that you also have operational effectiveness and capacity. It’s one thing to dream about creating new products and services, but your company needs to have the necessary resources, manpower, and process to handle this desired diversification.
Bolster Your Public Relations
If your brand has only ever been known for catering to a specific segment of society, now is the time to boost your public relations and raise goodwill for your brand. You need to opt for a diverse lineup of distribution channels and appeal to traditional and social media audiences. This way, your brand casts a broader net and has more opportunities to get the word out, which in turn can translate into a bigger presence and visibility in the marketplace or industry.
Expand Your Team as Well
If you truly want your client base to diversify, then it should be a reflection of your business’s core values—and that can manifest in a diversified team of employees. Your corporate personnel must also be diverse so that you have a team of professionals who understand specific market segments and the dynamics within them. For example, if you want to attract families, then you want to ensure that your team is beefed up with people with families of their own. If you want to attract young and female customers, your team must also consist of competent female professionals and young upstarts. The best way to understand different groups of people is by working with them.
Broadening your customer base is one of the best ways to expand your business, slowly but surely. It will also help ensure a steady revenue for a long time, boost your market share, and make your presence known in your industry. In an ever-changing global economy, having a diverse client base can be an excellent way to mitigate losses and ensure growth in the long term.
