4 Overlooked Strategies to Grow Your Service Business

Small Business Trends Posted using ShareThis January 12, 2009 By Matt Rodela ... How can you stay above water when it seems all external forces are working against you? Now is not the time for business as usual. It’s time to get creative and think outside-of-the-box for ways to increase profit. It’s always a good idea to tweak the services you offer to keep them fresh and competitive. Lets go over a few techniques that I am using to diversify my computer consulting business that can easily be translated to your own service business. 1. Provide Optional Add-ons for Existing Products or Services ... Take a look at your primary product or service and brainstorm ways you can add low-cost options. For me, I’m doing this by offering the “Go Green” service, for a small fee, as an add-on to my primary computer support services. Customers who choose the “Go-Green” option will receive a personal eco-consultation from me. ... Options such as this are important to business growth. You are showing your customers that you’re willing to take the time to go above and beyond what the “big boys” are offering in personal service. Pricing will vary, but make sure the add-on services are around 10-30% of what customers will be paying for your primary services, that way they’ll be more enticed to spend the extra money. 2. Partner with Other Small Businesses Collaboration , ... if you can find a business that is not a direct competitor of yours, it may be in your best interest to team up and pool your resources and your customers. ... 3. Package Deals ... Bundling your products together is a great strategy to get others to consider certain offerings that they may not have considered otherwise. ... You should still offer all of your regular stand-alone services alongside the bundles. This way your customers can really see the value of the package versus the a la carte stuff. By combining your services together, you save time and resources, and the customer saves money. This is a win-win situation! 4. Volunteer This may not seem like the most obvious way to gain more customers, but there’s no better way to get your name out to the community in a positive light than volunteering your services for a charity or local organization. ... Four or 8 hours a week should be enough to make a lasting impression on your community. It’s also a great opportunity for you to hone your skills and practice new service strategies. Make sure you highlight some of your volunteer work on your website or in your advertising as well. When times are tough, think outside of the box for options that your customers will care about. The results will be more business, higher esteem, and increased revenue. ... * * * * * About the Author: Matt Rodela, aka Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy, writes about his experiences running a part-time computer consulting business on his blog, http://www.yfncg.com.