Written by: Vickie Sullivan | February 09, 2023
Losing Clients? This Strategy Can Uncover New Opportunities
When your client base changes, your instinct is likely to go looking for similar buyers. An article from INSEAD Knowledge has a better suggestion: Change your offering to find different clients in different markets.
The article points out that many services providers mis-read their non-customers. What are non-customers, you ask? They are “buyers who don’t buy into your industry, and they normally represent a much bigger population than your existing industry’s customers,” the article states.
And despite what the marketer in the article thinks, we all have non-customers. Which begs the question: What stories do you tell yourself about people who don’t work with you?
The #1 story I hear from clients: Folks won’t work with us because it’s just “not a match.” It’s no one’s fault; that’s just how it is. Then they become proud of themselves for knowing their marketplace and their worth. (Yep, I’ve told myself this story, too.) When they think that, though, you cannot change their reasoning.
The truth of the matter is providers get stuck in certain industries or segments because they have invested a lot there. The more they invest, the more they want to stay—even if market conditions change and it’s no longer profitable. (That’s also known as the sunk cost theory.)
Now consider this: If you change the stories you tell yourself about non-customers, will new opportunities become available?
Remember: You can reconfigure, reapply, and redirect your offerings. Your services can be used in many ways. So, if you look beyond the market segments you have invested in, you might find a whole new group of clients who need what you have. You just need the will—and creativity—to change enough to attract them.
Listen: 2 Stories That Keep You from Pursuing New Markets
Now Read This:
- Fear Factor: How to Go Outside Your Comfort Zone
- Strategic Sounding Boards Give Real-World Advice for When the Rubber Meets the Road