Did you know that there’s an increasing number of people turning to the internet to find financial advice?

Some people prefer to use the internet to do their research, and they’re becoming more comfortable using the web to find professional advisers. Many of these people are looking for help and guidance with their financial planning and are looking for trusted advisers.

There’s Two Ways That People Get To Your Website

To keep things simple, there are two ways that people get to your website:

1. You find them and tell them to go there, or
2. They find your site themselves.

Let’s break this down a bit further.

You Find Them

When I first set up the website for my financial planning business, this was my initial strategy (until my eyes were opened to the other opportunity).

I promoted my website to my existing clients. Firstly I mentioned it in our client letters, made sure our web address was on all our stationery, and I sent out links to the website to all the clients we had email addresses for.

As a second part to this strategy, we also encouraged clients to forward our emails, articles etc to their friends, so their friends could click through and discover our website.

For a few months last year, I also used some Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising with Google. When people searched for particular terms, our ads would appear alongside the search results and they could click through. We only ever got charged for the clicks, not the number of times the ads appeared. I’ll talk more about PPC in a future article.

Helping People Find Your Site Themselves

Whilst it’s useful to be sending out email newsletters and encouraging people to click through to your site, there is another option.

Everyday there are hundreds of people in your city searching for the services that you provide.

The problem is, that they’re usually typing a range of search terms into Google. You need to know which words are the ones to target.

When you know the main keywords that potential clients are searching for, you’re able to add content to your site that is relevant to those search terms. If you do things well and provide quality content that people read, Google will make sure your site shows up well in the search results.

This is part of an internet marketing term called ‘Search Engine Optimisation’, or SEO for short.

And if you get the SEO right, you can begin ranking for a number of search terms that are relevant to your niche.

Here’s an example.

I just did some searches in the Google Keyword Tool for financial planners and financial advisors in Chicago. Here’s the results.

On average, every month, 210 people search for financial advisors in Chicago, and 140 search for financial planners in Chicago. That’s a total of 350 searches a month – over 10 per day.

Imaging if out of these 350 people you could get 10% of them to visit your website. What if one or two of them became clients? Would that help your business?

Let’s look at another search.

This search is for a couple of broader search terms – ‘Retirement planning’ and ’401k plan’.

Because the search is for a broader term, and hasn’t got a city mentioned, there are more results. Looking at the screenshot you can see that every month, there’s an average of 18,100 people world-wide searching for ‘Retirement Planning’ and 4,400 searching for ’401k plan’.

Some of these people will be in your geographic area.  Google changes the search results depending on the location of the person doing the search. I live in Australia, so if I search for ‘retirement planning’ I get a number of Australian domains in the top 10 search results. In the US, I’d expect you’ll see no Australian domains in your results, and would possibly see some local businesses.

Do the search for your local area and see what comes up. And maybe get a friend in a different state to do the same search and email you the screen shot so you can see what differences there are.

Keyword Research

Knowing which keywords to target is very important.

There are a couple of criteria that I use:

1. The keywords must be relevant to my business
2. The people using the keywords must be looking for advice, not tire-kickers, so avoid keywords with words like ‘free’ in them.
3. I must have a relatively good chance of ranking well in Google for the chosen keywords. Ranking well means in the top 10 search results with a long term goal of being in the top 1 or 2.

I use a tool called ‘Market Samurai’ which helps me determine the best keywords for my niches. It uses data from Google to help you find an initial set of keywords, but then does a lot of analysis on the top 10 search results for each keyword so you can evaluate your chances of success.

The keywords your business targets may be different from another financial planning business. We all have different value propositions, so it makes sense to target different words.

How We Can Help

We can talk with you about the SEO of your website, and give you ideas on how to improve it. As part of this consulting we’ll work with you to build a shortlist of keywords that you can target.

Use the Contact Form to send me a message. And if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to our newsletter and receive your free copy of The Financial Planner’s Website Checklist.

Leave a comment below – do you know what keywords you’re targeting? Do you have more questions about how Google works?

Image from AZRainMan

I’ve been working through Middleton’s InfoGuru Manual this past week and he’s got one section about creating your core marketing message.  This article gives some great examples.  You can find out more about Robert Middleton and Action Plan Marketing on this page.

So, from February 2007, here’s Robert Middleton with Marketing Messages That Work.

In my current Fast Track To More Clients Program, this week’s assignment was to create an effective marketing message based on the following four steps:

1. Your target market or ideal client.
You need to identify who you work with so that your prospect will know immediately if your message is for them or not.

2. The problem this client is dealing with.
This gets the prospect’s attention by hitting a nerve and letting them know you understand their situation.

3. The outcome that resolves this problem.
Declaring the kind of outcome they can expect makes them want to know more about your services.

4. Story or example that proves you can do it.
Telling a story makes your services real to the prospect. If you helped someone else, you can help them as well.

I’d like to share some of the better messages with you. Use them as a template to help you create your own messages. Stick to the four steps and you’ll have a much more powerful and attention-getting message.

Example #1 – Healthcare Consultant

We work with healthcare organizations, who struggle with hiring and keeping really good people.We help them reduce turnover by up to 70% and hire employees that are more productive.

A good example is one client that was really disappointed by the work ethic of new employees and struggled with 65% turnover. We were able to significantly raise the bar on employee work ethic and reduce turnover by 70%.

Example #2 – Financial Planner

I help people with a six figure incomes who are getting clobbered by taxes, staring at college and retirement and wondering how in the world they’re going to pay for it all.I show them how to send their kids to private college for about the same cost as public colleges, maintain their lifestyles at the same time and fund retirement.

A typical example is a couple that came to me who have two children that will attend college. They didn’t know how much college would cost, how much they should save and how much they were going to need to retire. I showed them how to save over $18,000 in taxes oriented around college funding by finding new ways to save on income taxes. I call these savings a “Tax Scholarship.” That might mean an additional $200,000 for retirement or a more expensive college for their kids.

Example #3 – Management Consultant

I work with CEOS of small to medium sized businesses who are experiencing a steady decline in productivity with their management teams and employees and are finding training programs ineffective. Lack of personal accountability and self-management skills has led to something that looks like procrastination and productivity loss.We increase self-management and personal accountability through practical, easy-to-administer tools that develop leadership growth not only in a local setting, but with remote team members.

One of my clients was a commercial construction firm that had tried several times (and several years) to implement a strategic planning process. However, the CEO had difficulty following up with the many goals that were set and holding the executive team accountable for all the steps and due dates. We implemented an online solution that gave the CEO a bigger picture of what was happening with the strategic plan and gave him the means to follow up quickly with team players that were falling behind. I advised him to move more into a coaching role with the team through this process. It resulted in the company implementing for the first time in 10 years all the goals they had set in their strategic plan. This had a very important impact on the bottom line in a depressed commercial construction market. While their competitors were struggling, they were doing well and did not have to lay off any employees.

Example #4 – Life and Relationship Coach

I work with individuals who have been unsuccessful in finding their ideal partner and with couples who struggle to keep their marriage intact.I help them to understand themselves more fully as individuals and I introduce them to concepts, exercises and skills that will increase their chances for a meaningful and lasting partnership.

I worked with a couple who was planning to get married but they argued incessantly. One of the partners had serious doubts about moving forward. I helped them identify the real underlying problems and taught them to see “the relationship” as a priority. They learned many things such as how to create a mutually satisfying partnership through respect, responsibility, and good communication. Their fighting stopped and they were able to resolve their stuck areas. They ended up getting married and three years later they are happy and expecting their first child.

Example #5 – Retail Consultant

I work with independent retailers who are frustrated with trying to get shoppers to buy.I help them create the kind of shopping experience that gets people to come inside AND buy.

A used music store that I worked with that was struggling to get people to stop and come in the store instead of just walking by. I helped them transform their dark, unappealing window, into a dynamic storefront that would get their customers’ attention.

Example #6 – Management Consultant

We work with busy entrepreneurs and business owners of successful small and medium companies who are frustrated because they are leaving money on the table because they are not getting important back-burner projects completed.We help them get a laser beam focus on what will move their business off the plateau and get those key projects completed and producing results for them, not gathering dust on the shelf.

We recently worked with a 150 year old manufacturing company. In order to bid bigger projects, they needed a higher level of certification in their industry. They had a history of knowing what they needed to do but failing to execute it because they were so busy manufacturing their product. We helped them develop an easy, step-by-step plan so they could see how it was possible. Now they are certified and able to track their inventory, bid more profitable projects and keep their customers happy. Just as important for them was the pride and accomplishment of working together as a team as achieving the goal.

 You’ll note that all of these marketing messages have adhered to the four steps. It’s clear who the service is for, why the service is needed in the first place, what the service actually delivers and proof that they have achieved tangible results with clients.

It doesn’t get much more complicated than that. If your marketing message is not getting results for you, use this formula to increase its impact.

The More Clients Bottom Line: Your marketing message is the foundation of your business. Create a good one and reap the rewards for years to come!

Tonight I downloaded an EP called You, the Night and Candlelight from a guy called Dave Barnes.

I’ve heard a couple of his songs before, been following him on Twitter for a while (hey, he’s also very funny) and tonight I jumped onto iTunes and bought his EP.  I was listening to my two favourite tracks, Until You and Home and I did something I haven’t done for a while – I stopped what I was doing, turned the volume up and just listened.

You see, music has become a good thing to listen to while I’m doing something else, but tonight I stopped the ‘something else’ to listen.

I reminded me of when I was a kid and I’d save up for weeks to buy a new album (on vinyl) and I’d play it repeatedly in my room.  I’d devote my whole attention to it, reading every word on the cover and memorising all the lyrics.

Tonight, Dave Barnes got my attention.  My full attention.  How did he do it?  He produced something worth listening to. 

When I listen to his songs, I hear his passion.  He doesn’t just sing words, he lives the song.  I’m sure when he recorded this record he was determined to do the best he could.

I got so excited about this music, I had to share it with the world.  I jumped on Twitter and wrote about what I was listening to.  This is what fans do these days – they use Twitter, My Space, Facebook, whatever to get the message out.  The smart musos are leveraging this and becoming more accessible through social media.

So how does this relate to business?

I’m challenged about the power of positive word of mouth.  How can I get my clients so excited about what I do for them that they can’t contain themselves and have to tell their friends?

What I’ve learned from Dave Barnes is that spending time (years) refining my message is a good place to start.  Gladwell would suggest 10,000 hours is required.  The other thing I’ve learnt is to become passionate about what I do.  I need to be so excited about my message that people are drawn to the message.

What can you learn from this?

We need to have some electrical work done around our house and my wife related a conversation she had with the electrician. 

When he was last out to do some work, he noticed that we have a light switch inside our bathroom, right next to the bathtub.  He mentioned that this was actually illegal as light switches should be on the outside of the door that leads to the room with the bath.  He said that we should look to get it moved and that if we ever wanted him to do work in the bathroom, he’d be obliged to move the switch.

Well, we need to have some work done and he reminded us of the need to move the switch.

It’s interesting what he’s done here – he’s created more work (and income) for himself without us getting resentful about it.  The switch needs to be moved – there’s a very good reason (safety) for the move.  We trust him based on the previous jobs he’s done for us – he always turns up on time, does what he promises, doesn’t leave a mess etc.  Over the years we’ve built up a good relationship with him and trust him.  When we need to get electrical work done we don’t get any other quotes – we just call him.

How can you become like our electrician – trusted and indespensible?

How do you build trust with your clients and demonstrate your capabililties? 

I’m always challenged when I see the need to suggest something extra to a client – a bit like the need to move the switch.  I sometimes feel worried they won’t see the need for it but when you think about this example, if they trust you, they won’t doubt that you’ve got their best interests in mind.

Finally, how do you become indespensible to your clients?  How can you get to the point that they no longer consider using your competitors?

Information

You want to find information, it’s all there.  More information is available for free today than ever before in history.  Whatever you’re interested in, you can Google any questions you have and you’ll be able to access a whole range of information that is specific to your topic.

So are we any better off because all this information is available?  Maybe not.

If I want to find information on setting up a company, I can find it on the web, for free.  The information is available.  But I have to find it, read it and understand it.  That’s where the next bit comes in – knowledge.

Knowledge

Knowledge is understanding information.  Knowledge is taking the information contained in multiple sources and putting it together so it makes some kind of sense.

A lot of MBA students have knowledge.  Say they’re taking a marketing subject.  They can learn all about positioning, the four P’s, value propositions, distribution channels etc.  They can obtain information from different sources and convert it into knowledge. 

But knowing about something and actually being able to do something are two different things.

And that’s where expertise comes in.

Expertise

Expertise is being able to take the knowledge and learnings from past experiences and being able to apply it to a particular situation.  You can’t buy expertise – you earn it through years of doing.  Gladwell talks about needing 10,000 of practice before you become proficient at a skill – that’s expertise.  You can have all the knowledge and information, but actually using it and learning from it is how you gain expertise.

• Expertise comes from making mistakes – and learning from them.
• Expertise comes from having huge successes – and understanding what made them successful.
• Expertise comes from learning from other experts and watching them operate.
• Expertise comes from applying your knowledge and information and watching the outcomes.

What Do You Sell

This blog is aimed at people who sell professional services. 

In professional services, if all you sell is information, you’ll quickly become redundant.  Because if it’s not already available for free, it soon will be.  A great example is mutual fund ratings.  For years financial planners had exclusive access to mutual fund ratings – if you wanted a five star fund you needed to see a financial planner to find out who the good fund managers are.  That information is now available for free.

If all you sell is knowledge, it’s not enough.  Many potential clients think they’re able to do it themselves because they can access the information and convert it into knowledge.  But knowledge without experience is dangerous.  It’s the investor who knows who the five star funds are and invests blindly into those funds without stopping to think about whether the performance is likely to continue.  It’s the difference between reading about how to fly a plane and having actual experience in the air flying.

If you’re selling knowledge and you’ve been around for a while, you can sell expertise instead.  Expertise is hard to quantify, but clients value it.  Your job is to make the benefits of your expertise tangible to your clients.

Legal services is a good example.  Say you need to write a Will.  Of course you can obtain the information and knowledge to write one.  You can even buy a DIY Will kit and complete it yourself.

But you lack expertise.  The lawyer doesn’t.

It costs a bit more to get a lawyer to draw up your Will, but you gain peace of mind.  If you did it yourself, you wouldn’t know about any problems until it was too late (then your Estate would find out about those problems).  You may forget about the tax implications of selling assets, you may mention assets in your Will that won’t actually form part of your estate – there are a range of things that can go wrong in even the most simplest of estates. 

So if I was a lawyer, I’d be promoting my expertise to potential clients.  I’d be highlighting potential problems and then explain how my advice could prevent them.  I’d be selling the benefits of my experience – this is my job, it’s what I do for a living.  Sure you can try and do it yourself to save some money now, but it may turn out to be more costly in the long term.

So what do you sell?  Information, knowledge or expertise?

Which ones do you think are worth more?

How do you differentiate between the three when you’re speaking with clients?

How can you make your experience more tangible to your clients?

Let me know what you think and leave a comment.

One of the big challenges in selling professional services relates to how you let your clients know about the range of products and services you provide.  I’ll give you an example from the financial planning industry.

Some friends of ours were talking about making some investments and asked me for a recommendation.   They told me they already had a financial adviser who looked after their retirement plan, but they needed someone who could speak with them about other investments.  I actually knew the planner who looked after their retirement plan, and I knew he could help them with their additional investment needs.  But they didn’t think to ask him.  Why?

Could it be that they didn’t realise he provided a wider range of services than the ones he’d provided to them?

When they initially saw him they had one need which he was able to help with.  Unfortunately he’d never taken the time to let them know about the range of other services he could provide – things such as lending advice, investments and insurance.  To my friends, he was just the guy who looked after their retirement plan.

I was reminded of this story this week when I was doing some business planning.  I love asking business owners two questions:

1. What range of services and products do you provide, and
2. What range of services and products do your clients think you provide?

There’s generally a large gap in the answers.  In most professional service businesses your clients don’t understand the range of services you provide.  And the problem with that is that if they have a need for a service they don’t currently buy from you, they may go elsewhere to get it, even if you could sell it to them.

So how can you let them know about all the things you can do?  Here’s some ideas.

• Brochure, printed material and web site that describe the full range of services you provide.
• Regular reviews with clients.  These help to uncover additional needs and issues that you didn’t know about.
• Letting them know about additional products that may be suitable.  No-one likes the feeling of having something pushed on them, but most people are open to a professional talking to them about products or services that have helped people in similar situations.
• Survey your clients to find out about what additional services they’d like.  Then tell them how you can provide those services.
• If you can’t do it in-house, but it’s a good fit with your business, then consider outsourcing or developing a referral alliance with someone.  In the financial planning industry, many planners have referral relationships with accountants and lawyers so they can provide introductions to these professionals.
• Consider packaging some of your services.

Have a think about all the things you do for clients.  And then work out which services you can promote to your clients.  Take another look at the Ansoff Matrix article I wrote a few months ago to get some additional ideas about growing your business.  And then get to work letting your clients know about all the things you can do for them.

Please leave a comment and let me know about ways you can do this.

The first one starts off with this text:

Ever notice that most car specs focus on acceleration, not braking? It’s more fun to focus on getting fast than it is on getting slow.

How would you manage or market differently if you knew that you had to hit the brakes, and hard? Slowing one thing and speeding up something else.

 It’s an interesting thought.  Why do car manufacturers focus more on acceleration rather than the safety aspect.  It’s made me think about my industry and how we sometimes focus on the wrong aspects of the services we sell.

The second article called Whether or Which talks about how marketing is about either trying to convince a consumer about their need for a category of product (mp3 player), or for a particular product (an ipod).  Seth asks the question:

Are you trying to make the market bigger, or just grow your share?

Depending on the product you sell, it is worthwhile thinking about this question.  Since I’ve read this article I’ve been analysing more advertising to see which category it fits in.  In the financial planning industry, most of the marketing effort is spent on people who have already decided to purchase financial planning services – their decision is about which company to deal with.  However, there are some products we use, such as life insurance, that are frequently ‘sold’ and not ‘bought’. 

What’s it like in your industry?   How do you position the product or service that you sell?

I’m a big fan of Robert Middleton at Action Plan Marketing.  There aren’t a lot of people who blog about selling services but Robert produces some great articles and materials.  I’ve had some clients use his tools before and I’ve been very happy with the results.

I plan to feature a number of his articles here.  Here’s one from June 2008 that introduces one of his key concepts called Marketing Ball.

So…..introducing Robert Middleton.

Playing the Game

As I lead my Fast Track Workshops around the country, work with my Marketing Coaches and interact with business owners in general, I pay a lot of attention to how well (or how poorly) people are following my Seven Principles of Marketing.

The Seven Principles are:

1. Marketing Ball – The Game of Marketing
2. Marketing Mindset – The Inner Game of Marketing
3. Marketing Syntax – The Language of Marketing
4. Marketing Message – Getting Attention and Interest
5. Marketing Currency – Written Marketing Materials
6. Marketing Strategies – The How-to of Marketing
7. Marketing Structure – Marketing Action Plans

Where do you think you’re the strongest? The weakest?

All of these principles are important, and if you are weak in one or more of them, you’re going to have problems attracting clients consistently. But for me, one stands out as the most important, yet least understood and practiced.

And that’s “The Game of Marketing.”

To most people, this is the least interesting as it’s very process-oriented.We’re more interested in strategies – the marketing how-to’s and techniques that actually do the job of attracting new clients (from speaking to blogging).

But if you don’t know how to play the game, all those great strategies won’t get you very far.

Let’s look at the Marketing Ball analogy.

Take a rookie baseball player who has great talents and abilities in the four major activities of baseball: throwing, catching, hitting and running. He’s the best there is in all four areas — a potential champion.

But imagine that this baseball player doesn’t yet know the rules of the game. What will happen when he gets out onto the field? He’ll throw, catch, hit and run. But it will become painfully clear to his teammates that he’s not really playing baseball (and not helping them win the game).

He’ll need some remedial training in the rules of baseball.

The whole aim of the game of baseball is to score runs. Throwing, catching, hitting and running are are only means to that end.

As I was writing this, I got a testimonialfrom Mim Grace who just attended my Cincinnati Fast Track Workshop. She said:

“I have given dozens and dozens and dozens of talks about EFT and TAT and have never gotten a client. Last Friday night I gave a talk to 15 cancer survivors following your guidelines and got two long term clients! I look forward to more successes! Thanks!”

What was the difference? After all, she’d already given a lot of talks before. But they didn’t result in any clients. Then she learned how to play the marketing ball game. She took the steps to move the prospects around the bases.

Think of all the marketing activities you’ve tried but haven’t gotten very good results with. In the marketing game there are six distinct marketing steps, from your initial connection with a prospect, to an appointment where the selling process starts.

How many of these are you using?

1. Affiliation – Marketing to those you have a connection with
2. Attention – Using a marketing message that generates interest
3. Familiarity – Becoming a known and trusted entity
4. Information – Providing the materials to educate your prospects
5. Experience – Giving your prospects a taste of your work
6. Follow-up – Being proactive in making sales appointments

Chances are, you’re using only one or two of these. And if you skip steps, you get struck out. Here are some losing plays you may be familiar with:

• Trying to get attention before you have affiliation. Also known as cold calls. Typically results in a high rejection rate.
• Getting attention and trying to jump right away to follow-up. The prospect feels pressure and does not reciprocate.
• Developing familiarity with a group of prospects (say, in an organization), and then not providing detailed information on your services.
• Providing information and even an experience of what you do (say a presentation), and then failing to follow-up.

Those are four ways of striking out at Marketing Ball. What I want everyone to get is that marketing isn’t the problem. It’s how you’re playing the game. Your effectiveness as a marketer starts with mastering the rules and then applying the best strategies.

It goes without saying that the Fast Track Workshops are a great place to learn the rules of the game and how to play in a way that attracts more clients.

Allan here again….I hope you enjoyed this article.  If you like what Robert has to say, have a look at his web site at actionplanmarketing.com and make sure you sign up for his free newsletter and subscribe to his blog.  And while you’re subscribing to his blog, don’t forget to subscribe to mine as well!

Let me know what you think about this article and how you can apply it to your business.  Please leave a comment below.

I’ve been writing about some of the keys Harry Beckwith has in his book called The Invisible Touch.  The final key, and the one he considers to be the most important, is that of Relationships.

Beckwith makes the point that the other three keys – price, packaging and brand are important, but when you sell a service, the most important factor is your relationship with your clients.

Business is personal; it’s about caring for people, making them feel important, understanding what they’re after and helping them to achieve it.

When you sell a service, you’re selling a piece of yourself, a relationship, and clients will buy that if they’re comfortable with who you are.

Beckwith lists 8 keys to lasting relationships:

• 1. Natural affinity – select clients like you.
• 2. Trust – do this by being consistent and doing what you’ve promised to do.
• 3. Speed – deliver what your clients want – quickly and accurately.
• 4. Apparent expertise – Beckwith says ‘you’re only as expert as you appear’. Look the part.
• 5. Sacrifice – Give something extra to cement your client relationships.
• 6. Completeness – what else can you offer that your clients may value?
• 7. Magic Words – say thank you, welcome customers, use their name.
• 8. Passion – this is what keeps clients. If you’re passionate about what you do, you’ll build strong relationships and get clients for life.

If you work in a service industry where you sell knowledge or information, I encourage you to get hold of every Harry Beckwith book you can and read them.  Have a think about the 8 keys above – how can you demonstrate them better?  What experiences have you had where someone invested into their relationship with you?

Photo credit Katie Tegtmeyer

When I was doing my MBA a few years ago I came across this concept in one of the marketing subjects and found it useful and have used it ever since.  I hope as you read this article you’ll see how valuable it could be in your business.

The Ansoff matrix is a tool to help you identify opportunities to grow your business.  It breaks things into four segments depending on whether they look at new or existing products and new or existing markets.  Have a look at the table below to get a feel for the four options.

The safest way to grow your business is by looking at the top left quadrant – market penetration.  This involves selling more of your existing product to your existing market.  If you’re an accountant this could mean selling your range of accounting services to either existing clients, or new clients who are similar to your existing  clients.  If you run an internet business selling e-books, it means finding new customers for your books.

The next area to look at is market development.  This involves selling more of your existing product to new markets.  The new markets could be geographical – i.e. opening a new store in a new location – or it could mean advertising in different media to attract a different type of customer.

The third option is product development where you look to sell new products to your existing markets.  You need to make sure that the new products are wanted by those clients so do some initial research and testing, but this can be a very effective way to achieve higher product penetration amongst your loyal customers.  Banks do this all the time where they try to cross sell a range of products – insurance, bank accounts, personal loans, housing loans etc.

The final option, and perhaps the most risky, is diversification, where you take your new product and aim to sell it to a totally new audience.  Whilst this carries the most risk, if you get it right it could be very lucrative.

How does this help me?

So what does this mean for you?  Take a few minutes out to think about your business and the types of products you currently sell, and the types of customers or markets you have.

Have a think firstly about market penetration, and think about ways you could sell more of your existing product to your current customers.  Get creative, don’t censor yourself and just write.  Once you’ve exhausted those options, think about what new markets or people you could sell the same products to.

Once you’ve finished the first half of the exercise, have a think about new products that could be suitable for your existing customers.  If you do any customer research, ask them what they’d want.  Look at other consumer research to find out what issues your customers face and look at ways you can fill the gap.  In our financial planning business we’re looking at ways we can introduce accounting and lending services to our clients.

Finally, take those new products and look at other markets you can sell them to.  Once you’ve done that, have a think about some totally new products you could sell to totally new products – forget what your existing clients want and instead dream up products that different groups of people need.

The takeaway

No matter what business you operate, the Ansoff matrix can be useful if you take the time to work through each of the four areas.  Each time I’ve used it with people we’ve come up with innovative ideas that we can use – starting this blog was the result of one of those sessions.

I invite your comments – let me know if this is helpful and useful for your business.  Share some ideas here about how you’ll use this in your business.