Remember the old children's story of the tortoise and the hare? When you think about it, that fable describes the two types of businesses that dominate today's marketplace.
 
　　The most popular business model describes homegrown companies that start slowly with a modest initial investment, become very good at one thing, and build a very loyal―and profitable―clientele by delivering on their promises and satisfying customer needs. Slow-but-steady wins the race.

　　Did you know that Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream started its successful nationwide enterprise with only $12,000 start-up money? Portillo's Hot Dogs in Chicagoland grew from selling hot dogs out of one small trailer in 1963 into 45 very profitable eating establishments and four other spin-off restaurant chains within its business group. Is this a great country or what?

　　At the other end of the spectrum, there are companies that I call land-rush prospectors. Jeff Bezos and his company, Amazon.com, is an excellent example of this approach. The idea here is to conduct extensive market research to uncover an unfulfilled customer need (that is, convenience in finding obscure book titles) and capitalize on groundbreaking technology (e-commerce on the Internet). But, to do that, you must first raise tons of venture capital and then work like crazy to establish a major presence in the market before any competitors can stake a claim. In these days of post-IPOs and gone-wrong dot.coms, we've come to understand that this approach is indeed "risky business", though Amazon.com is one of the few success stories.

　　Regardless of the business model you've adopted for your company, charting a course for its success must involve the constant consideration of adding new products or services to the mix. Logically, there are certain questions and issues that you will need to resolve before determining whether adding that new product line, delving into a new marketplace or catering to a new type of customer is a wise business decision for you.

　　UNDERSTAND CUSTOMER NEEDS

　　My hometown watering hole is the Olde Towne Tavern and Grille in Kennesaw, GA. Amy, Missy, Marsha and Erin are among the bright, attractive and friendly staff that serves great food and drinks while treating their patrons to sporting events from around the world on more than 50 television screens. Billy Leanos, the owner and third-generation restaurateur, is constantly looking for ways to expand and improve his establishment without any interruption of service―he’s made four major expansions in the twelve years he's been in business. He even opened a second location last year. Honestly, Olde Towne makes the old television bar, Cheers, look like a dump. If you are ever in metro-Atlanta, you should drop by and see what I mean.

　　So, what makes Olde Towne unique? I can tell you that a day does not go by without one of the managers engaging in casual conversation with customers about what else they could offer to make the place more enjoyable. To a person, each employee is attuned to meeting customer needs. Before they make any changes, from an addition to the menu to a total interior renovation, Billy asks his staff to uncover the answers to a series of thought-provoking questions:

　　Who are the types of customers we want to attract?
　　What are their interests, desires, and buying behaviors?
　　What is it that our patrons need us to do better or different than our competition?
　　If a new offering is made, how could we quantitatively measure the effectiveness of the change in terms of customer delight, value and loyalty?

　　Some of the new features that have come out of such dialogue have been a start-up “Bring Olde Towne to You” catering service for home or office parties, Wednesday Team Trivia Night where you can win your bar tab, personal Sound Boxes so you can hear the play-by-play commentary on your favorite NFL teams game, and bi-weekly promotions with giveaways and drink specials. What more could one ask for?

　　Obviously these questions can easily be applied to any business, including those of apparel decorators and specialty graphics producers. Take a moment to read these questions again. Notice the deeper insight into the reason behind asking each question. The line of forethought goes beyond just asking what clients are looking for; it hits at the heart of why they will go out of their way to do business with the company. It is precisely the series of questions you should be asking yourself when you are thinking about changing, deleting or adding goods or services to your product mix.

　　NEED A SHOT OF INNOVATION?

　　Are you having trouble coming up with creative new ideas that address your customers' strongest need? There is an innovation think-tank near Cincinnati, Ohio called Eureka! Ranch. For a considerable program fee, Eureka! Ranch will have you rubbing elbows with consultants, trainers and market-research experts that will have your team thinking better and more creatively about how to grow your business through innovation. The company backs its methods with a no-excuses guarantee stating that its principles, process and people will exceed your expectations or the staff will work for no fee until they do.

　　Don't have the money to hire a consultant lying around? Not many of us do. So the next best thing you can do: become a student of Eureka! Ranch's approach by reading its book called Jump Start Your Business Brain. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by one of the Eureka! Ranch principles, Doug Hall. He outlined and demonstrated the three vital components of a sure-fire winning idea. You need to provide:

　　an overt benefit
　　a real reason to believe, and
　　a dramatic difference.

　　Once you can describe the type of product or service that directly addresses the customer need, test the offering against these three success criteria. Is the prospective customer crystal clear on what the benefits are to buy and use your offering? Be sure to convert your offering's unique benefit into the overt benefit to the customer. When you make a claim of superior performance over other products―as well you should, unless you are only offering a me-too product―did you provide the customer have a logical, clarifying example that leaves them thinking, "Oh, I see how they can do that."
 
　　Finally, your new offering should be unique, state-of-the-art or progressive in some way. Sound like a tough nut to crack? It shouldn't be. Ask yourself, “Is it something my competitors either don’t think to do, don’t know how to do, or aren’t willing to do?” How dramatically different your offering is from everybody else's is more dependent on your ability to empathize with your customer's true wants and desires. See how we've come full circle?

　　EXPLORING MARKET ATTRACTIVENESS

　　Try to avoid adding an identical product line or service just because other companies offer it. Instead, be tempted to seek the answer to this question: why do you think this is an attractive market opportunity? First, determine if your company can turn a profit in a reasonable period of time. Think about what the size of the market potential is today and what the growth rate might be in the near future.

　　Initially, you will need to invest some of your treasured―and often scarce―resources to even begin to think about providing something new. Understand that you may need to purchase or lease equipment and operating supplies. If, for example, you decide that offering lamination and finishing services, you'll need to consider investing in a film or liquid laminator. Additionally, you may need to send your key staff to training to learn to operate the new equipment.

　　Think of it this way: if you were going to ask a lending institution to help you start a new business with this idea alone, what market analysis and marketing plan would you have to present to the bank to secure the loan? How soon do you predict your company will break even on the investment? A break-even period of no more than two years is a good rule of thumb when you consider the fact that all of the real costs of development―time, labor and money for research, beta-testing, promotion and marketing materials, training and cannibalized sales of current offerings, and such―need to be recovered through the profits, not just revenues, from the new offering.

　　Hopefully, you are considering a new offering that will enhance―not dilute―your current gross margin. Be sure to do a scan of the pricing landscape to determine the profit margins of similar products. If other companies haven't been able to capture a decent gross margin, presumably one that is higher than what you enjoy now, and they've been at it for a while, what makes you think you will be able to take the market by storm?

　　Finally, when considering market attractiveness, ask if any barriers to entry exist. Are you infringing on any patents, copyrights or trademarks? There are several free information services offered on the Internet to perform a quick check. If you come across a shred of doubt about who owns the intellectual property of your idea, dig deeper. This is one area where ignorance is not bliss.

　　IF THE IDEA FITS C COMMIT

　　It makes all the sense in the world to improve your revenues through offering new products and services and exploring new markets as long as the idea fits your business strategy. Whether you realize it or not, your company does have a business strategy. If you have never consciously thought of or developed a formal strategy tailored for your business, you should. It is not as difficult as it might seem. There are many books and software programs that could assist you in describing your business using the Four Ps of marketing―product, price, placement and promotion. Many marketing experts have wisely added three more―people, process and physical evidence.

　　Let's face it. If you've unearthed a true market demand, why shouldn't your company be the one that benefits from the new offering? Speed to market is important, but remain aware of the reward-to-risk ratio in what decision you are about to make.  How naturally does it feel for your company to offer this type of product? Will the demand of such an offering command a handsome price? Could the new offering be sold to your existing customers or will you have to place it through different channels to an entirely different set of prospective clients? How will you promote the product line so that you make potential customers aware of the offering? Do you have the right people to develop the offering and champion its cause? Is the process you adopt to execute your marketing plan sound? And, finally, do you have the physical evidence―case studies, testimonials, demonstrated proof―to back up your claims?

　　The moral to the "Growing Your Business" story is this: Don't hurriedly jump into the water without knowing a) where the bottom is or b) what is lurking beneath the surface that can bite you. Do your homework! Make a list of questions such as the ones cited here or create your own. And then get answers to those questions. If you do, your chances of bringing home a winner will increase exponentially. Good luck.