Business | Knowledge
DIVERSIFICATION: GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS FEWER REASONS TO LEAVE
THE PREMISE OF OFFERING MORE TO LOSE LESS, DOES STAND TO REASON TO BE QUITE SENSIBLE. THIS CAN ALSO BE TRUE OF PSPS WHO OFFER MORE SERVICES,
MEANING THAT CUSTOMERS ARE LESS LIKELY TO LOOK FOR THOSE PRODUCTS ELSEWHERE. STUART MASON, FOUNDER OF HERE’S HOW TO, EXPLAINS HOW DIVERSIFICATION CAN BE A TOOL FOR CUSTOMER RETENTION.
26 | October/November 2026
There’s a problem with selling something that dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other businesses can supply: Eventually somebody is going to ask you to do it cheaper. Print has always been price competitive, but today customers can compare suppliers and prices in minutes. If you’re quoting for exactly the same product, produced in roughly the same way and delivered in roughly the same timeframe as everyone else, it becomes increasingly difficult to explain why your price is higher. When there is very little difference between what you and your competitor appear to offer, price inevitably becomes a bigger part of the decision. A way small print and graphics businesses can change that conversation is diversification. I’m not talking about randomly adding products because somebody sent you a trade price list, nor am I suggesting investing heavily in equipment for a market you know nothing about. Good diversification is about understanding what your existing customers already buy, identifying products and services that naturally complement what you provide, and finding sensible ways to supply more of them. The important word there is customer, because it’s not about what you want or don’t want to
offer. It’s about what your customer wants to buy. I regularly hear owners say, ‘we don’t do signage’,
‘we’re not interested in promotional products’ or “wide-format isn’t really our thing”. That’s understandable from a production perspective, but your customer doesn’t particularly care what machinery you own or what you enjoy producing. They have a requirement and need somebody to fulfil it. If you don’t, somebody else will, and that creates a much bigger danger than simply losing one order.
THE BENEFITS OF DIVERSIFICATION Imagine you’ve supplied a customer’s general print for years. They need exhibition graphics, but you don’t offer them, so they find another supplier. That company does a great job and happens to mention that they also supply brochures, stationery, banners, signage and commercial print. Suddenly, they’re not trying to steal your customer.
You’ve introduced your customer to them. That is why diversification can have such a powerful impact on retention. The more relevant products and services a customer buys from you, the more valuable that relationship becomes. You understand
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