Summer in Australia is a great time for live sporting events, and over the Christmas break, I went to see a Twenty20 cricket game and a Hopman Cup tennis match.
Both of these events are the “lite” form of the game. Twenty20 cricket is a cut-down, highly-commercialised form of the game; and the Hopman Cup is an unofficial exhibition tennis competition. The diehard cricket fans prefer a five-day Test match to a three-hour Twenty20 game, and the “real” tennis is happening later this month at the Australian Open.
But both of these events have a place, and both of them attract a different market.
What is the “lite” form of YOUR product or service?
If you want to build your business, you can try to be better than everybody else – which is not easy – or do things differently. Of course, there are myriad ways to do things differently, but one of the easiest is to offer a “lite” version of whatever you do.
This has a number of benefits:
- You give new people a sample of what else you can do.
- You create offerings at different price points to suit different budgets.
- It can help smooth out your cashflow.
- It creates a completely new income stream.
- You might attract a completely new market.
- It’s relatively easy, because you’re simplifying your offering rather than adding new features.
For example, I use my regular webinar series, “Future Proof”, to attract people who might book me for conference speaking. They don’t get the full keynote speaking experience, of course. But they do see a sample of my ideas, slides, audience interaction, and engagement.
This is the same principle behind the “freemium” business model, where something (usually software) is provided free for most users, but paying users get more features.
The “lite” version can be free, but it doesn’t have to be.
What can YOU do?
Perhaps you run regular webinars.
Or write a book.
Or create an online, automated version of a consulting service.
Or create some other cut-down, “lite” version of something.
Whatever you choose, it probably won’t take you a lot of time or effort to try it. So try it!
Innovation Kick Start 2016 – Webinar Series Starting Next Week
Our world is changing rapidly, and businesses and entire industries are being shaken, disrupted and toppled. This is a huge opportunity if you can take advantage of it, but a massive threat if you don't. Will you thrive or survive?
In this three-part webinar series, I will give you a glimpse into what's ahead, show you how to embrace and lead the change, and guide you through creating a realistic action plan to implement your ideas.
- Innovate (14 January): A glimpse into the future (including what's just around the corner for your industry)
- Integrate (21 January): Enlisting the help of the people with the best ideas – including your employees, your customers, and YOU!
- Implement (28 January): Putting your ideas into practice
You will find this webinar series useful if:
- You work in a highly competitive industry
- You want to attract, motivate and retain the best people
- Your business or industry is already going through change
- You want to future-proof your organisation for 2016 and beyond
