What is the risky way to expand a business?

How do you determine if you should expand the services of your company? Should your firm branch into another area? Which expansion is high risk? When should you make the change? How can you increase product development?

Norman Levy, a consultant, presented a model at the National Speakers Association Convention that made a lot of sense to me. These are four choices:

1. Provide more products and services to your existing customers.
2. Provide your existing products and services to a new market.
3. Provide new services to an existing market.
4. Provide new products and services to a new market.

Generally the lowest risk choice is #1, and the highest risk choice is #4. Conventional wisdom states that #1 is least risky because of the relationship you have with your current clients, who know and trust you. Med League started by supplying nursing expert witnesses, and added other services including medical summaries, screening for medical malpractice, literature searches, attendance at IMEs, preparing of demonstrative evidence for our existing clients. These are #1 activities: more products and services to our existing clients.

Occasionally, I teach (existing service) nurses who are being disciplined by the Board of Nursing, an example of a new market, a #2 activity.

When we started providing teleseminars for attorneys and legal nurse consultants in the fall of 2008, we branched into a #3 activity: new services for an existing market. We are about to launch a new service of a different nature to our existing market.

Although providing more services to existing client should be least risky, sometimes radical changes in the marketplace require businesses to shift the focus. For example, there used to be a lot more motor vehicle accident lawsuits before changes in the law toughened the criteria for filing suit. Many attorneys shifted their focus to new areas of law to compensate for the changes.

What’s clear is that you can’t stand still and be complacent. Look at where you are, what the market needs and what you need to change to move ahead.

Med League provides medical expert witnesses to trial lawyers. Please call us at (908)788-8227 or contact us today to discuss your next case.