If you’re currently running a business and you’ve cultivated a solid customer base but realise that you should be generating healthier profits, stop. You’ll be tempted to rush out to try and acquire 20 new customers, but I’ve got a better solution. One that will:

✓ Offer a logical perspective on customer value

✓ Widen the scope of your business

✓ Increase your projected profits

✓ Strengthen relationships with your customers

In trying to find the perfect word to sum up this solution, I adopted the term ‘widgetising’, which in simple business terms is increasing your projected profits with value-add offers. In other words, a customer is already spending their money on your core product and you introduce additional or complementary products they’ll benefit from.

This isn’t a "do you want fries with that?" kinda deal

It’s easy to misinterpret widgetising your business as the Maccas brand of upselling. Even the term ‘upselling’ doesn’t accurately capture what I’m talking about. When a customer visits McDonalds, their goal is to satisfy their hunger by eating a quick meal and presumably, feel good about that. Offering additional foods at bargain prices may do more harm than good to the achievement of those specific objectives.

Widgetising is offering value-add products and services that will help a customer achieve their goals faster, more efficiently and/or with greater success.

Above average dollars

When I owned a handful of gyms, each of my members shared the same goals and visions for the future – to get fitter, healthier and to feel and look better. A gym membership itself ticked those boxes, but as members were always looking for ways to optimise performance and improve/speed up the process, there was a massive opportunity for "widgetising".

These value-add products and services that were highly successful included:

✓ Boot camps – test limits and really push yourself alongside others

✓ Yoga/pilates classes – expand the scope of what your body can do

✓ Food plans – maximise goal-reaching and eliminate the stress of meal choosing

✓ Nutrition lectures – increase your knowledge on how to treat your body

✓ Body transformation challenges – achieve the figure of your dreams

✓ Supplements – gain that edge during your workout

✓ Measurement sessions – acknowledge progress and rooms for improvement

Customers gravitated towards each of these (and many more) because they were positive steps towards helping them achieve their visions. Every time a member invested in an additional product, their value to me increased and vice-versa - exchange of benefits creating more value.

If you’re properly widgetising your business, then over time, a customer should be grabbing roughly 10 of these add-ons. That might sound high, but if you’ve correctly fostered your company culture, maintained customer loyalty and carefully considered the customers’ journey towards their goals, then I guarantee you – it’s achievable.

Tip: Widgetising can also help you increase profits not just from your place of business, but —through leveraging the online marketplace— from all over the world.

Nike’s slogan is more profound than you think

The concept of goal-targeted upselling isn’t a new one. Plenty of business owners know about it in theory, but you’d be surprised at how many don’t actually "just do it".

In summary, introducing ways of helping customers realise their vision, directly increases their average dollar value.