Diversification is one of those words that’s used so often in our industry that it can start to lose its meaning.
For years, dealers have been told they need to diversify. Add another product line. Enter a new market. Create a new source of recurring revenue. Move beyond the traditional business before it’s too late. There’s truth in that advice; dealers do need to evolve. Customer expectations, volumes and technology are changing, and the economics of the business aren’t the same as they were 10 or 20 years ago.
But there’s also a misconception built into the way we talk about diversification, and I think we’ve been looking at it from the wrong angle. Too often, diversification is treated as if it means becoming something completely different. In reality, some of the best diversification opportunities are found by not leaving your core business behind. They’re found by looking more closely at the customers you already serve.
That is the part I think dealers sometimes miss. Diversification doesn’t always start with a new product; sometimes it starts with a better question.
The dealers who continue to grow aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest portfolios. They’re the ones who keep finding new ways to create value for customers who already trust them. That’s an important distinction because trust is much harder to earn than expertise.
Look Beyond Product Categories
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that our industry often views the world through product categories, which is understandable. We build expertise around equipment, software, service, supplies, mailing, shipping, finishing and workflow solutions. Customers usually approach it differently. They’re not thinking about product lines, but instead are thinking about the work that needs to get done.
No one walks into the office wondering if today is the day they should buy a folder inserter or upgrade their mailing system. They walk in wondering why invoices still take so long to process, why employees spend hours performing repetitive tasks or why operational costs continue to climb. They may not describe those issues in terms of mailing, shipping, workflow or automation, but those are often the areas where problems show up.
They’re thinking about business challenges, not equipment. That distinction matters because it changes the conversation. If a dealer starts with the product, the discussion can become narrow very quickly. If the dealer starts with the customer’s process, the opportunity becomes much broader.
A mailing conversation naturally leads to document preparation, which can then lead to workflow automation. Shipping, parcel management, document security and related solutions become part of the discussion because they’re connected to the same business objective. The customer may see all of those as part of the same problem: work is taking too long, costing too much or creating too much friction.
That’s where diversification becomes practical.
The Opportunity Is Often Already There
One of the biggest misconceptions about diversification is that it requires building an entirely new business. Sometimes a new category or new market makes sense. But in reality, the easiest diversification opportunity is often found by sitting across the conference table from a customer you’ve worked with for 15 years.
Think about the organizations you already serve. Schools continue to process large volumes of communications while managing an increasing number of incoming packages. Healthcare providers are under constant pressure to improve efficiency without adding staff. Manufacturers are searching for ways to eliminate manual processes that quietly consume hours every week. Local governments and nonprofits are being asked to do more with the same or fewer resources.
Those aren’t new markets; they’re familiar customers facing new challenges. The question isn’t whether you have something else to sell them. The better question is whether you’ve taken the time to understand what’s changed inside their business since your last conversation.
That’s where I believe many dealers have an advantage. They already have the relationship. They already have the service history. They already have credibility with the customer. In many cases, they already understand part of the customer’s workflow better than anyone else walking in the door.
That trust is difficult to earn. It shouldn’t be underestimated.
Don’t Chase Everything
Diversification doesn’t mean trying to become everything to everyone. That approach can create more problems than it solves—it can distract the sales team, confuse the customer and stretch the service organization beyond what it can realistically support.
The better approach is to look for logical extensions of the relationship. Customers already trust you to help manage important parts of their operations. That credibility opens doors to discussions about adjacent processes that may be slowing their businesses down.
Mailing equipment, for example, isn’t just a standalone product category. It can be an entry point into understanding how information moves through an organization. Once you understand that process, you begin to see opportunities beyond the mailroom. The same is true with shipping, document automation, parcel management and related workflow solutions.
You’re not trying to become everything to everyone. You’re simply becoming more valuable to the customers who already know your organization and your people. There’s a significant difference between those two approaches.
One More Question
The dealers who’ve remained successful weren’t the ones who resisted change. They were the ones who stayed close to their customers and understood them best. That’s always been true, but it matters even more now.
That’s why the diversification conversation needs to change. Not a dramatic pivot away from the business that made you successful. Not a race to add every emerging technology. Just a willingness to ask one more question: what else is slowing this customer down?
That simple question can open a better conversation. It can change the relationship. More importantly, it can change the role your organization plays inside the customer’s business.
Mail continues to matter, and I believe it will for years to come. But the conversations around mail, documents, packages and workflow are broader than they used to be. Customers are under pressure. They’re dealing with staffing challenges, cost increases, technology changes and higher expectations from the people they serve. They’re looking for partners who can help them think through practical improvements, not just vendors who show up when a lease is expiring.
The dealers who thrive over the next decade won’t necessarily be defined by the number of products they offer. They’ll be defined by how well they understand the businesses they serve. In my experience, that’s what diversification has always been about. We just haven’t always called it that.
