A hybrid business uses multiple means to reach customers, such as alternative sales methods and diversifying operations. It can attract more customers and generate additional revenue, making it less vulnerable to adverse circumstances in any one market. Examples include operating concurrent operations and commercializing core products in multiple contexts.
A hybrid business is a type of business operation that works with the use of multiple means to reach customers. There are two common uses of this term to describe slightly different approaches to the business model. One involves a business choosing to make use of alternative sales methods in addition to maintaining a brick and mortar location for customers to visit. A slightly different approach involves diversifying the company’s operation to include related companies that serve different sectors of the market.
One of the oldest examples of a hybrid business would involve a company that has chosen to operate concurrent operations aimed at meeting the needs of two or more consumer markets. In many cases, consumers who are attracted to a number of products will also be able to use the goods and services offered by the accompanying transaction. For example, a company may operate a series of family-style restaurants, while also marketing a line of branded sauces, condiments, and other food products associated with those restaurants. The end result is the ability to not only attract customers who want to dine out, but also tap into the market of consumers who need certain products to prepare tasty meals at home.
A more contemporary concept of a hybrid enterprise involves a company’s efforts to commercialize its core products in multiple contexts. Such a business model may involve running a retail outlet while maintaining an online store and using catalog sales to generate mail-in orders. Typically, the hybrid business will maintain its own warehouses as a means of handling orders arriving from the online store and orders received through the mail. In some cases, this brick-and-mortar back-end function can be outsourced to order fulfillment services as a way to keep operating overhead as low as possible.
One of the benefits of a hybrid business is the ability to reach more customers, which in turn means the potential to generate additional revenue. While this type of operation can get quite complex, the ability to establish a presence in more than one market means that the business is less vulnerable to adverse circumstances that may arise from time to time in any of these markets. In the event that one means of reaching customers begins to lose ground, there’s a good chance that the alternative strategies in place will see some sort of uptick, allowing the business to remain financially viable.
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