No businessperson wants to put all their eggs in one basket, and why should you? For instance, take a look at your customer base, is it diversified enough? And is now the time to diversify it more so you can hedge against more market risks? There are many ways of achieving this; in fact, that's one of the benefits of geographical diversification.

As businesses are trying to survive through this recession, there are signs that economies outside of the United States are recovering more quickly from the global recession. Japan, Germany, France and Hong Kong have all shown indications of recovering from the recession already.

Many lead economists believe the U.S. will not be the country to lead the world into a global economic turnaround this time. Maybe it’s time to consider global expansion, remembering that you don’t need to be a powerhouse like IBM and Wal-mart to do it. Advanced communication, affordable shipment and online marketing tactics allow you to reach many new customers outside of the U.S.

Another example of diversification involves a combination of product and price changes. Procter & Gamble introduced Tide Basic to sell to customers who would normally find Tide too expensive. There may very well be a possibility of brand dilution and cannibalism, but it gives P&G a way to grow its market share in a down market.

Clearly, there are many marketing tactics involved in diversifying your customer base to hedge against seasonal and economic trends, and changes in consumer tastes. A combination of branding and product changes, pricing strategy, marketing tactics and many more factors will come into play before you can successfully target a new customer base. However, the sooner you do it, the more prepared you will be for the next market change.

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