As an entrepreneur, it’s always important to have one eye focused on future growth. After all, customers expectations will evolve with time. Even if your venture is currently performing well, standing still will allow your competitors to seek an advantage.
The best way to expand your business is to target a larger audience. Taking your operation to new locations can allow you to achieve far greater sales figures. In turn, this can enable faster progression in other key areas too.
There’s no timeframe on progression. But when you do feel ready to take those steps, it’s imperative that you follow a tried and tested blueprint. Focus on the three key factors below, and you’ll achieve those goals in no time.
Credit:Gaining A Presence
It’s impossible to sell anything if you haven’t got a presence in the new location. If you plan to target a new location, it’s important that you gain this visibility ASAP. Even if you don’t plan to physically operate from the space, acquiring a virtual office space will allow you to gain a localized address. This will instantly put you in a far better position.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for a physical presence, then you need to act carefully. Whether it’s opening up a new store branch, or an office space isn’t relevant. In either situation, the key is to build a team that you can trust. This is vital in all areas of business. But it carries an even greater significance when dealing with a new location, especially if you don’t intend to be around.
You already know how to hire the best candidates for your team. However, your expansion will require an even greater level of communication. Thankfully, modern facilities can allow you to master the challenge with ease. Video conferencing software can afford the chance to discuss matters face-to-face without travel. This can only save time and money, which will clearly aid your cause.
Regardless of how you attack the expansion, it’s important that the new business location feels as positive as the original one. Diluting the quality of service will lead to a loss of customers and a damaged reputation. Rather than enhancing the company, it could run it into the ground.
Spreading The Word
As you already know from the initial launch, business processes count for very little if customers aren’t interested. Therefore, it’s imperative that you find a way to ensure that the company will be received in a positive manner. In today’s environment, that often means embracing the power of digital communications.
The internet has changed the entire marketing landscape, and a great website can be your greatest tool. Aside from boosting your chances of success in the new location, upgrading the design of your site can work wonders for existing clients. Meanwhile, testimonials can encourage even greater levels of trust from potential customers.
Online ventures also allow for fantastic interaction. Whether it’s using a blog or encouraging participation through social media doesn’t matter. Any gesture that generates a positive response is a step in the right direction for the general success of your entire business.
However, you also need to be focused on the new location. Using localized SEO to shoot your way up the Google rankings for searches in the new area is vital. Most people still use search engines as their go-to tool while 90% of this audience will visit a page from the first page of results. If that doesn’t tell you how important this task is, then nothing will.
The World Wide Web is your key to greater interaction. But it’s important not to forget offline methods too. Even if you simply hire a space at a local trade show, it can be the ideal way to meet potential clients face-to-face. Even if sales are completed through telephone or online links, human interaction is still the best way to gain trust.
Any measures you take, however, will bring far less impact than the recommendation of others. Customers react very strongly to positive reviews from friends and family. Therefore rewarding clients for introducing new people to the company can be the greatest marketing tool of all.
Ultimately, you already have a basic understanding of how to build an audience. As long as you tailor your methods to the new demographic, positive words will soon spread.
Think Thrifty
Turning the expanded part of the business into a profitable venture shouldn’t be as difficult as the first. After all, you already have the experience and can gain leverage from the reputation that has already been established. Nevertheless, you cannot afford to start wasting money either. Keeping an eye on finances is vital.
Whether gaining a physical presence of a remote one, staffing will be a big issue. Outsourcing certain tasks can be a great way to cut those related fees. Meanwhile, this method can leave you less exposed should the expansion fail to achieve its goals.
It will take some time to get the expanded venture off of the ground, though. Even if this transition is quite quick, lower expenses of energy rates and insurances will help maximize profits. Speak to your current provider to see what they can do. However, don’t be afraid to search for a better deal either.
Logistically, you will come up against a number of issues, and smarter decision making is key. If you plan to run the operation from the current HQ, you need to think about serving the new audiences. Truck finance will allow you to complete greater volumes of deliveries, which will reduce overall expenses. Besides, this fleet is crucial to any expansion, especially if you have ideas of serving new territories further down the line.
Even with a close eye on proceedings, expansion will often require additional money. Gaining funds through a business loan should be a lot easier than it is for a new business. After all, you have collateral and have proof that the business model works. Just make sure that you’ve taken the necessary steps to secure the best rate possible. There’s no point in paying additional money for the same service.
By placing focus on people and finance, your expansion should go to plan. And once you’ve successfully targeted one new location, future growth should feel easy.
