Neil White
There comes a time in the development of every company when it must grow or shut down. Expanding your business is the most natural thing in the world so there is no need to feel worried or anxious. However, there are at least 8 useful tips that can help you expand your business in a safer way. Opening to new markets, hiring new employees, and entering foreign markets is a huge risk so you should play things safe.
Keep introducing new products
Although many businesses rely on tradition and brand recognition to boost sales, even household brand names need to introduce new products from time to time. It is important to freshen up their offer and intrigue regular buyers into trying out new products or services.
Needless to say, the change should not be ushered because if the change itself but because of market research. Having realized that there is a shoppers’ need they haven’t met, companies design and launch new products. If you fail to innovate your brand image, don’t expect it to stagnate but rather drop over time.
Selling more
Launching a new product means that the accent is on quality, not so much quantity. However, if you truly want to expand your business, then you must increase the latter as well. The more you sell, the bigger the turnover will be, giving your business a clean bill of (financial) health.
It is not uncommon that businesses try to increase sales by lowering the price for a preset period to attract new customers. Sure, the profit margin will decrease in the short run but this seeming loss will e compensated by the increased revenue. If you are faced with the challenge of holding the price or lowering it to sell more, choose the latter option because that is the safest way to expand your business.
“Conquer” the world
We are not suggesting that you should be as successful as Alexander the Great in terms of conquering the known world but you should never stop expanding geographically. There isn’t a retail chain that hasn’t started with a single store and then expanded from that one town they were originally located in.
It is not about “conquering” other cities and countries but expanding into new markets. A new market means that you have access to millions of new customers. This is a challenge to your company but also a huge opportunity to expand your business operations.
Introducing new delivery channels
Modern technology, storage, and delivery methods are all factors that your competitors will calculate in. You shouldn’t fall behind and besides focusing on quality and quantity, you shouldn’t neglect new delivery methods, to name one improvement of the business model.
We all know of Amazon’s plans to use drones for same-day deliveries but you needn’t go that high tech. The most common method to improve your delivery channels is to rely heavily on Internet platforms for improved ordering, packaging, and delivery process. In the long run, this translates into fewer brick and mortar stores, which in terms lower the cost of day to day operations, leaving more money for expansion.
Debtor finance
As you have realized by now, you’ll need a lot of money to finance the expansion of your business so you’ll need to free large sums of outstanding invoices that haven’t been paid so far. To finance the cash flow you have the possibility to hire companies like Classic Funding Group to improve your firm’s trading cash flow. This smart solution is especially important for small businesses if they want to fund and grow their operation without the need to wait to be paid by customers.
Merge with existing and acquire new businesses
So far, we have discusses methods of gradually expanding your business, step by step. However, you can improve the way you run your company in bigger leaps if you decide to acquire another company or perhaps merge with a bigger enterprise.
If you decide to acquire, usually a smaller company then your business can double overnight. The number of stores, business partners, suppliers, and employees will rise dramatically so you must prepare for the acquisition for months in advance. If you get things right, you should soon start reaping the benefits reflected through a significant growth in total sales and revenue generated.
When it comes to a merger, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your company is doing bad so it needs help from another company. Often enough, two businesses of a similar size will merge together to enter the market together. This will allow them to share the risks and costs of entering a new market or the launch of new products or services. In this sense, a successful merger is an excellent way to grow your small business.
Don’t forget your regular customers
Apart from reaching new consumers through lower prices and exciting new products, you have the option to boost existing sales and thus increase your company’s assets. Basically, you will have to get to know your regular customers anew.
Analyze the structure of the market by comparing age, location, gender, purchase history, and other relevant criteria to get a better picture of you can improve existing sales. As the end result, you will have a better allocation of funds, which means that you expand your business without overspending.
Trade shows don’t belong in the past
It goes without saying that you need to use new technologies to the fullest (remember what we said about novel delivery methods) but old-fashioned marketing couldn’t hurt either. For instance, trade shows are still an excellent opportunity to network, make new deals, and grow your business.
In addition, trade shows are an excellent place to promote and showcase new products, as well as sell existing merchandise at discount prices. Booksellers, for example, sell the largest numbers of books during international book fairs.
These were the top 8 tips that will help you expand your business efficiently. From creating new products to simply selling more, your business has more than one way of sustainably growing.
