When it comes to expanding your business, the first thought is probably setting up office in a new location. However, this comes with a lot of risk and, for small businesses, this can often be out of reach financially.
Luckily though, expansion doesn’t just come in the form of opening more offices. There are plenty of options available to grow your small business. Here are just 5 ways to expand without setting up elsewhere.
Virtual locations
One way to expand your business is to make your product or service is available to new customers. However, reaching new customers doesn’t always require having a new physical location.
New locations can be virtual, for example, setting up a website with an online store. A website comes with significantly lower costs than opening up a new physical location. Having an e-commerce site also means that customers can purchase from your business regardless of yours and their location.
Extend your market reach
Expansion also comes in the form of reaching new markets. One way to expand your business is to extend your market reach through advertising.
Advertising is a great way to acquire new customers and expand your business to a new market. Once you’ve identified your new market, you want to then select advertising channels that targets that market. For example, younger demographic might prefer digital communications whereas an older audience might prefer traditional markets such as direct mail.
Build word of mouth
No matter where your business is based, word of mouth can be crucial to its success. Most consumers look for reviews or recommendations before deciding where to shop – especially when it comes to a brand they’ve never dealt with before.
Building a good reputation is key, but to get positive word of mouth, it’s important to provide good, professional service. You can also monitor your local and online reputation, gain publicity and don’t be shy to ask for testimonials.
Diversify your products or services
Just like moving into new markets, you can also expand your business with new products or services. Try to focus on the needs of your existing market or a market with similar needs and characteristics. For example, if you’re a photographer, you could begin to sell photo frames to your customers.
Knowing what new products and services to mix doesn’t have to be difficult. Conduct your own market research and ask you current customers what they think about your new ideas, or whether they have any suggestions of their own.
Give the appearance you’re a national business
When you first set up your business, one thing you might not have considered is a non-geographical telephone number. For a local start up, a local telephone number can strengthen your relationship and build trust with local customers.
However, when it’s time to expand, customers from across the country may be untrusting of contacting a business that’s “unfamiliar”. For this reason, it’s worth checking out the cost of an 0800 number.
An 0800 number allows your business to appear national as it is “non-geographic” and allows you to service a bigger area. It’s also free for customers to call, helping to boost sales calls and is more memorable for customers.
2018 ·