7 Of The Best Strategies For Business Expansion
Business owners are often faced with the dilemma of if they should expand their business for the benefit of their company and if the timing is indeed right for such a move.
We can all agree that business expansion will bring a certain amount of benefits to the business owner. Not only can it increase the market share and customer base of a business, but it can also end up leading to significant cost savings and operational improvements as well.
In this article, we will discuss some of the best business growth strategies out there along with exploring how expansion can benefit your own personal business.
Let’s First Define Business Expansion
Business expansion can be described as a stage where your business reaches the point for growth and seeks out additional options to generate more profit.
One problem that all successful businesses or startups ultimately face is managing business expansion or development. Business expansion is a phase of a business’s life, which contains both dangers and opportunities. However, if not managed properly, this expansion can spell disaster for many businesses.
Because of this, it’s important for a business owner to be able to know not only exactly what business expansion means but also how he or she can go about it the correct way in order to maximize the chances of succeeding in doing so. In order to be successful, any business owner should be knowledgeable about both the key factors that are driving the expansion as well as be able to implement sound business strategies during this time.
Small business owners can face a number of problems when attempting to expand their operations. Experts say that one of the most common reasons cited is the lack of resources in order to do so. The presence of too few employees in a given company can also be a large deterrent to expansion effort. This is because they would typically have to spend a lot of time training new team mates who may not necessarily have the same skill set or expertise as those who’ve been working for the company for a longer period of time with more seniority.
Another factor cited by business owners is the slowing down of sales due to any combination of economic based factors.
Every business owner needs to be aware of business-related market trends and how it can affect the industry in which their business operates. In fact, a large percentage of new small businesses are started by entrepreneurs who do not actually have a clear idea of what is hot or what is not.
In order to expand their ventures, a lot of these above mentioned entrepreneurs must conduct market research on what is currently selling well in their paticular market. This research is especially crucial if the business relies on traditional marketing like direct mail or television ads.
Any entrepreneur can embark on an expansion program, but it is first recommended that he or she must first formulate a sound business expansion plan. Most entrepreneurs fail to expand their ventures due to the absence of a sound business expansion plan. Without a well thought out and defined plan, most business owners will only end up doing more harm than actual good.
The propper procedure of expanding a business involves careful planning, business analysis, and the use of existing monetary resources. To grow your business, it would be wise to first develop a well-defined vision, mission, and business plan. It is also very important for entrepreneurs to determine what exact kind of expansion they want to achieve. Once these are established, they can then proceed to develop a suitable plan of attack.
After developing a business expansion plan, entrepreneurs must determine what steps they will take to implement their new plans. For example, they may engage the services of experienced professionals such as financial experts and operations planners. These individuals can provide them with detailed business plans and financial forecasts. Alternatively, they can also contact business mentors for advice regarding issues related to business and operations planning.
7 Of The Best Strategies For Business Expansion
We need to discuss some of the best strategies that can help your business to expand in your given market. However, before doing so, it is important for you to understand how plans can change and develop along with your own company’s goals, objectives, and circumstances. These strategies can also vary depending on the type of expansion you are contemplating. If you are expanding into a new market for example, you will most likely need a very different strategy than if you are simply expanding your company’s current presence into a new location. (Or even simply expanding your current area) Ultimately, the type strategy you select will depend entirely upon your own unique variables and circumstances. In no specific order below you can find the 7 best practiced strategies for the expansion of your business:
1) The Market Penetration Strategy
The term “Market penetration” refers to the portion of a given population that can access the products and/or services offered by your company. If you can advertise your business to a very specific new market segment, you can efficiently increase the number of your customers or clients. One of the best methods to raise your market penetration is to market to potential customers who are not yet committed consumers. This sounds extremely simple but you can do this through several methods like launching local advertising campaigns. If you happen to run a business that provides pest control for example, you could consider starting a campaign in which you offer free chemical treatments to individuals who have pets on the premises. This will in turn increase your market share at that point because you are offering a service that is in high demand for that market.
2) The Marketing & Promotion Strategy
It goes without saying that you need to make sure that you have a solid marketing and promotional strategy in place in order to effectively maximize your market share in your given industry. You can do this through several methods but one would be creating strong customer loyalty to your business. This can be accomplished by attracting new customers through various means and methods. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a strong customer base.
When you can capture a large number of new customers, you can effectively expand your business even faster because you will have more new customers to spread your business name to. This sounds redundant but it also means more “free” word of mouth advertising done for you by your new happy customers. One of the most effective ways to capture new customers is to create a website. A website is a great way to showcase both the products and services that your company offers and to also create the image of a professional business. This sounds like pretty common knowledge in today’s high tech world but there are still a surprisingly large number of small “mom and pop” type companies that still do not have an online presence.
3) Expansion Into A New Market
The following can hit a little too close to home for some people. But the truth is when any market becomes saturated with one type of product or service, there is a tendency for that market to begin to dry up when it comes to profitability. If you take a look at traditional business expansion, you might have noticed that many businesses have expanded into areas where they were previously unable (or even unwilling) to do business. This may be due to any number or combination of things like lower capital costs, higher returns, or a change in consumer preferences. Regardless of the cause, you can use new market expansion strategies to help your business thrive.
4) Expanding Your Business Over Seas
For some businesses, the local market becomes saturated, and the only way to expand is to go international. This is a step that many companies can be intimidated by because it comes with an entirely new set of challenges. However, it can also bring many new opportunities because you are able to sell your products or services to more potential customers.
5) Start A Franchise
One of the best strategies for business expansion includes starting a franchise, which is a process in which you open an additional (almost identical) business in a location where there is a need and people are willing to invest time, money and energy into it. This method can provide a controlled environment in which you can grow your business without worrying about competitors.
6) Enter A Joint Venture Or Acquisition Agreement
Entering into a joint venture or acquisition agreement with another business that has a larger market share is another strategy that you can use to branch out and expand. With this method, you can leverage the individual strengths of BOTH companies in order to obtain access to resources and markets that you would not otherwise be able to do on your own.
7) Partner With A Professional
This is probably the smartest route to go. Partnering with a professional financial consultant can take a lot of the heavy lifting off your shoulders and reduce a lot of the risk as well. A professional will be able to take a look at your own unique scenario when it comes to your business and help you decide which combination of the above strategies would work best for you. It might even be a completely different strategy than any mentioned here. But when you partner with someone who has helped tons of other companies do the same thing, they are usually able to see things from a more unique perspective that allows even more efficiency.
Your business’s success depends upon having the best strategies for business expansion. You want to expand your business to the fullest extent possible so that you can serve a greater number of consumers and provide better customer service. The key is to make strategic decisions that will yield the greatest results. You may have an idea for a business opportunity, but you should also consider expansion strategies that will allow you to realize your dream. Even if it seems like a business idea that you cannot afford, you may be surprised at how soon you can afford it. Once you have started to expand, your business will continue to grow so you can retire with some peace of mind.
Regardless of the business expansion strategy you choose, remember that it is important to remain competitive. By investing in new technology, processing data more efficiently, and using other tools such as social media, your company will remain at the forefront of its industry. If you stick to a proven business expansion plan, your company can continue to grow and prosper for years to come. If you need help, here are a number of ways to scale your business with most things being digital nowadays. When you are setting up a strategy to expand your business, you need to take a lot of variables into consideration. Not sure where to start or have an idea of what you want to do but you’re not sure how much that will bring you. We can help! Call TITAN Financial Pros today and we can set up personalized growth plans for your particular business.
These are just a few methods and strategies that can help with the expansion of your business. Hopefully you found these helpful. If you would like to learn even more about how you can streamline the efficiency of your business finances, then you are more than welcome to contact us and we will take a look at your unique situation and offer some sensible solutions that would work best for you!
“TITAN Financial Pros provide an informational service only and are not responsible for any investments made applying this information. The results described are not distinctive and are not guarantees of future income. Any assumption contains risk and is 100% the responsibility of the individual to assess the risks/rewards involved. We bear no liability assumed or implied for your application of the information shared from this content. This information is for educational and entertainment purposes only.”
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