Entrepreneurship

Targeting new destinations for business development

English: Economies of scale surd
Targeting new destinations for business development

Sustained growth is a constant challenge for businesses, especially considering today’s tumultuous economic climate which makes it trickier than ever. However, this doesn’t mean that firms should ignore the possibility of expanding into further markets to generate new business. By exploring different expansion options uniquely available to your firm, you could take your business to new heights.

If you’ve just used the same business growth techniques for a long time, there are a number of different ideas that you could use to establish your firm as a major player in your chosen field. This could help to stimulate some new thinking about how to continue defying the economic downturn. You could expand into different regions or have a base in order to store more materials so that you can offer consumers more products than ever before – anything is possible.

Market research is vital

Before you can truly expand into further fields, you need to know what your customers and key demographics would be after. In today’s economy where consumers are looking for as much value as possible, successful market research will show how to move forward properly. Businesses need to examine their relationships with key customers to pinpoint why they are or are not happy with the services they are receiving.

Transforming these details into an actionable business improvement initiative will involve a great deal of hard work and forward-thinking strategies, but you must remember that, above all, any expansion is about making and keeping customers happy and improving the revenue streams that you have open. Strengthening relationships with key customers, such as through regular email newsletters or discounts for loyalty, is a great way to help your company to grow organically.

Regional expansion

If your firm has been based in the same single location or region for a while then it could be about time to set up shop in a nearby second location in order to further your reach and expand the services that you offer. This could involve taking up fresh space in a close neighbourhood or city, or simply making your services available to a broader geographic audience.

Creating a second location is much less expensive than starting a business from scratch because you will already have plenty of business plans in place and have the experience on the first store to lean on. However, it will expose you to more customers, so if done properly it can be a great way to transform your existing operations into a much more profitable business. Expansion could also enable you to benefit from economies of scale that have previously been unavailable.

Logistics of a move need to be thought through

Of course with any move that you make with a firm, the logistics need to be thought through because you will obviously be dealing with double the amount of stock that you would normally do. This can fluster even the most level-headed of bosses so make sure you plan accordingly for any issues. You could easily make the most of cost-effective storage without having to completely change a business model or plan.

Have a temporary structure or base where you can store materials and stock while bridging the gap of the move and finding a more permanent base to operate from. This should help make the transition that bit smoother. Coprisystems has a wide range of temporary structures to choose from.

 

Yoav Farbey

Contributing writer to the Startup Magazine.