The majority of business owners want their business to grow. After all, it’s why they started their business in the first place – to make something thrive and be successful. However, sometimes this growth can stall due to a variety of factors including the economy and even the times of the year. If you want to make sure you can grow your business no matter what else is happening, there are some useful tips on how to make it happen.
New Products And Services
Although it sounds like an easy thing to do, adding new products and services to your existing range can be a challenge, and isn’t something that should be entered into lightly. To begin with, it’s important to work out which products and services are going to work best for you. It’s essential that you find products your customers are going to buy, not just items that you can potentially sell for a good profit. It will make no difference what your profit margins are if no one wants what you’re selling anyway. Therefore, some market research is going to be required. You can ask your current customers what else they would like you to stock or provide, for example, as well as asking how much they would be prepared to pay for it. You can also look at what your competitors are doing. Your market research needs to be thorough otherwise you might find that you are committing time and money, as well as effort and possibly workforce too into something that won’t grow your business at all. In fact, it might even shrink it!
Find New Customers
Selling more of the products you already stock is potentially more cost-effective than selling brand new products. What you need to do to make this work is to have an exciting marketing campaign that will reach new customers as far and wide as possible. More market research will be required, but that’s a good thing. It might take longer to get your campaign going, but at least it will be the right one, targeted to the right people. The key thing to do when marketing is to target the right audience, using the right platform. If your product is more suited to groups who use social media on a daily basis, that’s where you should be focusing your efforts. If it seems as though print or perhaps radio advertising is the way to go, that should be your main concern. It might even be that you need to attend more trade shows and do more networking, particularly if you are a B2B business. Make sure you know what to do before focusing on how to do it.
New Locations
When you feel you have exhausted your current location, it may be time for you to look at expanding into new ones. It could be a literal office or warehouse move, changing to a different town or even state to tap into a new market. It could be that you open up a new branch elsewhere. Or it could even be that you start exporting goods and start shipping around the world with HMHShip. Whichever route you decide to choose, this can be an excellent way to grow your business as long as you are in the position to do it. It will need a lot of time and money to get this new launch right, so you will need to ensure there is enough customer demand in the new territory to make it worthwhile.
Sell More To Your Existing Customers
Is there any way that you can target your existing customers and remind them of what you do and how good you are at it? Could you persuade them to come in and discuss any of their additional requirements? Or would it be easier to send out a newsletter that details any products and services that might interest them? Targeting your existing customers is one of the most cost-effective ways to expand your business as you don’t have to worry about persuading them to shop with you; they already have, and, assuming they enjoyed the experience, they will have no qualms about doing so again, if you have something they want. The key, then, is to explain to them that you do have something they want.
Buy Another Business
If you want to grow your business fast, buying another business could be your best option. Of course, it is also one of the most expensive options, but the return on your investment can be huge if you pick a business that has a great looking balance sheet. You can double your business size instantly, or perhaps make it even bigger depending on the business you are buying. The bigger your business, the more profit it should make, so at least doubling your current company will have a huge impact on what you can do. When you buy another business, you will need to perform due diligence to ensure that the numbers add up and that the details are concrete before you commit too much money to the process. Focus on how the other company’s financial records look, what the management team is like and what their experience is, how happy they are with the buyout or merger, and what the existing contracts consist of (and how secure they are). It’s important to buy a business that has some similarities with your own, otherwise combining the two will be impossible. Your customers need to be happy with the new (hopefully improved) business, not confused about what it is you’re really doing and your new focus.
Become A Franchise
When you franchise your business you are giving other people the opportunity to open up their own branches in their own locations – locations they know well. Not only do you get the initial money from the sale of the franchise, but you will also get a percentage of the sales made by the new location as well. This is a great way to have your company in front of many more people without the hassle and expense of additional marketing or need to open up a new store or office.
