When a business is ticking along nicely, and you can see that there is a future in the plan that you have made, you may see the merit in expanding. You have started the business, it’s working well, employees are happy, and the profits are climbing. They’re climbing so much that expansion or diversification are going to end up being your only options in the future. You need to decide whether expansion is the best possible thing for your business and to help you choose, we’ve put together some of the best reasons why:

To Survive

Some companies expand to be able to continue in their field. When you are self-employed, your business is on you to keep going. Some companies need to be developed sideways to keep moving forward, and some companies reach a ceiling and need to diversify to avoid collapse.

Reducing Risks

If your business is one that works with clients of different industries, then there is a chance that losing one can cause your income to drop a considerable amount. The best thing that you can do is to expand outwards and avoid having all of your company eggs in one basket.

Knowledge Growth

Expanding your knowledge is essential the more sectors and customers that you work with. What you know matters and the more that you know, the more you can offer to your customers.

Cost Reduction

The more you grow, the more you can reduce your product unit costs and save yourself some money over time. You’ll be earning more money as you get bigger as a business, which means you can save more, too.

Customer Retention

When a business aims to improve itself, customers notice. They will buy a product from you and like everything about it from the design to the service that you gave. If you are looking for ways to keep your customers coming back over and over again, you should consider how growth will improve customer retention. You’re offering them more of what they want in a better way, satisfying what they need and solving their problems.

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The expansion should be a long term plan for you, and if you own a business, you know that starting from scratch wasn’t easy. Growing the business and doing more in this way may feel like a mammoth task that is hard to overcome. The thing is, when it’s done right, it will pay off in the long term. You’re missing out entirely if you don’t attempt to grow as a business, and you likely would have planned for this when you wrote your business plan. Imagine Steve Jobs bringing out the first iPhone and then stopping there? If he didn’t strive for growth, he wouldn’t have made himself a legend. You can make yourself a legendary business owner by looking at what your customers want and need and catering to that.

Now that you understand a little more about why you should expand your business let’s take a look at how you can do it.

Go Global

An international market, you say? Absolutely. Going global is going to get you noticed, put your business on the map and give you the chance to increase your sales. You may need a merchant cash advance to get started with your business expansion, but you’ll be able to recover your spends over time with the amount of profit you can garner. There is nothing wrong with ensuring that your business website is accessible on a global scale. Take the time to get to know what your customers will want from your business website, and deliver it! Market research is going to be so crucial here, so don’t leave anything to guesswork: especially not when it comes to your livelihood.

Partner Up

Did you know that you could form a smart relationship with a non-competitive company and have it deliver? Promoting your products and services within their brand is good business sense. You can reach a much bigger target market without increasing your marketing budget, and you can also reciprocate for the company advertising for you. This builds you both as different companies with the same common goal of looking out for your customers. Teaming with a reputable company is smart, and it’s the best way that you can grow organically.

Become A Chain

Opening a new branch of the store, cafe or office is a great way to expand yourself. Plenty of businesses that are brick and mortar are franchising, and it’s for a good reason! There is nothing better than having the costs and the consequences of franchising laid out on the table for you to learn why you should expand your business. Do your market research to ensure that you open up your new branch in a place that will benefit from your business expertise. You want to ensure you have the cash to cover your expenses, too, so speak to your bank and think about a merchant cash advance to get you going. It’ll be like starting your business over again, and it’s really going to make a difference to your new customer base who can’t wait until you open!

Diversify

You’ve captured the attention of a solid customer base, and if you are ready to grow, then you should look at starting to conquer other niches. If you currently only offer by locations nearest to you, then perhaps think about offering your products further afield. If your products are able to go global, then it’s the smartest thing that you can do to expand your business and get even more customers noticing you.

Prepare To Launch

Innovation is so vital to the continuation of a business. What you’ve learned from your market research is going to help you on your way to something new to the market. So, introduce a new line – whether that’s a whole new product to support your existing products or a new colour – and make it the biggest thing that you do this year. You can plug on social media, invest a little in your marketing and sales team and get your product out there into the world.

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Outsource

When you hear the word “outsource”, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’ll spend more money. In fact, you’ll spend less, and you’ll be able to harness global talent at the same time. Expanding your operations without needing to expand the office physically is so important, and you can do this by outsourcing your tasks or hiring global freelancers. No more benefits or training costs to pay means that you will save money over time and enjoy more talent on your team at the same time. These outsourced tasks can help to bring your business to the next level.

Social Networking

It’s one of the most popular ways to promote a business, and for a good reason. Being able to reach out to a wide range of markets via social network sites is essential, but it only works if you understand it. The best thing about social media is that it costs little to get it working for you, and it doesn’t cost much at all to promote new products and services with it. You can also reach a massive audience with social media, which will only serve to enhance the reputation of your business. Don’t be fooled when people tell you it doesn’t work; it absolutely works to promote you!

Build Online

If your current business is a brick and mortar shop or cafe, then it’s time to expand online. You can accept orders and payments on your website, which will give you more options for sales. It’s a big step to take, but it’s a viable option with the right merchant account.

Start A Franchise

We mentioned franchising earlier on, but one thing that franchising can bring you is a whole host of managers who is using your brand name to sell in their location. The franchisee is the person providing the working capital, and when they invest in a business idea, they’re far more likely to ensure that they are profitable with it. It’s a cost-efficient way to get your business name out there without too much of an outlay on your part. Franchising is going to help you to make a global name for yourself, which means that you can do very well with it and it doesn’t take too much effort, either.

Be Consistent

When you are growing your business, you must remain as focused as possible. Service delivery must remain high quality, and where possible you should consider extra help during your expansion. You want to grow your reach without losing loyal customers along the way, which is not always easy to do. Stay focused, keep consistent, and you will be able to enjoy a company that has grown without much issue. Your business is going to be better than ever if you allow it to reach the right heights at the right time.