Are you ready to expand your business? Part of any business plan should include a marketing strategy and plans for future expansion. A potential investor wants to know you’re going to grow. Show that to the money folks and they’ll be happy to come along for the ride. There are some common “triggers” you can look at to decide if your business is ready to grow.
Too Many Customers
This is something every business would love to be “burdened” with. The bigger the business, the easier it is for them to absorb a disgruntled customer who was turned away because they couldn’t get what they wanted, when they wanted it. However, with small business startup, every customer is precious and you’ll want to hold on to them. Consider the dog walking business. If you have twelve pups that you can manage every day, then you’re off to a good start. When those pup owners start spreading the word of your business, you could suddenly find yourself with double the amount of dogs to walk. That might be time to bring on another walker! To cover that person’s salary, you might kick up your marketing to bring in even more customers. Congratulations, you’ve just expanded your business.
Your Competition Is Growing
Every business has competition. That’s just a fact of doing business. It is vital for your company’s success to keep an eye on the competition. Nothing wrong with seeing how they do business or what their website is like or following them on Facebook. They’re probably doing the same thing to you. If you notice that a competitor is expanding, then they are essentially throwing down the gauntlet and attempting to take away your potential customers. Don’t let that happen. This doesn’t mean you should rush into an expansion if you’re not ready. If McDonald’s invests in neighborhood research and decides to put up a new franchise, then you can bet Burger King or Wendy’s won’t be far behind. Ever wonder why there is never a stand-alone fast food joint? Now you know.
A Change In The Marketplace
Sometimes it will be your customers who tell you when to expand. This isn’t because you have too many of them but because they want something different. Consider Baskin-Robbins. When the company first started, they landed on this idea of 31 flavors. That represents one flavor for each day of the month. However, BR didn’t stop with just 31 flavors. Since their inception, they’ve created over a 1,000 flavors. Every month there are returning favorites but also several new flavors put into the rotation. They are meeting the needs of a changing marketplace and that’s a good thing.
The signs are out there. Are you ready to expand?
