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Leticia Baiamonte
Leticia Baiamonte
  • 2 Minute Read
  • 22nd January 2015

Top Tips to Expand Your Business

“The whole world wants to be successful. What I try to do is separate ‘want’ from ‘need’. Need is hunger, drive, determination and tenacity. People who merely ‘want’ don’t have that.” James Caan, entrepreneur.

We are at it again: Following up on the New Year Resolutions feature, Search Office Space has gathered more valuable advice from fellow successful entrepreneurs which looks closely at effective ways to expand small businesses:

Partner Up

Joining forces with a similar type of business can raise awareness to a section of your target market that might have never heard of you, as well as increasing networking opportunities.

If the popular option of offering a service from a third party doesn’t suit your business, there are other great options. You can choose to manufacture your own line of products, and if ‘do-it-yourself’ isn’t viable, the procedure can still be done effectively through OEM services. OEMs are manufacturers who produce products for other companies, under their clients’ brands. It’s a brilliant alternative as it is time-saving and cost-effective.

Natural Selection

Your business has to adapt to evolve and thrive. Unsuccessful products or services hold you back, especially when there isn’t any room for improvement, so weed them out right away. Keep your focus on the strong services you do have.

Introduce some variety

Variety conquers new clients by appealing to different tastes, and it also keeps your current clients engaged as it brings innovation. One pragmatic way to diversify is to find new ways to do what already works.

Training is another alternative though often underestimated, it still remains an attractive avenue for various businesses. Identify the employees that are loyal and hard-working, and invest in them. Training will provide your team with a new set of skills, which will diversify the essence of your brand.

Cross-selling

This tactic goes hand in hand with diversification. If your main service has been proven successful, it’s a good idea to introduce secondary products to drive up sales. Carry out research and find what is connected to your product, what your customers may be in need of, and expand your lines of products from there. It will give them an extra reason to come back to your brand in the future.

Don’t give the competition a source to profit from. By all means, offer the full package, so your clients will be fully satisfied to have it all conveniently at their fingertips in your business, not in someone else’s.

Try New Locations

Once they’ve established a successful business in one area, many entrepreneurs often find that expanding business to other locations is the next step. The first thing to do, is carry out careful research and number-planning, to find if this is a suitable idea for your business.

Analyse the nature of it, and try to anticipate potential risks. Ask yourself questions such as, Is your business primarily successful because of its current location? Would it run smoothly without you, while you’re focused on building from scratch elsewhere? etc.

If you decide that expansion is the ideal step for your business, and you are now on the look-out for affordable and great office space, then Search Office Space will be happy to help you.

Get Online

If your business isn’t online yet, then you may consider changing that status. The internet can provide small and medium-sized businesses cost-effective ways for significant growth.

Marketing-wise, social media platforms may be relevant to your target market: They allow you not only to raise awareness about your brand, but also lets you build a reputation, and even network.

Customer assistance via Social Media is also becoming more important: according to a research carried out by SAGE, 47% of customers said they expect service through Facebook. While this has to be right for your business type, don’t be scared of getting social with your customers.

...the very best of luck in your business ventures!