If you are a business owner, you are often looking at how to grow your business to the next level. The good news is that there are many ways to grow a business, 4 of these we are going to look at today – helping you to accomplish your business goals.
What you should choose depends on your business structure, appetite for risks and operating your preferences. However, companies, both small and big, usually choose one of the four methods explained below.
Expand To New Markets
The easiest way to gain new customers is to start selling your products in new locations. For example, if you sell products in one store, you only have one set of customers. But if you sell all over the country, you have a vastly larger pool of customers to draw from. By saying new markets, you should not exclude foreign markets too.
However, operating abroad needs further consideration and planning as you will be less familiar with laws, market conditions, demand of your product and tax rules (something that always complicates things!). Apart from physical locations, you can expand your business and offer your products online. This concept works with any business that sells just about any product or even service. When trying to expand online, the key is to develop strong websites that will build your brand, gain exposure and take advantage of the endless opportunities that the web offers.
Acquire An Existing Company
When Facebook wanted to improve the quality of its photo-sharing services, it purchased Instagram. Your company can use this same principle to grow or diversify without developing the product from scratch. After you acquire a new company, you can allow the previous management team to keep control. This allows the people with the knowledge of the product to continue selling it and further improving it. You can also use acquisitions to eliminate competition, discourage startup companies from entering the same market or grab market share.
Create A New Product From Scratch
Another option is to create a new product from scratch. Although it may cost money to develop, test and market your product, there is higher profit potential. Developing your own product has risks but also benefits. The important risk is you may end up spending a fortune developing a product for which there is little demand. Apart from that, developing a new product might negatively impact your current operations and the profitability of the products you now offer. The most important benefits are that by developing a new product, you keep all the profits, diversify your product portfolio, and build your brand name.
Franchising
Franchising is a popular option for companies that are looking to expand their market reach. The business structure can help you go beyond the home area but with limited risks and limited costs. Franchising is a great option for businesses that have a solid product and business model. The company benefits because the franchisee pays a fee and a portion of their profits to the franchiser.
Conclusion
Growing your company is hard, but it might be the only option if operating in a saturated market. It would be best to analyse your position, look at your options and choose what is best for your business. One of the 4 ways to grow a business covered may provide you with a path to follow.