Seven Ways to Expand: From Local to Global
1. Increase your sales and products in existing markets. This is obviously the easiest and most risk-free way to expand. This tactic may require a bigger location, different pricing strategies, new/improved marketing techniques - but it will be in a customer group with whom you already have a relationship. If you get off track, your present customers will let you know!
2. Introduce a New Product. You have a successful product/service that you have been offering for some time and have been collecting data, customer feedback and doing the tinkering on your newest product. This is a normal evolution in business, not just an expansion tactic. When positioned as adding value and being responsive to customer needs, this can be a relatively risk-free way to expand.
3. Develop a New Market Segment or Move into New Geography. Both of these areas require cost outlays and uncertainty. Moving your products into new categories or demographic segments requires market research, beta testing and new marketing strategies, i.e. a message for a 16-year old will differ that one for a 60-year old. Management of new remote locations may absorb significant time and attention. While the risks are more, the payoffs are large - and for most businesses looking to expand, these two methods of expansion are inevitable.
4. Start a Chain. A restaurant, retail or service business that's easily reproduced and can be run from a distance is all you need to launch a chain. But, you must be cognizant of what made the first location a success - was it location, your staff or you? If it is just you, then duplication is only possible through detailed operations plans and sharing staff between locations. You will need to duplicate the plan of your first location while meeting increased customer demands. Starting a chain gives your current staff a crack at