Steps To Take When Expanding Into A New Market
As exciting as it may sound to discover new opportunities in new markets, how do you expand your business to meet them? There are several methods to achieving success in a new market, here is a simple one that will provide you with the foundation required to break into a new market.
Step 1 - Business Audit
Before you work on expansion, you need a full audit of your business. The most effective tool for this is the well-known and popular SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The results that come from your SWOT Analysis will give you data to help define your business objectives.
Step 2 - Define Your Unique Selling Proposition
What makes your product or service unique and why would it be a good fit in a new market? Your USP will tell you this and combined with market research to confirm the findings from the USP exercise, you will know if the market you have chosen will respond to what your business offers. If the results are not favourable, maybe try another market.
Step 3 - Create A Competitive Analysis
There are going to be competitors wherever you choose to expand your business. Before you go too far with your plans, it is vital to identify who they are and then perform a SWOT Analysis on them to clearly understand what challenges may await you in a new market.
Step 4 - Form Your Budget
Expansion into a new market is going to have expenses attached to it. They may include costs for new equipment, marketing and promotion, shipping, warehousing, technology, postage, and various other costs unique to the new market. Create a budget to address these expenses.
Step 5 - Set Targets
From the data collected through your competition SWOT Analysis and what you know about the new market, create a realistic list of goals to target for your expansion plans. You should be able to map out all markers along the way to hitting goals so there is a tracking mechanism in place.
Step 6 - Finalise Your Logistics Plan
Depending on what your business offers, you may have to put some serious thought into shipping and warehousing. The strategy you develop will be to move your services or products into the new market. Part of that strategy is to find ways to reduce delivery turnaround times.
Step 7 - Establish Your Internet Presence
This is where you set up your website, social media feeds, and eCommerce accounts. Then you follow that with product and service content that is created specifically to target your new market. Once live, you can track traffic and adjust content where necessary.
Additional Tips
Do not ignore the power of tracking tools. They can tell you where your new customers are coming from, how they found you, and their shopping habits. With this and other analytics, you can tweak everything from online content to product lines to meet the demands of your customer base. Remember, when you expand into a new market, the items that sell well in your established markets may not be as popular in a new location.
Listen to your customers. This is the best pathway to success. You can provide ways for customers to offer you feedback where you will learn valuable information that can help you better serve your customers. If you give them what they want, they will get it from you. It is really that simple.
Don't Expand Your Business Without The Best Business Coach In Brisbane
Action Coach Business Coaching is the best business coach in Brisbane. For advice on how to best expand your business into new markets, contact ACBC today. For business coaching services in Brisbane North that lead to business growth, contact ACBC today.
Conclusion
Business expansion is both scary and exciting. It is also important to do it right to ensure success and avoid a costly mistake. Fortunately, there are methods that have been followed by many small business owners to assist with taking the next step safely and carefully. There is no guarantee expanding into a new market is going to spell financial freedom and massive business success. However, if you take the proper steps to move into a new market, you reduce the possibility of failure. One way to get a firm grip on the changes necessary to expand your business is to work with a business coach.