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Expanding a business takes many different forms.

However, whether you’re running a home based business or you’ve got a working office downtown, the act of expansion starts much in the same way. You need an idea to work with, a goal to reach, and milestones to mark your success and drawbacks by.

That’s where our checklist below can help you. If you’re getting the idea to expand in the near future, it’s because you’ve seen good short-term success. Now’s your chance to capitalise on this and ensure it hits the next profit level. As such, here are some business expansion ideas that are ‘customer first’ and will take you the furthest.

Open a New Branch (or a bigger one)

Turning your company into a franchise might be the biggest dream of all business owners. Having stores up and down the country, or even on a worldwide basis, is a sign your idea has viability in all markets. So why not follow in this vein? Maybe it’s time to open up a new branch in a new area, or make your current one bigger and better?

More convenience, more variety, and a bigger target market to choose from – what’s not to love here? On either side, there’s a lot more value to be had; customers don’t have to go so far to shop with you, and you can go straight to them.

Provide Supplementary Services

Supplementary services can mean a lot of things. If you run a furniture store, for example, you could start offering in-home assembly teams to complete the product from your door to theirs. This gives the client a lot more convenience, and you can squeeze a little extra value out of just one transaction.

Similarly, if you work in the construction industry, you could think about renting out your equipment as well as building worksites. It’s hard to get your hands on things like lifting beams if you don’t have the specialist knowledge and licences for them! A supplementary service opens up your product line and makes each customer a lot more worth the time.

Build Your Customer Base Through Reward Schemes

Building a customer base is quite possibly the best way to expand. It’s also the most natural one; you’re going to acquire more and more custom as time goes on. However, we can speed up the process with some targeted efforts.

Namely, if you focus on giving back to those who shop with you, it’ll be a lot easier to attract new customers your way. A rewards program is not only a shiny incentive, but it’s also a guarantee people will come back for more. A discount or a free product goes a long way to encouraging brand loyalty that’ll take you far.

If you want to expand your company, you’re going to need a strong, core idea of where to go next. Make sure you’re thinking from all angles, and don’t be afraid to reach for more than one.

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