Every business starts with the idea of being successful, and one day wants to expand. However, this idea of expanding sometimes just doesn’t go, and owners end up wondering what was it that they did to make it so complicated?
Here are some mistakes you have probably been making, without being aware, which you should definitely avoid when expanding your business.
1. Your business doesn’t understand its customers
One of the biggest mistakes a business makes when expanding is losing sight of its customers and their wants and needs. Experienced entrepreneurs advise that the first step in understanding where a company wants to go in understanding the customer’s needs.
2. Lack of a valid plan
When expanding, it is necessary to have an action plan that clearly states the strategy of attracting new customers and achieving a comparative advantage in the new market. One of the strategies may be to move closer to the customer, for example.
3. Small businesses don’t follow news and trends
Another mistake a business can make trying to expand is to fail to follow sector news and act in line with market fluctuations and trends. Following the market, a company can, for example, find a great new office location that can bring it a number of new jobs.
4. Demand recognition
A business needs to decide which sales channels, infrastructure, and what kind of relationships to build in the new market and determine what they will dedicate themselves to.
5. Underestimating the importance of resources and lack of skills
It can be crucial for a business to identify shortcomings in resources and skills early enough and prepare for possible problems. It is necessary to keep in mind the fact that the expansion will affect existing business and think, for example, about how to manage two offices in remote locations.
6. Ignoring the issue of the number of employees
When it comes to expansion, companies often forget about long-term employee care. When planning the expansion, you should definitely keep in mind the number of employees and what the structure will look like in six months or a year.
7. Avoiding market research
Not paying enough attention to extensive market research can be very bad for a business looking to expand. The research provides an excellent insight into the direction in which the company should move, i.e. the range of services and products that it should offer.
In today’s digital world, a business also needs to stand out at all times to differentiate itself from others. They must not let go of control too early and give insight into their business.
They must devote enough time to developing goals and techniques.
And of course, these tips are not a recipe for success, but investing time and resources in the proposed steps can help eliminate the risk of expanding into new markets.
Another thing this digital era has enabled us to find, is the perfect services, products, courses, and books for business development through a few clicks on the Internet, no matter where we are. Why is your business not thriving? To avoid wasting money on courses and wasting time finding the culprit, make sure you aren’t just playing smarter than others. According to proteaconsulting.eu, for a lot of people, this is exactly the blocking factor when it comes to expanding their business.
Also, consider how ready you are for expanding. If you often find yourself offering excuses, delaying duties, or finding others guilty, it may be the case that you are not ready.
For example, you want to expand your business online. But you are constantly postponing starting your online business because you do not have enough money, time, or support, you have never done it, you are worried about what the environment will say, and so on.
These are just some of the reasons why you haven’t started your online business and it’s not just you, it’s also the resources you’re lack of! But, once you gain the finances, you will immediately find a new reason why you are not ready to start yet! Here are a few simple steps to get you started:
View your business as a project!
You need to divide your big project into several smaller ones because it will allow you to avoid burnout syndrome, you will be motivated if you constantly see results to move, and you will have a chance to analyze which part of the project was the hardest for you, why is it so, and how to improve.
Not from the first of the month, not from Monday, or tomorrow! Start writing a plan NOW! If this looks intimidating to you, hiring a contract CIO to help your business could work marvelously.
Stop postponing things that need to be done right away
You’ve made or you’ve made your own smaller projects but you’re not starting again. You probably have too high expectations, and expressed self-criticism that turns into sabotage or unrealistic goal setting can lead to constant violation of deadlines.
It’s the right time to find out who your competition is!
It is amazing how often we look for culprits in others because it is difficult for us to face that we are responsible for our own failure or success!
Take matters into your own hands and stop blaming others! In addition to making people think you’re a bore, you’re taking away your time and energy, shifting your focus from the things you need to do to the things you think someone else is to blame.
When you realize this, the brakes on your business will slowly begin to loosen.
And, don’t be afraid to use innovations…
Instead of investing money in constantly improving the offer and introducing new products and services, it is sometimes wiser to focus on innovating existing processes. This way you will achieve savings, and the result will be the same – expanding the customer base. Only when you become completely confident in the stability and quality of existing products or services, consider introducing new ones. This is exactly what expanding a business means.
