Photo by CC user geralt on Pixabay

If your new year’s resolution for 2017 was to finally expand your business and you’re already falling behind, it’s time to get back on track towards reaching that goal. Hopefully, you will have already assessed your progress and bottom line to ensure that you’re ready for this step. If you haven’t, you may want to take some time to do so before pursuing expansion.

For those that are ready, the following are 6 different ways you can expand your business this year.

1. Identify New Markets

If you’ve spent the past few years solidifying your businesses place in it’s current market, you can look at branching out into different areas. To do this, you will need to conduct heavy research into finding out where your target audience are and where there’s space for you to leave your mark. Find out exactly what those new customers are looking for and what appeals to them, and find a way to reach them.

2. Relocate or Add a New Store

If you have a brick and mortar business, the proven way to expand into a new market is to add another store or relocate to a more thriving area. If there’s already a competitor in the area who’s succeeding, you may need to consider whether you moving there too is worth the risk. Similarly, if there’s no one offering your services/products, assess whether there is a need for it.

By conducting some heavy market research, you’ll soon be able to discover how to begin this stage of expansion.

3. Create Your Own App

One of the least expensive steps you can take to expand your business is to design your own app. You could try using the Yappi free app builder to get yourself started without losing any money. If you design and market your app correctly and effectively, the potential amount of money and customers you could gain from it is astonishing.

4. Get Known Overseas

If you’ve only been marketing your company in your home country, you should look into ways of getting brand recognition overseas. There are numerous ways to expand your business globally and some of them may be far simpler than you may think. For example, if you can’t afford to set up an overseas office, set up a website with a TLD for a certain country.

5. Offer More to Your Customers

One sure way to stifle growth is to fall into the trap of having only one service or product to sell. How have your customer’s needs changed over the last few years? You need to adapt your business as your customers’ needs evolve. You should always be looking for new ways to update your offerings and develop something new for consumers. It may be that a few strategic tweaks will ensure interest from your loyal customers and also attract new ones.

6. Work With Another Business

By collaborating with another business, you will be able to build your customer base significantly. Their customers will become yours (if they like the collaboration) and interest in your individual services will spike. You could find someone who offers something similar to you and find a way to merge your products, or if you are trying to get noticed in a new market then find a unique way to work with them.

Opportunities for growth in 2017 are plentiful. So long as you stay focussed and put in the hard work needed for development, you’ll slowly see your business begin to blossom.