Did you know that the number of small businesses in the US is greater than 30 million? Additionally, these businesses make up 99.9% of businesses in the country, and they employ over 58 million people nationwide.
Whether you run one of these small businesses, or you run a large one, you may be thinking of going global and expanding into new markets. However, if you aren’t sure how to get started, you might find this stressful.
Fortunately, in this article, we’ll review how you can expand your business into new markets. Finally, you can start your global business expansion process and have a business that’s more successful than ever. Read on to learn more.
Review Your Business Model (And Target Audiences)
When you expand into new markets, you have to review your business model, service or product offerings, and target audiences. When you do this, you could end up identifying an area or areas of improvement for your business.
You might also be able to identify ways in which you can improve the solutions you provide. You would do this with the aim of them better serving the experiences your customers have.
This way, your business will be ready for when you expand into your new target market.
Think About Your Company’s Future Goals
Another step you should take as part of your market expansion strategy is to think about your company’s future goals. For example, if you eventually want to expand a software solution so that it offers many instead of one solution, you can think about this future goal before expansion.
This will help you in identifying the right product market. This product market would help you to achieve these future goals.
Research Competitor Markets
By researching competitor markets, you can get an idea of potential markets you could expand into. To do this, look at the top services or products that your competitors offer. Look as well into how they stand out from your industry’s other companies.
Complete Market Research On Related Product Markets
The next step you should take is to complete market research. Complete this research on a few related product markets. This way, you’ll be able to understand which consumer types purchase from them, what business types are involved, and which types of services and products there are.
With this information, you’ll be able to determine which markets will offer the most benefits to your business.
Identify a Target Market On Which to Focus
Once you’ve completed your market research in the last step, you should identify a target market on which to focus. This should be a new business market for you to expand into that aligns best with your business and its goals for the future.
Identify Your Customer Profile
Once you’ve established your new market, you need to identify your customer profile. This way, you’ll know who you’re marketing your products to and how to market those products to those people. You have to approach things differently depending on if you’re selling to individuals or businesses.
If you’re selling your product or service to individual customers, take note of their age, gender, marital status, and parental status.
Additionally, think about their financial profile, income, investments, debts, and profession. You should also think about their buying habits, interests, and what is important to them.
If you have business customers, take note of the type of business, the number of years they’ve been in business, their number of employees, their annual revenue, products or services, and their organizational structure.
Establish Your Budget for Expanding Into the New Market
Once you’ve decided which new business markets to expand your business into, you have to establish your budget for the expansion. There are also resource needs to consider when coming up with the amount of funds.
This will help you in determining what activities are affordable for you to do now. It will also help you figure out what your financial planning needs to be so you can prepare for the future.
If you’re planning on expanding your business abroad, for example, and you sell products, you’ll have to think about shipping costs. You also may have to pay a marketer or PR firm to change your advertising so it’s effective.
Set up a Timeframe for Expanding Into an Additional Market
Several factors will impact your timeframe for expanding into an additional market. These factors include marketing materials, hiring needs, manufacturing costs, and your budget. Take these into consideration when putting together your timeframe.
When you set up a timeframe, this will give you a time by which to reach an end goal. This is helpful because you can drive all of your expansion activities toward that end goal.
When setting up your timeframe, it can also be smart to set up smaller subgoals or tasks. This way, you can ensure you reach these goals to reach the end goal.
Want to Learn More About Expanding Into New Markets?
Now that you’ve learned how to expand into new markets, you might want more information. Maybe you want to learn more about how to run your business once it’s gone global or you want tips on how to keep your employees happy when they’re working remotely.
Whatever information you need, we can help. At Bradford Jacobs, we’re experts when it comes to new market expansion.
We also offer many global expansion services, such as contractor management, recruitment process outsourcing, and more. To learn more about our services, contact us today.
