As a businessman, the idea of expanding your brand must have come across multiple times. As you see brands going up and down during their expansion phase, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. Yet, it’s an essential part of brand growth that cannot be avoided.
Therefore, you must take it seriously and keep an eye on the right time to do so. To guide you with that, we have 10 tips that can help you make the right move.
10 Signs to look for before Brand Expansion
Below we have mentioned 10 signs that indicate that it’s time for you to expand your business.
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Your customers demand an expansion
If you have a business that is booming, you might have heard some customers asking you about your outlets at other places, more products, more services, or about your online store. These questions are indicators that your clients are impressed by your brand, and it’s a great thing!
When such indicators become stronger, you should consider expanding your brand. Let’s take the example of Amazon. It started as an online bookseller and now is one of the largest online stores in the world. They expanded as customers appreciated the ease and economical prices provided by the platform.
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You have loyal clients
If you get repeated clients at your store, that means you have a loyal customer base that trusts you. If you see continuous growth and happy customers for a long time, then you should start working on an expansion plan. A consistent flow of customers indicates that your services and products are in demand.
That is a good sign of positive growth. Yet, don’t let sudden sales-rise deceive you. Variations can occur and sudden spikes happen all the time. Thus make sure you make the decision based on your sales over a long period instead of depending on temporary spikes.
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Your business is becoming harder to handle
As your brand grows, it becomes more complicated. What starts as one website and a few files gets bigger and bigger till it becomes harder to handle. You and your employees might have to spend extra hours to get the job done. You might also have to turn away customers you can’t accommodate.
If that’s true for your business then you should consider more outlets to manage the work. That way you will be able to cater to more clients. You will need to hire more members and rent more locations but more revenue can cover it all up.
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You have a strong team
A business is a team effort that requires participation from multiple members. Your brand might have multiple teams working together to make your business a reality. If you think each team is doing its job well, and is dedicated to fulfilling company goals, then you can think about making the bold move.
While you hire more employees and develop new systems for the expansion, you need to make sure that your team is up for it. Talk to your team. Ask them to brainstorm ideas.
Through mutual discussions and cooperation, not only will your team feel more involved but will play a vital role in the entire process.
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You have the investment
Capital is a necessary factor that you need to expand our brand. Growing sales, a dedicated team, and loyal customers are all important, but a certain investment is vital to growing further. Saving money as backup is important too though.
You might run into an issue and require some cash to solve it but keeping too much saved in your account is not a wise step. You should use that money to upgrade your current infrastructure, invest in other ventures and expand your business if you have that much investment.
Money sitting in a bank is not going to help grow your brand. It’s a good back up but you shouldn’t keep too much as savings.
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You see an opportunity
Being an opportunist is a great quality of a successful businessman. People who keep an eye on opportunities and are willing to change can move forward. You may find a great location available in a competitive area, or another brand might want to collaborate with you.
In any case, you need to be flexible to opportunities when they come by. Every single partnership or investment might not be a good idea but staying vigilant can help you reach a major milestone.
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You can fill a gap
In every industry, there is always the need for a service or product that makes it better. New and improved products take the place of old ones and help brands compete to move forward. As a businessman, you can also move ahead if you find a way to fill the gap in your industry by introducing a new product.
If that product is a hit, your brand can expand rapidly. You will need to take risks as your product might not work. There might be issues launching the new product so make sure to do intensive market research before you get into it.
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Your industry is in high demand
Every field of work has its market share which varies with time. Let’s take the example of the Covid-19 pandemic. While many brick-and-mortar outlets, airlines, and multiple businesses suffered, many online brands and medical companies flourished.
Keeping the above example in mind, if you think your relevant industry is progressing, you can make the most out of it by expanding your brand.
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You are not up to date
Growth is important but it’s also hard. It can make you uncomfortable and force you to think out of the box, but if you don’t, you might be swept away by the competition. Let’s take the same example of Covid-19. Many brands which had an online presence along with a physical store were able to adapt to changes while many stores with only a physical presence were left behind!
If you feel like your brand is stuck at a certain level and you are getting too comfortable there, make sure to reevaluate your brand goals. If you don’t stay up to date and adapt to changes, unforeseen circumstances may bring your company to a halt.
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You want to improve your skill set
Every member of your team has a certain skillet. Some are masters in their work while some are jack of all trades. If you feel like certain areas of work are missing and your current employees are not up to the mark to meet the growing needs, you can consider hiring new members.
As you do that, you will see positive growth and new opportunities. While it’s great to learn with time, it’s also great to admit your weaknesses and get external help. An enhanced skill set can help you stay up to date in your industry as well.
Conclusion
In this article, we explored 10 signs that indicate the need for the expansion of your brand. If your customers show a keen interest in more products and repeatedly visit your store it can indicate a positive fan following that deserves more outlets.
Even with a strong team, if you can’t handle the workload, it is a sign you need to expand your brand. The moment you see an opportunity or if you think you have the necessary investment, you can consult with your team to form a plan to expand your business.
Another sign can be a possible gap that you can fill or your field might be rising in demand. Lastly, if you want to enhance the skillet of your brand to stay up to date you can look into brand expansion.
