Want to drive business growth? Business expansion can help open doors to new markets. Explore this guide for tips to help with launching a new business location successfully.
Many business owners expand into new locations as a key part of their business strategy. This approach aims to grow the customer base and increase revenue. It also reduces reliance on any single market or site, while providing access to new talent pools, resources, and opportunities for further growth.
Below we look at how you could help grow your business through expansion, including identifying new locations, setting them up and launching your expanded operations.
Read more about how award winning businesses achieve growth.
Before you start looking for a new premises, it's important to research potential areas to ensure there's a market for your business. This means understanding the demographics of the area, the competition, and the local economy.
Visit potential areas several times to get to know the local community. Try to visit at different times of the day, as this can help give you a sense of how the area changes from morning to night.
If you run a hospitality business, for example, visit during the hours you’re likely to be open. This will help you understand footfall, traffic, parking availability and competitor activity.
Find out about other businesses in the area. This is not only about identifying competitors and if there’s risk of market saturation. You might also get useful insights from locals in the area.
Once you've done your research on areas, it's time to start looking for a site for your new business.
There are a few general things to keep in mind when choosing a location. These include:
Your business will also have specific requirements. For example, if you’re in manufacturing, you may be looking for a large premises with easy access for trucks. If you’re searching for a site for a new retail store, you will want street frontage with large windows to display your products.
Other more practical factors to consider include:
When you know what kind of space you want for your business, you need to decide if you want to buy it or rent it. The advice in this article is general in nature. Accountants, lawyers, and specialist business advisors can help you decide whether to buy or rent your business space.
If you are thinking about signing a lease, read it carefully and make sure you agree with all the terms. It's important to talk to a financial advisor and a lawyer before you sign any contracts.
Before you can open your doors for business, you'll need to obtain any necessary permits and licences. This process varies from state to state and depends on the nature of your operations. Seek expert help to understand any legal or regulatory requirements that might exist.
When you first take over a new premises, you'll probably want to make some changes to make it your own. If you do want to renovate and update the fit out, be sure to engage with your local council to go through their permit process. You may also need a new safety assessment of your workplace. You can check your requirements with your state SafeWork regulator.
For more ideas on setting up your space for great customer experience, explore how to set up a pop-up shop.
Technology will be an important part of setting up your new business location. Some of the technology you may need includes:
If you depend on internet connectivity for video calls or cloud services, or you want to offer reliable Wi-Fi access to your customers or partners visiting your business, you may want to look at enhancing the internet performance at your new location. You could explore how business grade fibre can boost your productivity as part of choosing your business internet plan.
If you're going to be successful in a new location, you need to hire the right staff. This means finding people who are passionate about your business and who are willing to work hard to help you succeed.
Consider if there is local talent you can hire who understand the area and market may be able to provide valuable insights into your customers.
It's important to make sure your team gets the right training so they can do their jobs well and follow your business rules and values. Give them all the tools and information they need to give customers a great experience every time. Explore ideas to upskill your team on a budget.
Consider establishing strong knowledge sharing processes within your operations to ensure key information is preserved and communicated effectively across the team.
Once you're ready to launch, you need to let people know about your business in the new location. This means marketing your business through a variety of channels, such as online advertising, social media, and print advertising. Look for opportunities to feature your business in publications that are local to your business, such as local newspapers, magazines, radio or even podcasts.
Use social media, SEO, and other online marketing strategies to create buzz and attract customers before and after opening. Optimise your approach for local search queries to ensure your business appears high up in search results for the new area. And don’t forget to update your website with your new location details.
There are two main ways to open a new business location: a soft launch or a grand opening. Both have advantages and disadvantages.
A soft launch is a low-key way to introduce your new business to the public. It's a great way to get feedback from your first customers and make sure everything is running smoothly before you go all out with a larger number of customers.
A grand opening, on the other hand, is a big event that's designed to create a lot of buzz and excitement around your new business. It's a great way to attract new customers and get your name out there.
The best way to decide which type of launch is right for you is to consider your specific business and goals. If you're a small business with a limited budget, a soft launch may be a good option.
If you have a more established business and you're looking to make a big splash, a grand opening may suit you better.
Expanding into new locations is just one of the ways you can grow your business. It can be a smart way to get more customers, grow revenue and make your business more resilient.
Before you jump into opening new physical stores, you might first extend your business with an eCommerce store if you don’t have one already. Or try some local area marketing tactics to test the appeal of your brand in different areas.
Once you’ve committed to and launched your new location, make sure you monitor how it’s going against what you expected in terms of footfall or operational efficiencies you hoped to gain. Feedback from your customers and employees will also help you continue to improve how you’re operating.
Doing your research up front and setting up your business well from the start are crucial to expanding your locations smoothly. Make the most of local talent and ensure you put in place the right enablers to support productivity as well as a great experience for your customers.
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