Planning Your Next Strategic Business Move 

Congratulations! You’ve gone from a fledgling start-up to a successful and profitable business. That is no small feat and you should pat yourself on the back, it’s well earned indeed. But no business can stay successful and profitable for long if it stands still. Instead, it will likely, eventually, shrivel and die like a plant that’s been left too long in its original planting pot. Read on for some pointers from Blox News.

Is Now the Time?

Expanding too soon can be just as dangerous for your business as waiting too long to do so.

There are some indicators, however, that can be safe barometers for letting you know the time is right. 

Is demand higher than what you can handle while still maintaining quality and customer satisfaction? If things are still moving smoothly in that department, maybe you can keep going as you are. But if your rush to deliver a product is hampering the integrity of what you’re selling, that’s a real red flag that it’s time to get some help. 

Can you afford to hire the best people to help you expand? If you’re not financially able to do that yet, then it’s best to focus on how to increase profits with the staff you have. 

Business Space Considerations

You’ve literally run out of space. If your staff and inventory are busting at the seams, you probably have no choice. If everything’s fitting just fine, moving to a bigger space would be both unnecessary and impractical. 

Meeting Business & Customer Demands

Your customers are asking for new products or services and you need to expand to meet new demands. 

You see new and innovative ways to make your business even better and more exciting for your customers and for you. 

Can you grow with what you’ve already got? Leaning into your niche and focusing on improving customer service and satisfaction, and continued education and training for your current staff is a way to grow your business before taking any big, costly steps. 

When Now is the Time

Have a good handle on your current and future financial picture. It really does cost money to make money, as you learned when you first started your business.

Growing it means spending money and possibly going backward financially initially, especially if growth means moving to a larger space or increasing inventory. InvoiceOwl notes that having a good, solid way of measuring and forecasting your business's finances will keep your business afloat while you take the necessary steps to move upward and outward. 

Leveraging Professional Website Services

If your website is your storefront, you really can’t afford to leave it in the hands of your nephew who knows computers.

Hire a professional web designer, primarily one who specializes in creating the kind of website that’s best for your kind of business. Look at your competitor's sites and see what there is you like and dislike about them. Not all websites are designed to serve the same functions, so make sure you get all you can from yours.

Even if you have a real brick-and-mortar store, you still need a top-notch website for your customers to refer their friends to with professional photographs and easy-to-find location and store hours. 

The Muse suggests getting yourself a good social-media-savvy consultant. Knowing how and where to spend your Instagram or Facebook ad dollars can make the cost of hiring that consultant pay off in the long run. 

Building Your Business Presence

Speaking of social media, you’ll want to have an effective content marketing strategy that publishes focused content on those platforms, as well as on blog posts, your website, and via email.

Content marketing is a specialized area of business promotion meant to meet your goals, so it's worth doing some research to make sure you're effectively putting it into practice. You can turn to online resources like Cornerstone Content to help you learn what you need to know.

Attending or hosting networking events allows you to meet your customers and vendors, and by putting a face with your brand, you increase the likelihood of ensuring customer loyalty. Face-to-face meetings will never go out of style and are still the best ways to boost your base and thereby improve your sales.

Never underestimate the value of a business card. People appreciate a personal touch, especially these days when too many interactions are done online. Being able to hand someone a physical card adds legitimacy and trustworthiness to your business.

Leveraging Paid & Free Business Tools

By using online tools, you can have a professional yet ​​free business card design, incorporating your own colors and images and updating it as needed, making it a great marketing tool. If you add a QR code to it, anyone with a smartphone can be directed to your latest products and promotions, too. 

As one of the smart business owners who has managed to create a thriving and profitable business, your growth is something to be admired and congratulated. Understanding the best strategic moves of business expansion will keep you in the game and on the board for years to come. 

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