If you seem to have hit a brick wall with your efforts to spread the word about your business, you might think the obvious step forward would be to open a new store or office elsewhere.
After all, “out of sight, out of mind”… right? Well, yes – but your presence isn’t just on the street…
It’s also on your publicity materials, print and digital alike.
This is why, if you are mulling over a brick-and-mortar expansion, you might want to first try the following techniques instead.
Assess how your current premises is faring
You could soon see the case for staying put if, when looking more closely at how you are doing in your current location, you see room for improvement. A business currently faltering in its attempts to generate positive cash flow, for example, is not a strong candidate for geographical expansion.
As implied in an Entrepreneur article, you could notice that a different location offers more potential customers – but you could still reach out to them through other means, as we will illustrate…
Set up – or spruce up – your business website
Shakespeare might have written that “all the world’s a stage” – but, if he was living today, he could have just as easily said that it’s an office or shop. That’s because, thanks to the internet, you certainly don’t need to be geographically close to a customer to effectively promote to them.
Don’t have a business website? Get one. If you’ve already got one, give it a makeover – or at least a refresh – by jazzing up its content or establishing an online shop, as Startups.co.uk advises.
Leverage social media, too
Simon Willmett, finance director at Nucleus Commercial Finance, observes in an article for smallbusiness.co.uk: “A mistake many businesses make is thinking that they have an online presence just because they have a website.”
However, these days, you should also capitalise on social media.
Doing so can garner your business a larger audience and, with it, potentially heavier profits. Staying “present, informative and consistent” on social media is key to thriving on it, notes Willmett.
Foster improvements in your Google My Business listing
Naturally, when someone wants a particular product or service your company just happens to offer, this person could easily be inclined to Google that offering. Furthermore, if your business is locally based, it could show up in a succinct but informative listing on the search engine.
Therefore, act on customer feedback to improve your service and so foster positive reviews, as 30% of customers will consider reviews when assessing a business.
Set up a virtual office
If you still want a business address in a location capable of bestowing more prestige on your company’s image, a good halfway-house solution could be renting a virtual office.
A virtual office, for example, would provide a commercial office address without requiring you to rent physical space. You could then later book a meeting room if a client wishes to meet up with you.
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Managing the CX demands of 5 generations … new eBook – TheMarketingblog https://t.co/8jNKUb1aX4
— Will Corry (@slievemore) November 22, 2019