Growing your business means more cash for you now plus a higher sale price in the future when you decide to eventually sell your business.

We plan to send out to you 4 articles full of ideas to help you grow your business.

The 4 key areas are:

  1. Increase your customers
  2. Find new markets – with existing products or services
  3. Develop new products or services – to open new markets
  4. Improve profit

Here’s the second area…

HOW TO FIND NEW MARKETS

Make a video channel to increase your profile

If you want to get your products out there in front of global audience, consider creating a YouTube channel for your business. This is a perfect way to demonstrate products, reviews or share tips with your customers. For example, if you have a background in carpentry and a small business that makes wooden furniture, show some of your products on YouTube to gain subscribers.

Use Google Global Market Finder to identify customers in same markets

Find customers you’re interested in targeting in markets that are similar to yours. Google’s Global Market Finder produces a spreadsheet based on monthly keyword searches that ranks the opportunities of doing business in particular geographical locations.

Use Facebook and LinkedIn to grow your network

Once you’ve connected with your customers on Facebook or LinkedIn, find people in their networks who are interested in your offerings. For example, if you’re building a small business making jewellery, a Facebook page showcasing your offerings is a logical and cheap place to start advertising.

Exhibit at trade events or conferences

Build connections, demonstrate new products and develop stronger relationships with new markets by presenting your business at trade shows.

Investigate opening in a new location

Research the feasibility of successfully opening a new store, office or branch. For example, if you already own a successful wholesale outlet on the western side of your city, think about the value of opening another on the east.

Bid for Government contracts to ensure long term sales

If your goods or services are applicable for government agencies, departments or larger corporates that release tenders for work, you might be able to look for a totally new market you hadn’t considered before. For example, if you run an IT company that looks after the electronic data and security of small businesses, are there opportunities to tender for government work? Please contact us if you need assistance to bid for Government contracts.

Investigate wholesaling and retailing

If you’re a wholesaler, consider opening a retail outlet. Or if you only sell through retail channels, investigate entering the wholesale industry.

Hire sales reps

Hire sales reps in other regions of Australia to help your business branch out into different markets. If they’re only on commission, it’s a results driven tactic. For example, if you have a growing business in Sydney that manufactures and leases vending machines, is it worth hiring some sales reps in other cities to broaden your potential client base.

Export out of Australia

Create an export plan to identify the feasibility of selling outside Australia. For example, you might cure meats and distribute them around Australia to various supermarkets. Have you considered exporting your cured meats to parts of Asia?

NEXT STEPS

Why not book in for a 30 minute meeting with one of our expert accountants and business advisors to brainstorm the above ideas and create a tailored Action Plan to help you increase your market share – leading to more profits for you and increasing the value of your business!