Increasing the reach of your small businesses

For those individuals who run small businesses, there’s almost always a desire to bring about improvements. This may well be something that you are familiar with, whether you are looking to increase income levels, improve customer satisfaction rates, or simply to ensure that your employees are happy.

In this particular blog post, I’m interested in thinking about how we can go about making more sales. Specifically, I want to examine how it becomes possible for us to dramatically increase revenue levels.

There may be a tendency to concentrate on your local, or domestic market. I wouldn’t ever say that this is a bad tactic, particularly given that it enables you to really create a footprint within a particular niche. There is certainly something to be said for being a big fish in a small pond.

In essence, the opportunity is created for you to really dominate and generate a significant income as a result. If you can stave off other local rivals, then you have that chance to clean up. But how far will such an approach really take you? I’ve mentioned the idea of generating a substantial income, but it seems clear to me that you won’t be able to establish a massive corporation by acting in this way.

The problem that you’ll face is that there will always be a limited audience available to you. Within your local area, it’s likely that some individuals will never actually become customers. There may be a variety of reasons why this might be the case, some of which will reflect the specific nature of your own business and what you are looking to offer.

Within your business plan, you may have expected to pick up a greater proportion of business within the region. It’s the time to be honest, however, allowing you to appreciate that there will certainly be a limit in place on your plans. This is the time for you to start thinking about an overseas expansion.

There are companies like Paymentbase who clearly offer services that will help in this area, although it would be unfair to suggest that an international approach isn’t daunting. You’ll need to think carefully about marketing and carry out a full appraisal of the target market. At the same time, however, you can see that it’s possible to gain exposure to a considerable audience. What this means is that you can start adding customers and increasing revenue levels.

Ultimately, the decision on whether to expand in this way can be said to be one of confidence. Do you feel that you have the right qualities to be able to drive your business in this direction, or are there fears surrounding inherent weaknesses?

It’s amazing how much any business eventually becomes a reflection of the business owner. If you’re prepared to demonstrate that you have real vision and confidence, then it’s my belief that you’ll be able to get some great results.

You will, of course, need to retain that sense of focus. If you’re unable to achieve that, then it’s very difficult to see how you will ever get the results that you desire.

Featured image source flickr.com/photos/67755992@N03/6188633776/sizes/z/in/photostream/