Owning a brick-and-mortar business is a different beast compared to having an online business. You rely on getting people through the door, whether it's via appointments or reservations, or simply through people walking past. Growing your business isn't always as simple as growing an online business, especially because you might need more space to expand your operations. But there are multiple ways for you to expand your business if you run a brick-and-mortar business. By adding to the space you have and doing new things with your business, you can offer more to your customers and bring in new foot traffic.
By Team Savant
Image: UX Indonesia
Expand Your Current Location
Growing the amount of physical space that you have can be a great way to expand your business. If it's possible, you might expand your existing location, maybe by building onto the building or buying/renting the unit next door. Or you could open up a new location with the help of a steel frame building from Buildings UK. A new location can help you to capture a new market and expand your reach. But even staying in one place and expanding your existing space could allow you to add more products or serve more customers.
Diversify
Diversifying your business is another option to help you grow it. If you have the space available, it can be used for multiple different purposes. For example, a hotel or restaurant might use their space for private events, such as weddings or parties. A retail store could also offer their space for private hire or events, such as book clubs or other social groups, or events such as book readings. How can you branch out from your main business to do something different and make the most of the space you have? Diversifying can create multiple income streams for your business.
Personalise Your Customer Experience
Competing with online businesses is tough. Even businesses that you would think make more sense offline have found ways to move online and offer new services. But if you want to survive as a brick-and-mortar business, one of the best things you can do is make your customer experience more personal. A lot of people won't bother to come into a store if they can get what they need faster and more easily at home. But if you can offer more of an experience for them, they have a reason to choose to visit you instead of buying online.
Grow Online
Even if you want to keep your business as a physical location where you can welcome your customers, it's still a good idea to get online. In fact, it can help people to find you, and it can grow your reach too. You might set up an online store but you could also create an online presence to provide information and engagement to your customers. A website and social media pages help you to have more contact with customers and might include an online booking system or ways to contact you.
Your brick-and-mortar business can be expanded in a number of ways, whether you want to get online or not.