Are you thinking about how to grow your retail sales?
Retailers looking to grow need a market expansion strategy. This type of strategy provides different approaches that sellers can use to expand their business. Retailers can evaluate which strategy is best for their business.
This article covers different market expansion strategies. Then, we’ll provide a guide that specifically explains how to choose different sales channel expansion opportunities.
Market Expansion Opportunity
Successful retailers grow their sales year over year, which is difficult. Retailers can’t just snap their fingers and watch their sales instantly rise. If they could, no business would ever fail.
Instead, retailers have to thoughtfully consider about the state of their business. Is there an opportunity for you to sell more products to more customers?
If there is, a market expansion strategy can help you determine the best way to offer your products to a greater number of people. In general, this can be done in two ways: selling more of your existing product or selling new products.
Each approach requires different actions to accomplish sales growth. We’ll help you compare these two strategies to see what makes the most sense for your business.
Using Market Expansion as a Retail Growth Strategy
Retailers can undertake one of these two strategies to grow their overall sales. Each approach helps you expand your market by reaching more customers. This gives you the opportunity to increase the sales of your products.
Sell More of Your Existing Products
The most common way to increase your sales is to sell more of your existing products. To do this, you need to expand your market reach so you can sell to more customers. There are several ways you can do this.
One way is to increase how much your existing customers buy from you. This could be done with new pricing strategies, promotions, and loyalty programs. Test out different ways that encourage repeat purchases from customers.
Increasing the number of first-time buyers can also help grow your sales. You probably don’t own 100% of your market. This means that there’s an opportunity to sell to more customers in your market who have the potential to buy from you.
You can use new marketing techniques to attract more first-time buyers. For example, eCommerce sellers can improve their website layout or invest in software that helps combat cart abandonment.
See how something as simple as developing an eCommerce content strategy can increase your sales.
The third way you can grow your sales is to expand to new markets, or channels. This helps expose your products to new people, which can lead to more product sales. Retailers can open an new online or physical store, try selling on online marketplaces, or expand to different geographies.
To help you decide what the best market expansion opportunity is for your business, download our guide about evaluating different sales channels opportunities.
Increasing current product sales is one of the easiest, and least risky options because you already know the customer base. You sell to them every day. But, it isn’t the only way to expand your retail business.
Sell New Products
Retailers can also grow their sales by introducing new products. This strategy can help you sell more to your current customer base, or tap into new customer market segments. There are many ways that you can sell new products.
First, you can try updating your current product. Think about how Apple and Samsung release new phone versions seemingly every few months. This encourages customers to make new purchases when they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Retailers can also offer new extensions for their products. For cellphone sellers, you may introduce new cases, headphones, or other accessories that are made exclusively for your phone. This can increase your sales by giving customers more items to buy.
You can introduce entirely new products that complement your existing products. For example, if you already sell lipstick , you can introduce a new eyeshadow, blush, or even shampoo line. These products still fit within the beauty category, but offer something new for your brand loyal customers to try.
This approach also lets you tap into new customer segments that you didn’t previously sell to. There is an opportunity to gain new customers and sell your new product lines on different sales channels.
Either one of these market expansion strategies, selling existing or new products, can be used to grow your retail business. Use the strategy that makes the most sense for your business.
Channel Expansion Opportunities
Many retailers decide that they best way to expand their business is by selling in different sales channels. This could mean a new eCommerce site, physical store, online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, or B2B retail.
It can be overwhelming to decide which channel is right for your business. There’s a lot of risk involved if it doesn’t end up being profitable. If you need help deciphering between different sales channels, you should read our provided guide .
Our “Evaluating Channel Expansion Opportunities” guide helps you evaluate different sales channels by walking you through the pros, cons, and barriers to each channel. You can evaluate which channel will give you the best opportunity for growth.
Download our free guide by clicking the image below.
[…] Sales channels are a vital part of the logistics process and can be an excellent way for a company to grow. They can allow a company to reach new customers quickly and efficiently while reducing costs. […]