With a mixture of cities and small towns, Arizona is a popular place to start a business, and you’ll find everything from small stores to multinational corporations across the state. It’s a popular place to start a business because it’s well-connected to the West Coast, and businesses don’t require a state license to operate, although they may need one from their town or city. However, at some point, you’ll no doubt want to take your business outside of state lines as you expand, so how do you start to find customers beyond The Grand Canyon State?
Target the Southwest at first
When you want to expand your business, it’s important to start slow and be patient. You’re likely to be overstretched in the early days, so you don’t want to make things even harder for yourself. Luckily, Arizona is in the heart of the Southwestern states, so Nevada, California, Utah, and others are in easy reach. Many of these areas are going through an economic boom, whether it’s because of new mining jobs or new construction, so they could be an excellent place to offer your services.
Get your site noticed online
If you run a niche business in a small town in Arizona, then the chances are you’ve not had much trouble getting noticed online. You may even be the only business that comes up in search results. However, as you expand, you’ll need to focus on a national SEO strategy, which will ensure that no matter where people in the USA search for you, your company will be on the front page. You can do a little bit of SEO yourself by including relevant keywords on your webpage, but it’s worth investing in the services of an SEO agency who can really boost your ranking.
Consider adding new products and services
What works in Arizona may not necessarily work across the USA. Needs and wants vary from state to state, so if you want to expand, you may need to broaden the products or services you offer. For example, if you were a business selling hiking equipment in Arizona, you may only offer clothes for warmer climates, but as you expand, you will need to cover the different weathers across the country.
This can also be a good time to sharpen your marketing strategy. Identify your core market and decide whether you’re going to focus on this key group or expand to other demographics. Initially, you probably don’t want to spread yourself too thin, so it’s probably worth focusing on the group that made your business a success and perhaps expanding your range to suit their particular needs.
Find new ways to sell
Smaller businesses can find it tough to get online orders, as they’re up against the big web giants. However, they can use online marketplaces from Amazon to Etsy to sell for a small fee, which opens up whole new markets. As you build customer loyalty, you can then start selling more and more directly through your own website.
Social media is important too. You’ll need to change strategies when you go from a local to a national business, as you’ll be targeting a much wider market. It’s worth working with a marketing agency to come up with a professional social media strategy that’ll wow potential customers.
When you’ve built your company in one state, the thought of going national can be scary, but it’s often the natural step for growing businesses. Start slow, get a great marketing team, and think creatively to make the most of your expansion plans.
