One of the few success stories in the business world in the last few years has been the increase in online sales. If your business is one of those that has benefitted from all of this, you will probably be thinking about expanding and increasing your profits further. If your business had quite humble beginnings, however, you might feel a little out of your depth when it comes to moving forward.
Looking at all of your business in one go might seem like too much – so concentrating on just a few areas to start with will give you the platform you need to go further. Identifying these is key, and are most likely to be in these parts of your business:
Finding new premises
This is an expensive decision, and you want to make sure you get it right. You have a lot to consider, starting with the location of your new base of operations. You could opt for somewhere in a more built-up area, where your employees (more on that later) will be able to reach you easily, and could even give you the chance to open a retail outlet as well. On the other hand, an out-of-town location may well be cheaper and closer to transport links for easy connection to courier companies.
Recruiting the right talent
If you are expanding, you are going to need the right people on your side. Some of these no doubt already work for you, but you will want to attract some more. As an expanding business, you will appeal to ambitious people, and you need to meet their expectations regarding salary and benefits.
Managing your employee benefits is likely to be way outside your comfort zone, so sourcing the best employee benefits software to do the job for you is vital. Getting this important box ticked will not only improve what you offer your current employees but will show prospective workers that you mean business.
Finding more suppliers
Selling more products often means finding more products to offer customers. Your existing network of suppliers might have everything you want, but there is no harm in seeing what else is available. This will give you a benchmark to use when negotiating new deals, and remember, if you are ordering in greater quantities, you should be able to buy in at a reduced price. You also need to take into account the long timescales involved in ordering larger amounts of stock, especially if you are importing from the other side of the world.
Final thoughts
There is a lot to think about when expanding your eCommerce business, but you should start by looking at three key areas. You need to decide where your new premises will be and sourcing the products you will need to fill it. Most importantly though, you need to provide your current and prospective employees with the kind of benefits that will attract top talent and encourage it to stay so your business can expand even further.
