The Benefits of Expanding into Regional Offices

Is it time to expand your business with more physical offices in new areas? Growing your business’s physical presence will be challenging, and it presents equal amounts of promise and worry. The benefits are vast – but the logistics can present as being imposing enough to put off even the most driven decision-maker.

If the fear of logistics impacts your business development, consider some of these benefits and plot some of the exciting steps forward your organization could take by spreading your influence across the country.

Broaden your appeal

If you’re working in one distinct geographical location, you’re likely to attract a large proportion of your customer base from that locale. There are two different reasons for this:

Google – The world’s leading search engine company virtually always considers a user’s geographical location when returning search results. You might think you’re spanning the globe when you search for a “web design company,” – but actually, Google’s algorithms will consider your location and show local web companies – especially businesses that deliver on-map results.

You can never underestimate Google’s influence, hence the enormous industry that focuses entirely on bolstering your rankings for chosen search terms. If your location means Google will show you to local people, you better believe you will see lots of local businesses.

< influential>Consumer psychology – Countless studies document the relationship between customer spending habits and business location. Many of these studies show that a customer is more likely to spend a more significant sum locally versus finding a reduced rate more than 50 miles from their search location.

The reasons vary based on the individual, but trust always seems to feature highly in the equation. Local business equals local people – and human psychology errs toward increased empathy for people we deem similar to ourselves. So, for many, local store means we are more likely to deal with people we like and trust.

What’s the effect?

With these elements in mind, you’re sure to pick up increased business surrounding your new location. Additionally, company gravitas is hugely increased when a customer sees multiple locations. Once again, trust plays a large part here; you’re far less likely to be a one-person operation trying to appear more significant than you are if you’re working between offices some distance apart.

Not only that, but you’re likely to start picking up more prominent clients if you’ve got more than one location. Business decision-makers like to work with companies they feel can match their level of expertise, so this is terrible news for the talented one-man operation – but good news for you as you spread your organizational wings.

Is IT going to be a headache?

If there’s one department that inspires recoiling in terror at the prospect of company expansion or relocation, it’s IT. And it’s fair; networks are not for the faint-hearted, so opening your satellite office and expecting a magical connection is a big ask – but it’s becoming increasingly feasible and affordable.

A good time for IT reassessment

Spreading out makes mapping your IT network essential – but that prospect shouldn’t be met with resistance. An excellent IT department or partner can often consider your business goals and develop your network.

Find exceptional local talent

Setting up a location in a new city is sometimes done entirely to access the skills needed to drive a business forward. It’s not uncommon to find particular towns with more than the average share of a specific type of talent – and if it’s a talent you’re looking to bring to the business, it can make absolute financial sense to spread in that direction.

Many reasons for these ‘pockets’ of talent relate to universities and colleges in the area. An increasing proportion of the workforce set up as freelance or sole traders straight after qualification – and many stays in the vicinity of their higher education establishment, having built a social circle there.

This also means you’ll have many more people applying for the roles you’re looking to fill – meaning you can often pay a lower rate compared to an area where your desired skillset is thinner on the ground.

Decentralise command

The impact that expanding has on your workforce can be profound too. A lot is being communicated when you offer people positions in a new location – if it fits them, they will feel an increasing sense of trust from you and fellow decision-makers.

This trust is shown to be enormously empowering and is cited repeatedly in the literature that relates to positive managerial strategies. If you trust someone with their own location, watch them rise to the challenge – driving your business as they do. Now, you might find that this newfound exceptional performance leads to some salary review requests – but we imagine you’ll file that in the ‘nice problem to have’ folder!

So, what’s next?

Expanding into regional premises is never going to be a small or easy decision – but it can most definitely be a lucrative move. Having the right people around you makes the prospect much less daunting – in a lot of instances, the right IT partner can provide a lot of the support needed, given how IT often forms the backbone of an organization. Talking to a company you trust is a good move – if they can’t handle it themselves, they’ll undoubtedly know who to turn to.

Ultimately, looking at what your business could do over multiple locations is a great place to start this exercise; try to forget the logistics for now and instead focus on opportunities. Once you have those, you can make accurate business projections to help you decide if the move will help drive your business in the right direction.