After all the hard work, planning, headaches and late hours, your business is finally a success. Unfortunately, you can't rest on your laurels. Now is the time to reach new customers and new markets. The next move is to select an expansion method. There are several strategies to choose from and we will explore them in this article.

Introducing a new product is an excellent way to expand your business. The trick to this is to select a product that doesn't distract customers or makes older products seem obsolete. Selecting a product that compliments, your current product works well to your advantage. A product that has no connection to what you are currently selling is extremely dangerous. You can also use your existing customer base to get a reaction to a potential new product.

Another expansion idea is to license your product. This shifts the financial risk from the product's registrar to a company. The burden of marketing, advertising, production and distribution is shifted to the company. The profits also shift but it is a good price to pay for a chance at national recognition. Before you shop for a licensee, make sure you patent your product. A good licensing partner should have an established reputation for quality, service and an aggressive plan for marketing.

If your business has expanded so much that you can't keep up, it is time for launching a chain. In doing this you need to know what makes the original store work and what won't easily transfer to a new site. When considering the option, you need to define your operating procedures to the last detail. Sharing staff between your locations will help the company's culture in the new location. You should also develop a training program for new employees.

Franchising your business will allow you to set back and collect fees and royalties. Franchising is an efficient way to expand brand awareness while pooling financial resources, business acumen and power buying. You have to make sure there is a market for your products. You can do this with competitive analysis and plenty of capitalization. It is advisable to keep in contact with your franchises. This can be done with store visits or a company wide intranet system.

A merger can also be a good way to expand your customer base, capital and operational efficiencies. You do have to find the right partner however. The two of you need to have similar business practices, ideas and dreams. This will only work if both businesses are established companies.

By going global with your company you can reach a growing market, rising consumer spending and an improved business climate. Cultural differences are about the only drawback to this expansion idea. Online access helps global businesses with time zone problems. An up to date website is a definite requirement, however, with this type of expansion.