Importance of location for your small business

By Henry Brown

Geography has always been an important element of setting up a business that relies on having customers come into your bricks-and-mortar location. Your success as a business will most certainly depend on where you have positioned your business and how easy you are to find. The location of your business can affect various elements, including how you price your products or services and your brand message that you choose to promote to the world, either online or in the community. When you start your business, you have most likely started all the fundamental elements such as anything that needs to be brought in, payment plans and more. It’s good to learn the importance of understanding 3DS, a type of finance that could prove beneficial.

Why location sells

If your business address is far away from your target audience, your shop is not going to attract the flow of customers you want. If your shop or premises is tucked down a small alleyway or on an upper floor of a building, it may be difficult for you to give directions effectively and people may even just give up in trying to find you. This needs to be avoided at all costs. If you had a city center location or on a busy high street, then your prospects may dramatically improve. Things to look at when considering location:

Will you be relying heavily on customers visiting for revenue – As a shop, this will be yes. If your business is within retail and does not have an e-commerce shop, then your revenue will solely come from your local customers.

Is convenience important to you and your employees – do you have to employ people to work with you, and do they want to travel if you’re based in a remote location? Are you going to be an easy place for people to find and do you want to have a convenient location or do you wish to be in a more exclusive?

Do you rely on suppliers or need space for unloading – If you are going to have a lot of stock to sell, then you may need a yard of some time to help unload any goods. If you do not have this, it may make the delivery process much more difficult. You may also want easy access for health and safety. All these are vital.

Is brand visibility vital – Brand visibility is something that all brands need to look at but is this vital? Do you want your brand sign on a specific street or do you want to rely on advertising to bring people to your location?

One of the easiest ways to find the right property for you is to use commercial and industrial realtors. With a better grasp of the market and awareness of properties within your budget, you can find a suitable building much quicker, without having to put in the leg work.

Going the extra mile in business will always be a big boon to you as an SME; the more you put into your business, the more it will give you back. However, it is safe to say that the location of your business is either going to help or hinder you during the inception. You can conduct deep market research to ensure that you’re doing the right thing, but you must remember your goals and budget in order to achieve the results you want.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

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