In the 21st century, starting a distant office and outsourcing is easier than ever before, which is why a lot of companies prefer the idea of expanding without moving. Still, this is not always an option. In a lot of cases, relocating your business is the only sensible idea, which is why you must learn how to make this process as easy as possible. These top 5 tips will help you make your business relocation easier and more efficient, minimizing downtime and setting your company up for continued success in its new location.
1. Thinking about hiring new people
While relocating your business may be more than sensible, keep in mind that not everyone in your company might feel the same. For your company, moving from Brisbane to Sydney might mean a bigger market and more opportunities, but for your employees, this means changing their residency, moving their children to a different school and even forcing their spouse to change their workplace. In other words, once you decide to move, you will have to plan how to quickly fill in all the positions in your company that will become vacant due to the move. Nonetheless, this could mean losing your top talent.
2. Use downtime
One of the greatest problems of your company’s relocation is the issue of downtime. Not a lot of businesses can afford to keep both locations running at the same time, which means that your business might lose some of its audience due to this. On the other hand, there are several smart ways in which you can use your downtime.
For instance, you can use it for a full-scale turnaround and ensure that all the equipment and facilities in your company are in working order. In other words, you can turn it into a company-wide maintenance project. Additionally, if you have any major changes in mind, now might be the time to introduce them, seeing as how, at the moment, they won’t cause a temporary downtime in your company’s functionality.
3. Prepare for the change of scenery
Even though your business might already be well-established, moving to a new location will bring more change than you expect. For instance, if your company currently offers general services within your niche, and the target destination has a much hotter competition, you might be forced to specialize. Still, just picking a sub-branch of your industry isn’t enough. There are three important criteria you need to satisfy before you choose how your company will specialize – expertise, experience, and enthusiasm. The latter is particularly tricky, because it may change so much that it moves you too far from your original plan.
4. Think about the total cost
Budgeting the relocation is not a simple matter, especially because there are so many factors to consider. The last payment for your lease, the cost of moving supplies and the cost of updating all your promotional merchandise might be quite unpredictable. One thing you do have full control over is the cost of agencies you hire to help you out.
During your lookout for movers and removalists to work with, you need to find those that are not going to present you with hidden charges. Second, you need to look for target location locals (before your move-in). So if you’re primarily concerned about making your new office work-ready, you should probably look for a removalist Eastern suburbs agency (if we were to stick to the scenario from the first section). Moreover, by hiring locals, you are also reducing the overall carbon footprint of your move, which is, once again, a smart thing to do.
5. Focusing on online marketing
The problem with changing your contact information lies in the fact that all the promotional merchandise is already out there. This is why your online marketing might be your saving grace. First of all, there is no easier way to announce the relocation than on your website, blog, and social media accounts. Second, changing your physical address and phone number online is a fairly simple task. Of course, in time you will need to rethink your promotional merchandise strategy, as well; yet, for the time being, focusing on online marketing gives you outstanding temporary results.
At the end of the day, for a lot of companies, moving is an inevitability. Although difficult, it gives you a great ROI and is a vital step on your path toward success. Therefore, the only people who are terrified by the notion of company relocation are those who don’t know how to make it smooth and simple. Once you learn how to pull this off, even the idea of moving your company twice a year won’t seem as terrifying.
