Business owners can use the money they receive from the Employee Retention Tax Credit, also known as the ERTC or ERC, in all sorts of different ways to boost their business. Some may decide to use ERTC funds to expand into new markets, and here are a few different ways employers may opt to do that.
How Businesses Can Expand into New Markets Utilizing the Employee Retention Tax Credit
1. Add New Products and Services
Since the ERTC can be used for many different kinds of projects or business needs, one area you could utilize those funds is in adding new products or services to attract customers. Business owners can choose to diversify their offerings but should be careful to stay on track with whatever their core business model is all about.
2. Target New Audiences
Business owners may choose to use Employee Retention Tax Credit refund money to pay for market research and surveys on attracting new audiences. With that info, they can more easily expand into new markets.
3. Research Competitor Markets
Speaking of research, ERTC funds could also be used to research the competition and see what offerings they have or how they’ve expanded into new areas in recent years. This can potentially help your business figure out what services or products may be best to offer in order to expand further.
4. Optimize Existing Customer Information
If you’re lucky, your business already has at least somewhat of a loyal customer base. As an employer, you could choose to use ERTC money to analyze and identify what sort of customers are already buying from you and how to get them to buy more, or to figure out what they’d buy if you expanded into a new market.
5. Work with Customers on Strategies
Those same customers may also be able to help you expand into new markets by working directly with you to explain what they’d like to see from your business. Analytics are great, but conversations with your existing customers about what products they think you could add to your offerings could help you move into new market areas.
6. Offer Customer Referral Program Perks
We’ve established how you could work with customers to get new market and product ideas. But what about working with them to get new customers? With a referral program – with perks potentially funded by ERTC money – you could incentivize your current customers to refer you to others and help you expand into new markets.
7. Go Digital
If you haven’t already been properly utilizing online sales markets, the best time to start is now. You could use your Employee Retention Tax Credit refund to expand into the digital sphere and greatly expand your market far outside your existing customer base and product space.
8. Buy Additional Businesses
If you’ve got the money to do it, especially if you got a significant ERTC refund, you might want to consider buying similar, smaller businesses outright to increase your market share. This could help you add new people to your clientele who are already loyal to that business, and let you diversify your product offerings with the use of a business that already has the information, resources, and inventory for those products ready to go.
There are many other ways you could use the money you get from the Employee Retention Tax Credit program to expand into new markets, but this list should give you a solid head start. And if you haven’t applied for the ERTC and are interested in doing so, Dayes Law Firm may be able to help.
Our ERTC team can offer you a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss any ERTC questions you may have and to talk about what you might be able to do with a potential refund. Give us a call at (800) 503-2000 or get in touch via our website to contact us today!