Your Alberta business isn’t just thriving—it’s growing. And you’re wondering whether the next logical step might be to expand your boundaries. While the local growth you’ve already experienced has taught you that a tremendous amount of planning will be necessary to ensure that your expansion is successful, the potential in new frontiers is always exciting. 

Whether you’re interested in bringing your product or service to another city, province or country, we sat down with Aimee Parker, Director at W by ATB for expert advice on moving into markets beyond Alberta. 

Getting your house in order

Ready to take on the next level of growth? 

Aimee Parker has helped many businesses expand beyond provincial borders. Her top piece of advice: make sure your own house is in order before you take your show on the road.

“Something business owners tend to overlook is that the current model working for them might need to be adapted,” she says. “Whether that’s new consumer preferences, new regulatory impacts or new supply chain networks.” 

It’s wise to rewrite your business plan for every new sales market you want to enter— not only to prepare your business to adapt to new contexts and supply chains, but also to forecast how out-of-province expansion will interact with your established operations.

Partnering up

Let’s say you’re based in Alberta and want to start selling in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. First, decide whether you’ll go directly to consumers in those areas, or whether it would be more efficient to work through a regional intermediary.

Parker notes that because past success is often an indicator of future success, partnering can be a very effective way to reach new markets. When looking for partners, consider other, similar businesses they’ve partnered with, as well as how effective those partnerships have been in terms of sales, branding and consistent order fulfillment.

Relationship Management

When thinking about initiating relationships with new retailers or marketing partners out of province, remember that both new and existing relationships will be crucial to the success of any expansion.

“Your reputation with your retailer depends on your ability to supply to them,” Parker says. “So if you’re too focussed on the new market, and not able to meet demands of both current and new suppliers, relationships become strained and could deteriorate quickly. ”

Cash Flow Forecasting 

Take a look at your rewritten business plan. Do you have the capital and supply chain capacity to accommodate the scale of growth you’re anticipating? If not, you may have to figure out interim financing, backup procurement processes or new suppliers to help you make the leap.
Cash flow forecasting is non-negotiable at this stage. Parker recommends forecasting at least three to six months, including your basic profit and loss models, with base-case, best-case and worst-case scenarios. 

Crossing Cultural Boundaries

One important factor in any successful expansion is cultural fit. It may be counterintuitive to think about cultural disparities between provinces in a country like Canada, with its friendly reputation and open borders, but these differences are not to be overlooked.

Parker brings up the example of Albertan support for local cuisine: “The blessing here in Alberta is that we have a really tight-knit community in terms supporting local, farm-to-table businesses, and a lot of retailers capture that in their brand story. But that’s not to say that this will be true in another province.”

In order to build the same level of customer trust and loyalty you already enjoy in Alberta, you may need to discover new ways to connect with audiences in the markets you’ve set your sights on. The process starts with getting to know unfamiliar consumers, segmenting them into demographics, and figuring out how to adapt your brand story to appeal to each demographic you’ve identified.

First and foremost: be clear, open and honest about your company’s values and purpose. For instance, if you have a “100-mile diet” restaurant concept that’s beloved in Edmonton and you want to replicate it in Winnipeg, don’t pretend it sprung out of nowhere. Instead, find a way to acknowledge your Edmonton roots while demonstrating that you’re interested in putting down new roots in Winnipeg.

Finally: as you’re growing and allocating marketing resources elsewhere, ensure that your domestic customers—your original loyal supporters—are still engaged. This is a key area where you may need to hire more resources or partner with regional talent to help you (provided they share your values and vision).

Sourcing HR assistance

As your business expands, it’s not just your marketing team that can be spread thin, especially in smaller operations. When taking on new markets, your human resources (HR) need to grow along with your business.

If you don’t already have a good handle on your HR process, Parker suggests you find a specialist to help you develop comprehensive guidelines and strategies that will help facilitate both your local and your out-of-province activities. Think about the issues your business currently faces, and how they might be compounded as your customer base grows—perhaps in another time zone hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. How will you tackle returned merchandise, customer complaints, or negative reviews? If you already have a model that works that you can build from, it will make the growth process considerably easier, both in the expansion you’re currently contemplating, and in future expansions.

Finding the right advisors

Culture isn’t the only thing that varies from one market to the next. Before you decide where you’re expanding or exporting to, consider the red tape that might be involved: unfamiliar tax structures, product regulations, trademark and patent rights, employment protection standards and even language laws.

Organizations like Economic Development Canada are committed to helping Canadian businesses grow. The Government of Alberta’s Export Expansion Program offers funding to help local sector specialists operate abroad. And ATB Business Advisory Services is another source of both expert financial advice and tools to help realize your ambitions for growth.

We’re lucky enough to live in a time when valuable information about your target audience, existing competition and potential allies is easily accessible online. Your research process can start right away through searches, emails and social media.

Making it pop

Pop-up shops are a great way to test new territories. If you’re thinking of taking your business to other locales but apprehensive about the commitment (or if you’re online-only and want to make the move to physical stores), think about experimenting in a temporary retail environment.

“I love this strategy because it doesn’t cost what it would to set up a full brick-and-mortar in other markets,” says Parker. “It allows you to get feedback on your product, engage with consumers in a new atmosphere, and see if it’s going to be a good fit to invest in further.”

A well-run pop-up shop can also create symbiotic relationships with other retailers, who can build up hype by showing off an exclusive new brand. It can also drive sales back to your online store, especially if you create a splashy, Instagram-worthy showroom for curious shoppers to experience.

Break barriers

For women in business, expect more from your financial institution.  Research indicates while not always visible, gender bias still exists in the financial world today. And financial institutions are behind in stepping up to the expectations of women-owned businesses (50% of businesses started in Alberta are by women). 

W by ATB is a banking experience that supports women’s success by removing bias, providing transparency in financial and advisory services, and aligning with what women want from their financial institution in order to power possibilities for growth and success.

If you want to connect with a W by ATB accredited specialist, reach out to us.

Moving into a new territory is a lot like starting a business from scratch — but when done right, it can kickstart real and lasting growth.