You might be thinking of how to choose the right business location in Nigeria. Luckily for you, we have a list of factors to consider when choosing a business location in Nigeria. Not all cities are right for every type of industry because they each offer diverse sets of advantages that must align with your company’s goals. This article will break down the tips to consider before choosing a business location. The city that would work best depends on what kind of business you are looking into starting.

How-to-choose-a-business-location

What is a business location? 

Business location is the site chosen by an individual to operate and exchange goods and services. Location can be an extremely crucial factor that decides whether or not your startup succeeds and it’s imperative to take time to consider all aspects before deciding, as this can have long term implications if done incorrectly at first go around.

8 ways to choose the right business location

In choosing a business location, a lot of things need to be put into consideration. There are also steps or ways how to choose a business location in Nigeria and they include:

  1. Check out where the business will be situated 
  2. Place the business location within your budget
  3. Consider your type of business 
  4. Put your customers and suppliers into consideration 
  5. Find a safe location with adequate security 
  6. Search mainly where there is demand and less competition 
  7. Think about recruiting efforts and other additional labour force 
  8. Look for sites with enough parking options and space for your customers 

5 Factors to consider when choosing the right business location in Nigeria

Nigeria is well known for being one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and has been attracting investments from international partners because of its high economic potential. Identifying a suitable location for a business can make your business stand out and attract customers from different walks of life. Let us explore the factors to consider when choosing a business location:

  1. Understand your business 
  2. Identify and find your customers 
  3. Investigate the community 
  4. Check out for traffic and easy accessibility 
  5. Access the building and look into the competition 

1. Understand your business 

Plan and execute the type of business you wish to go into. Understand everything concerning the business. Be abreast with the recent trends and innovations in the business because this would solely help you in choosing a better location for it. For someone dealing selling frozen fish and chicken, he/she needs a location with good electricity and close to the market.

Reflecting on the experience of some people in Nigeria, it was like there was no one better suited for some individuals than many other people, but after doing thorough research into what would best suit some persons; we found out that even though Lagos has more opportunities in terms of diversity, which is a good thing, cities like Port Harcourt, Kano, Abuja, etc. are also a suitable site with larger populations.

2. Identify and find your customers 

Successful businesses in Nigeria have long since known that the best way to succeed is by understanding their customers. Understanding cultural norms, wants, and needs for a location can be tricky, but luckily, there are many quick ways to get started. Check out these outstanding tips on how to find just what you’re looking for: 

  1. Know your customer’s age group
  2. What do they like?
  3. What they don’t like? 

The younger generation of Nigerians prefer Western brands while older generations tend towards Nigerian goods, so try asking around or using social media sites such as Facebook before making any final decisions about where to put up shop. 

3. Investigate the community 

It is proper you carry out primary research and visit the proposed community for the business. Identify the needs of the community, know what is lacking and fill the gap. Each community has what they need. Set your business to solve their problem. 

4. Check out for traffic and easy accessibility

Choose an area with good transportation access. Make sure it has plenty of parking spots available if you want visitors from outside. Consider the easy location of your shop and settle for places closer to the major cities and main roads. These places are where industries, companies, and firms are situated. People coming around will always see your products. 

5. Access the building and look into the competition 

One of the most important considerations for any business in Nigeria is location. When you have chosen a particular location or building, look out for competition. Ask yourself where your competitors are? Once your product is rampant there, you can check elsewhere or come in to be unique in order to make sales. Be able to offer a unique sale in order to deal with competition. 

5 Characteristics of a suitable business location 

A good business location is the selling point for all businesses. In order to know a suitable business location, it must possess the following features:

  1. Customer easy accessibility
  2. Availability of resources and other business facilities 
  3. Owners’ preference/choice 
  4. Proximity to the market
  5. Cost

Why is it important to choose the right location for your business?

It is very crucial to choose the right location for business because it helps how many customers and sales you will be making. Location plays a vital role in attracting and keeping the best customers, clients, investors, and employees, many of whom keep a close eye on where they’re based in order to optimize work-life balance. Good location decisions can significantly boost a company’s long term performance.

3 ways on how you can choose a perfect location?

Choosing a perfect location for your business involves:

  1. Locating where many of your target customers live or work. 
  2. Locating in a college, institutions, hospitals, big cities, and towns full of people that need your products 
  3. Ask people around the community about the average foot and vehicle traffic. Then know the one to explore.

7 Benefits of a suitable location for a business 

Benefits of a suitable location for your business include:

  1. Enhancement of marketing system
  2. Has low cost in transportation 
  3. Highly targeted by different populations around
  4. Reward consistent and loyal customers 
  5. Draws new customers daily
  6. Convert marketing to leads and sales
  7. Helps eliminate too much competition
  8. Other searches- How to become an SEO content writer

Conclusion 

This article covers some tips on how to find a suitable spot, along with factors you should consider when deciding on your site. It explored how to find a suitable location for your business and the benefits of a suitable location for your business. 

Author

Hi, I am Chidimma, the Chief Editor of StartupSpot. I hold a bachelor's degree in Business Education (with a major in Accounting) from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria and online certifications in Digital Marketing by SEMRUSH Academy. Startupspot was therefore born (in 2021) out of my passion to reach startups, small businesses and a greater audience to educate them about startups, the challenges facing startups and how to manage their finances. I also wish to educate people (especially women) to attain financial independence. I hope you find the contents useful, and should you need further help, I hope you ‌reach me.