When to Expand into New Geographic Markets: A Concrete Business Owner’s Guide

contentbyroya
13 minutes ago
5 min read

Thinking about moving into a new market? You’re not alone. Whether you’re hearing complaints about service gaps nearby or trying to keep your trucks busier, expansion can feel like the natural next step. But it’s a big leap, and doing it wrong can stretch your team, your fleet, and your finances too far. To help you weigh this decision, the Tough Commerce team sat down with concrete industry veteran Joe Sostaric to get real-world advice for businesses like yours.

But First, Why Expand to New Markets?

According to Sostaric, “When you're an equipment-based business, you're going to have peaks and valleys. Some days, you have loads of unused equipment, and others you're short on trucks. The advantage of working in multiple markets is that the varying demand of one helps fill the needs of the other.”

Beyond that, when the new market is close and well-suited to your expertise—you’re not starting over. You're applying what already works: your systems, your service model, your people. Expansion then becomes a scalable process, not a gamble.

With that in mind, here’s what you need to evaluate before and during any move to a new market:

1. Is There Demand?

Why it matters: You shouldn’t expand just because it’s nearby. You need evidence that the market actually needs your services.

How to evaluate:

Ask current customers who work in that area: “Who do you use there?” or “What challenges do you face getting concrete there?”
Examine project backlogs, new developments, or large-scale infrastructure announcements.

Green flag: Customers say they struggle to get service or trust the providers.Red flag: The market is saturated with high-quality, low-cost competitors.

2. Does the Market Align with Your Strengths?

Why it matters: Your success in a new market will depend on market fit, not just location. Being great at high-rise commercial work won’t help if the new market is mostly residential driveways.

How to evaluate:

Research the job mix in the area: commercial vs. residential, union vs. non-union, public vs. private work.
Check building trends via local permit data or construction industry reports.
Talk to your customer base not only about availability of providers, but about the types of work they’re doing in that area.

Green flag: The work aligns with your existing capabilities and experience.Red flag: You’d have to retool your approach to compete.

3. Can Your Fleet, People, and Systems Handle It?

Why it matters: Even “nearby” growth stretches your resources—trucks, operators, management time, and software systems.

Ask yourself:

Do you have excess fleet capacity, or would you need to buy more trucks?
Can your local staff manage having fewer hands on deck, if it means helping get the new location situated?
Can your software and dispatch systems support expanded operations?

Green flag: You have spare financial and operational capacity to get more equipment, and you have software that can handle higher volume.Red flag: Expansion would require heavy upfront investment in equipment and people, and your existing software couldn’t handle it.

4. What’s the Competitive Landscape and Pricing Environment?

Why it matters: If margins are razor-thin or competitors are incredibly well-established, you may burn cash just trying to break in.

How to evaluate:

Sostaric recommends “mystery shopping” competitors—call and ask for quotes or availability. If their prices are too low, it may not be worth it to enter the market.
You can also gauge how prompt they are at answering calls. If it’s lackluster, you may be able to offer better customer service.
Talk with your current customers that do business in the market that you are looking to expand into and ask them questions.

Green flag: Competitors are overpriced, slow, or unreliable.Red flag: Everyone is priced aggressively and runs a tight ship.

When Not to Expand: Avoiding the Growth Trap

With those four key questions addressed, let’s investigate exactly when you know the business isn’t ripe for expansion. Here’s when to hold back:

Core business suffers: If, for example, expanding from LA to San Francisco means you’re spending less time nurturing your LA base, ask yourself—what’s the opportunity cost to my core business?
Following a customer blindly: According to Sostaric, some customers might entice you to move into a new market just to get lower prices. You need to understand why they’re inviting you in. If it’s only price, tread carefully.

How to Ensure a More Successful Expansion

If that all checks out, here are some tips to help you go in with clear eyes and treat it like the serious business investment it is.

Get the Best-In-Class Job Management Software for Concrete Businesses

Software, used correctly, is the backbone of your business. It’s easier to keep track of your entire business when it originates in one location, but once you move to two, you need an airtight system to keep an eye on operations in both.

The right software will support:

Job Scheduling and Dispatch: Coordinate work across multiple crews and regions without confusion. Good dispatch software shows you where every truck is, when it's available, and what it’s delivering.
Fleet Tracking and Maintenance: GPS and telematics tools give visibility into your equipment no matter where it's located. You’ll know which units are being underused, which need servicing, and which are where they’re supposed to be.
Invoicing, Timesheets, and Cost Tracking: Having teams in another region means you need cloud-based systems to collect timecards, generate accurate invoices, and track job costs in real time—so you don’t find out too late that you’re losing money.

Build the Right Team for Expansion

Hiring while pushing into a new market can be complex. You’re not ready for a whole staff there, but you need a physical presence of some sort to help establish yourself with new customers.

You can consider:

Sending a trusted operator or foreman from your home market to temporarily work in the new area. This person should be technically skilled and customer-friendly—your ambassador. Someone who can shake hands and monitor the site.
Remember, in some cases, the better approach may be to acquire an existing local operation rather than starting from scratch (“greenfielding").

Pro Tip: Customers in a different market may be skeptical about your long term commitment. If you want them to change their buying patterns and commit to your business, you must prove to them that you are making a commitment to their market

The best geographic expansions aren’t reactionary—they’re strategic. They build on what already works and aim to solve real problems. Before you commit, take a hard look at your market fit, your operations, and your financial position. If the pieces line up, expansion can transform your business into a more resilient, regionally dominant operation.