Expert advice for American Small Business News Readers from Dr. J. Robert Beyster, founder of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and author of the book The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company (John Wiley & Sons, 2007).

Question::
As my business grows, I am realizing that I have key clients all over the country. It is getting increasingly difficult to serve all their needs from one central location, so I am getting ready to open satellite offices closer to these key clients. Should I move forward with this plan, or would it be better to stick with a centralized business model?

Answer:
This is a classic dilemma for fast-growing small businesses—do you require your customers to come to you, or do you establish offices close to major customers, becoming more responsive to their needs in the process? While most customers would certainly prefer you to have a local presence, establishing and maintaining this local presence can be a time-consuming and expensive proposition.

Dr. Beyster found that establishing offices near customers offered the company definite competitive advantages. These advantages included:
First, SAIC could be more responsive to customer needs than could an office located hundreds or thousands of miles away. The company—which started with a handful of staff in a small office adjacent to a ballet studio—eventually grew to thousands of employees in hundreds of offices across the country. Each one of these offices was established to create a local company presence with key customers.

Second, key staff could “live with” customers, getting to know them on a personal and professional basis and becoming trusted and valued members of the customer team. Being a part of the customer team gave SAIC a distinct advantage against its competitors.

Third, it was easier (and often less expensive) to recruit employees who wanted to stay where they were rather than being forced to move to the company’s headquarters in San Diego, California. This gave SAIC an advantage as it established offices near customers throughout the country.

For further information, you can contact Dr. Beyster at www.beyster.com