By Ridhima Kansal
Scalability is one of the very critical growth parameters for startups. It defines the ability of a startup to grow and multiply without incurring much incremental costs. Investors generally bet on startups that have a clearly defined blueprint to scale up. Interestingly, in the post-Covid world, which is marked by spurred digitisation, there are new opportunities to scale up and grow. Today, even without an on-ground presence, with the help of digital channels a start-up can tap into new markets, verticals, and geographies thereby growing their business multi fold.
Nonetheless, scaling a business has its own challenges. The ideation and planning might look simple and straightforward but are often contradicted by ground realities, which are fraught with a multitude of bottlenecks. Here are a few simple tips that might help upcoming businesses scale up fast and navigate the potential risks.
Leverage networking opportunities: The more you know about what and who exists in the market, the better one can differentiate their offerings to find the proper support to scale at speed. Founders can leverage their network to find people scouting for their next big investment — angel investors and venture capitalists.
Automate and outsource: Introducing digitisation in business improves & streamlines processes, functions, and operational efficiency. The investment in tools and platforms that can automate manual tasks will increase team productivity giving your talent the time and space to be agile and responsive to changing market needs.
Also Read: PM Modi: 1.5 crore jobs saved during Covid after govt provided Rs 3 lakh crore to MSMEs
Focus on your people: It is essential for organisations to systematically invest in their employees, especially the ones who join the team early, by sharing your vision and empowering them with the tools they need to do their best. This instills a senseinstillsership, ensuring they can serve as custodians of your work culture and work ethic.
Focus on scalable marketing & communication: Marketing can help your business gain brand recognition and establish itself within the market. A solid marketing strategy can ease many of the pain points associated with scaling. Content creation and SEO are both forms of scalable marketing strategies. Content has the potential to go viral and drastically increase the attention your business is generating.
Make customer retention your top priority: Customer retention makes sense because it keeps your acquisition costs low while boosting profit. Retention also builds customer loyalty and helps you build a predictable revenue engine. When you’re growing as a company, you need to keep tabs on what people say about your brand or when customers need support from you. Acquiring and retaining a loyal base of customers can give your business a great kickstart and also set the stage for future growth and transformation.