JoshIn the fast-moving digital world, staying abreast of marketing trends helps gain and maintain market share, visibility, and results online. Luke Lazarus, a leading brand consultant, based in Melbourne, Australia, understands what it takes to reach these heights and gain momentum in an ever-changing business environment.
He weighs in with his thoughts on launching a new company in today’s business environment.
You Need A Plan – If you want to build a company that withstands the test of time, having a business plan puts a firm foundation in place. This plan helps you to construct your company from the ground up, complete with financial planning, launch plans, and other aspects of your business model.
Don’t Forget About Your Creatives – Creatives play a significant role in many aspects of your business operations. You’ll need creatives to help establish your brand, including logos, taglines, pitch decks, professional copy, marketing materials, digital assets, and website. Ideally, you account for these start-up costs in your original business plan. If you are potentially seeking funding from outside investors, having both a business plan and pitch deck as valuable assets to have on your side.
An Understanding Of The Market – Today, it is easier than ever before for people to rush into a business without doing research first. While this is great for trend riders, it can be more risky for people who want to establish a long-lasting business.
You need to know your market to be competitive and make the right business decisions. Location is everything when choosing the spot where you’ll operate. For instance, if you are going to open a restaurant, researching the neighborhood where you’re planning on setting up roots is wise. Questions that are worth asking yourself might be, “how many other restaurants are in the area?” Or “How can I appeal to my target customer?” As a new business, you’re likely to appeal to a broad audience of people who want to try you out. Retaining the interest and gaining loyal customers, however, is more of a challenge over the long-term.
To sustain business growth, business owners have to remain curious about trends in their chosen industry. They have to be nimble and prepared to tackle whatever obstacle that stands in front of them. They have to be open to change and have some amount of willingness to experiment if needed.
Making Financial Projections – Financial projections provide guidance
to keep your operations running smoothly. If taking on investors, this metric is one that financial backers will account for evaluating the opportunity. Financial projections should include forecasted sales, expenses, growth predictions, and other vital parameters surrounding your company.
Utilizing Technology – Technology offers start-ups and established companies more options than ever before to connect and engage with a captivated audience. Luke Lazarus knows that social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all offer start-ups and business owners the opportunity to connect with fans and followers. Chatbots offer web-based support to answer simple – or complex – inquiries made online. Although these chatbots can take some time for initial setup, they help to serve customers around the clock. Instead of needing a human to answer repetitive or straightforward questions, programmed chatbots provide the best answer based on the website visitors questions. If a chatbot is unable to answer the visitor’s question, the conversation can get transferred to an agent for further assistance. As you can imagine, this helps to streamline business processes from the very beginning.
If you are ready to form your own company, we hope these tips help get you started on the right foot.