StartupTalky

Tag: business growth strategy

  • New Year Resolutions Every Entrepreneur Should Make

    A new year’s resolution is a kind of promise a person makes to bring change. Not just individuals make new year’s resolutions for themselves, but business owners do it for their businesses too. In 2022, They had taught us many things, the new normal followed by the pandemic is the ultimate truth now. To be prepared for the future and how to manage all things, especially in business. So all businesses want to make 2023 better and the requirements for the organization.

    There are so many new year resolutions every entrepreneur should make so that they can see great growth in their respective businesses. Resolutions can be goals you want to accomplish over a short period (short-term goals) or goals you want to accomplish over a year or many years (long-term goals).

    The end of the year is the time when all businesses set up a plan for the next year and fill the gap that is not covered in the past year. In this article, we will talk about some new year’s resolutions that every entrepreneur should make for the success of their business. So let us get started.

    Time Management
    Expand Your Business
    Secure Your Business
    Lead Through Crisis
    Work-Life Balance
    Learn Something New
    Join New Networking Group
    Give Back to the community

    Time Management

    Time mangement and schedule
    Image: Moina Abdul

    Time management means prioritizing things for one’s life and activities. By doing so, you can reduce your stress. The main goal of time management is to be productive. When you are aware of what you need to do, you can better manage your workload. Forgotten items, details, and instructions always make us do extra work.

    We often talk about time management in our daily life. But do we really know what it really means? When you manage your time, It means you are prioritizing your tasks. So that you can create more time for other things in your life.

    Being on time and working produces great opportunities. By being on time, you are able to start meetings and projects, and your workday is properly managed. Discipline helps you to manage both your time and tasks. It helps you to separate emotions from your tasks. When you are away from your emotions and worries. That is when you perform well.

    Initially, start with small goals that are part of a bigger goal. Most bosses and companies make blunders by giving unrealistic targets to their employees, but that always backfires and reduces the productivity of the employees.

    Expand Your Business

    Growth and expansion are key goals for almost all entrepreneurs. Growing your customer base is important for business success. Most businesses target their sales and marketing efforts to specific customer markets based on demographics like age, gender, location, interests, activities, and values. The idea is to market and sell existing products and services.

    Social media is a powerful tool to promote your business to potential customers and gain valuable insight. Analyze new opportunities in business. One of the best and most effective ways to grow a business quickly is to build an email list. Many entrepreneurs find initial success in copying a competitor’s business model. But it is not a healthy practice in the long term. It is about making your presence everywhere possible. However, quality should not and must not be compromised over quantity. So select online platforms carefully apart from your website.

    It is said that in the 21st century, one skill that requires the most and will be relevant is the ability to inspire others. Personal value is like a magnet that attracts all good things into our lives—the greater our value, the greater our reward. Since the solution to having more is becoming more, we must be in constant search for new ways to increase our value. When you work for yourself, you inspire others by your action and not by words.

    Work on your Health

    Surge in search for Gym
    Search volume of “Gym near me” spikes near January every year

    Entrepreneurship is always considered a demanding job. Being a businessperson is a hectic job on earth, but so is our health. When we consider the word ‘health’, we think we have to join a gym or go 10 or 20 miles running or lose weight.

    However, health means balancing one’s life physically, emotionally, and mentally. In terms of physical fitness, we can follow the WHO recommendation of 10,000 steps daily for adults and for mental and emotional beings, and we can do yoga, meditation, or deep breathing according to our schedule.

    Secure Your Business

    Protecting your business against losses means securing your employees, customers, building, equipment, and revenue-related assets. According to CBS, over 80% of businesses have reported that their systems have been hacked. Security cameras and other technologies can also help protect your company from harassment or performance issues.

    The first and most obvious security investment to make for your business is to install surveillance cameras. Modern business is almost impossible without a network where data is kept and shared among employees. If you have employees, keeping accurate records can greatly improve your payroll accuracy and reduce the risk of overpayment.

    A recent Gartner study found that 90% of companies that suffer major data loss close within two years and that 80% of business owners have no plan to protect their data.

    Lead Through Crisis

    “During a crisis, your goal is to reduce loss and keep things operating as normal as possible.”- Gene Klann

    The Coronavirus pandemic is a reminder of how rapidly things can change for businesses. When you are in a crisis, most people are terrified and unfamiliar with the situation. Effective leaders can remain calm and maintain a sense of perspective.

    Organizational leaders faced the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated disruptions in the global economy. Sustainability is going to be a major challenge for a large number of businesses.

    To overcome this crisis, it is always advised to think about the long-term rather than the short-term. However, you need to plan and work for small-term goals, which will be part of your end vision.

    Important steps to lead through a crisis:

    • Connect as a human.
    • Stay on top of the information.
    • Act Responsibly.
    • Choose people over profit.
    • Leaders can prepare their organization to deal with the crisis by acknowledging it.
    • Do not try to control and manage everything. Let things take their own turn.
    • Make yourself available to your employees and people. It is the most important thing to do in a crisis.
    • Addressing your feelings and needs is as important as taking care of others.
    • Decisions like to act or avoid may come at a greater personal cost. Remember the saying by Simon Sinek, “Leaders eat last.”
    • Flexibility in thinking is crucial while dealing with any crisis.

    Work-Life Balance

    There is a difference between work and life, which, for entrepreneurs, is rarely true. Deciding when you are available can be much easier than deciding when you are not available. It is hard to inspire and enroll others when you are not healthy. Be “you” in every situation. You should have less stress, more peace, and more harmony in your whole life.

    By doing meditation, anxiety, focus, and productivity will be improved. During your working hours, make yourself readily available by phone to your customers. After working hours, communication via phone should only be allowed in an emergency.

    Making time for yourself and your family makes for a better personal life, and it also gives you the time you need to reenergize so that you are at your fullest potential when you are working. The most important thing is to learn and grow from mistakes so that you can change what needs to be changed to help you, and your relationships.

    Learn Something New

    Learning new things has its own set of advantages which brings success and helps you become a better version of yourself. Whenever you make up your mind to take up something new, you get to know different people which helps you get a better idea of life. You can always grow, increase your knowledge base, and improve your skills to better yourself. Developing a new skill will influence the way you do things daily today and it will make doing things quicker and easier, saving time, energy, and stress.

    Reading books can be a boon for entrepreneurs. Reading not only supplements us with knowledge and information, but it also increases our focus and analytical skills. On the other hand, a bunch of books on entrepreneurship or critical problem-solving will put you much ahead of your competitors.

    Best 15 Books Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg
    In 2015, Mark Zuckerberg created a book club where he recommended and discussed a few books with the club. Check out the best books recommended by Mark Zuckerberg here.
    StartupTalkySarika Anand

    Top benefits of learning a new skill:

    • Your brain chemistry changes.
    • Your learning speed enhances.
    • You make great coordination between skill areas.
    • You become a more interesting person.
    • Learning new things makes things interesting for you.
    • When you learn something new, your mind’s horizon and your perception change.

    Join New Networking Group

    Whether you are interested in strengthening your network or furthering your, career professional networking organizations can be a great option for you. Professional organizations can enhance your personal and professional development and provide endless networking opportunities. Being part of a networking group gives you a great chance to discuss ideas with your friends and associates.

    Network groups are a useful source of strong referrals that can boost your business. Professional organizations sometimes offer courses, seminars, and lectures to keep themselves and their members up to date on the latest industry innovations, research, and trends.

    Top 10 Entrperunr groups every entrepuenr must hceckout
    Facebook is a place where you can learn every thing. If youre an entrperunr here are top netrinil groups you sould join.
    StartupTalkyKinnary Nensee

    Give Back to the community

    As Pablo Picasso said, the true meaning of life is finding your gift and the purpose of life is to give back to the community where we come from. Whatever we earn, not only in terms of money but in every realm of our lives. We should try to distribute to others; that is the way the universe works.

    Conclusion

    New year resolutions are just a way to give an ultimatum to yourself to fulfill all your short-term and long-term goals. The concept of a New year, a brand-new beginning is taken here and business owners often use this to push themselves to make their businesses bigger and better. The above resolutions are important for every business so that they can enjoy the taste of success.

    A visitor once visited Nobel Prize winner physicist Niels Bohr and, having noticed a horseshoe hanging above the entrance, asked skeptically if the professor believed horseshoes brought in good luck for him. “No,” Bohr replied with a smile; “However, I am told by the sender that it brings luck even to those who do not believe in it.”

    The above-quoted line “that it brings luck even to those who do not believe in it” is the perfect fit for new year’s resolutions as well. They work for those people as well even if they do not believe in it.

    FAQs

    What are New Year’s Resolutions?

    New year’s resolutions are good practices and new changes one wants to implement in the new year and continue throughout the year.

    What are some resolutions entrepreneurs make every year?

    Some of the resolutions that entrepreneurs make are:

    • Time Management
    • Expand Your Business
    • Secure Your Business
    • Lead Through Crisis
    • Work-Life Balance
    • Learn Something New
    • Join New Networking Group

  • Nutritional Startups Experimenting With Innovative Growth Strategies

    The article is contributed By Pranay Jain, Founder & CEO, BodyFirst

    Food and nutrition were formerly exclusively of interest to fitness and health-conscious individuals. For many years, the idea of fitness was limited to enhancing one’s appearance through gym memberships. In the last two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has gradually redefined the concept of healthy living and emphasized the need for immunity boosters and supplements. What, when and how individuals eat are becoming the main themes of discourse in contemporary culture. The post-pandemic period is now experiencing an increase in the number of persons benefiting from different health and nutrition products, which corresponds with the increase in the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.

    The numbers from before the pandemic illustrate this pattern. The Indian gyms, health and fitness industry expanded by 11% between 2016 and 2020, with over 71,000 new fitness and health apps being reported by analytics firm App Annie during the same period. Consequently, fitness app downloads have increased by 156%, which translates to 58 million new active users in 2020. Even before the Covid disruption, the nutritional and fitness startup space had interpreted this opportunity to serve the rising number of health and fitness enthusiasts as a result of this shift.

    Influence of the Pandemic on Placing a Premium on Health and Nutrition

    The pandemic underlined the need for proper diet and physical activity. By emphasizing health and nutrition, the necessity to battle chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, stress, and anxiety has become a priority. A fresh emphasis on adopting a healthy diet has finally resulted in enhanced productivity, discipline, and an active lifestyle. By adopting a healthier lifestyle, one’s prospects of overcoming unforeseen illnesses are greatly improved. This idea has contributed to the expansion of health and fitness apps while boosting the consumption of nutritional and health supplements.

    Wearables Add Flexibility to Accomplishing Fitness Goals

    In the last five years, fitness wearables have been at the forefront of an industry-wide transformation, empowering their users to maintain their physical health and mental agility. These devices are no longer only data measurement accessories but are integrating data and usage metrics with other smart exercising devices, fitness and diet training apps, and mindfulness activity trackers. Startups are leading the way in bridging the gap between reality and fitness goals by digitally aiding their customers, regardless of their actual location, to meet the required activity or exercise goals. Virtual fitness experiences contribute to the novel aspects of the technology that are rapidly establishing a quantitative and qualitative benchmark for actual transformation. These creative solutions have already created the groundwork for accomplishing fitness objectives, using a mechanism and method that are both adaptable and achievable.

    Partnerships With Fitness Centres and Corporate Wellness Initiatives

    Fitness and wellness firms have traditionally leveraged corporate partnerships as a growth strategy. However, the post-pandemic emphasis on fitness and nutrition has expanded corporate interest. This integration assists companies with benefits, health insurance programs, and employee fitness initiatives to manage workplace stress and enhance employee wellbeing. These holistic wellness initiatives provide workers with seamless integration and usher in long-term health advantages for the organisation. In addition to organizing random and tailored fitness events for intercompany participation, fitness brands also promote the adoption of fitness and weight management programs by hosting random and customized fitness initiatives.

    Enhanced Ingredient Awareness Influencing Consumer Preferences

    Ingredients are foundational to health and nutrition products and these are witnessing a surge in popularity among fitness enthusiasts. The emphasis on product orientation and specialization is one of the most important marketing techniques used by fitness brands. Most fitness brands provide health and nutrition items that are loaded with multivitamins, vital minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and other supplements. Multivitamins, essential minerals, Omega 3 supplements, and probiotics are, thus, some of the most prominent fitness and nutritional ingredients.

    Increased product awareness among the consumers has shifted the spotlight to brands that emphasize innovative ingredients in their products. This strategy is reflected in the approach in which customers choose brands that are transparent about the relevance of product ingredients in achieving their fitness and wellness goals. Nutrition experts and fitness coaches are more likely to promote brands, whose products are based on scientifically validated and properly researched ingredients. Products capable of bridging the protein deficiency gap by restoring the adequate nutritional balance in the diet will ultimately gain more acceptance and adoption among fitness enthusiasts.

    Healthcare Business Ideas in India | Medical Business Ideas
    The Healthcare industry is growing rapidly and so are the healthcare businesses. Here’s the list of the best healthcare & medical business Ideas.
    StartupTalkyArbaz Sayed

    Brands Focusing On Garnering High Product Reviews With Satisfied Consumers

    Products that are high on reviews are expected to gain prominence as they are referred by satisfied consumers with word of mouth strategy being a strong driver across sectors. Fitness startups are introducing a diverse product line that is superior to market offerings and strives to promote health and educate customers to enable wise and healthy decisions. Multivitamins, essential minerals, Omega 3 supplements, and probiotics are among the most popular fitness and nutritional products. These innovative products utilise ‘enzyme technology’ which helps break down protein efficiently and enables the body to maximize the absorption of amino acids. This breakdown of whey protein into its smallest components avoids any digestive discomfort and caters to consumers who advertise the product among their circle of influence. Catering to consumer’s convenience, these products are also becoming travel friendly and are being made available in compact and ‘mini’ travel sachets to help consumers maintain nutritional requirements while travelling.

    Vieroots Success Story | EPLIMO | All You Need To Know
    Vieroots provide personalized lifestyle modifications post genetic test. EPLIMO is the unique product of Vieroots. Know about Vieroots founders, story, business model
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Conclusion

    Today’s constantly changing consumer preferences have been addressed by emerging technological advancements that will continue to influence the fitness industry’s growth trajectory. In conclusion, these rising opportunities to address customer needs will help startups redefine their approach with innovative growth strategies.

  • Smart Strategies for Growing Your Business

    The article is contributed by Gauri Bhatia – Founder and Director, The Unveiled Sagas.

    Everyone dreams of igniting inspiration through their career trajectory. I too, for that matter often boasted about having only ‘twenty-five rupees in my pocket’ when I started The Unveiled Sagas. My business partner was in a financial fix, and I being the (kind-of) only child in my family had lied to my parents to start my own business. Somewhere along the line, I feel we added all this masala to make our life seem only a little bit more dramatic.

    Eight years since, the dawning realization that life didn’t have to be that difficult has pushed me to take the simple(st) path, and I am here to tell you that no, the entrepreneurial journey is not filled with toil and heartbreak. It is simply a profession, just as easy as you make it.

    First and foremost – don’t do it because you hate working for someone else.

    Contrary to popular belief, you are not ‘boss-less’ or working on your own terms. You don’t make the rules, and you don’t have a ready team ready to drop everything for you. From working for one manager or one corporate, I have diversified my attention to working to meet my company’s revenue requirements, 110 clients’ needs, moral and political preferences, my team’s obdurate party needs and my friends’ social obligations. Not to mention, working for a start-up means that my parents can get me to run errands more often.

    Despite all of this, I cannot deny the eager anticipation that overflows when we close a big client, or when the client closes a big client because of our efforts.

    How do you optimize your journey then to ensure as smooth a ride as possible.

    Don’t be afraid to hire- or to build an office

    Optimizing cost convinced us to save on seats, and on people. For the first three years, we operated on on-call employees and garage-offices to ensure that in the time of adversity (case and point, the pandemic), our company should have clear and free-flow liquid funds.

    This was one of the worst decisions we’d ever made.

    I have nothing against freelancers and smaller offices, but operating with a team that barely saw your face deliberately questioned the strength of our company. There was a huge, visible difference between the first ‘manager material’ freelancer we hired, and the first ‘manager’ manager we brought on board. The first, was apprehensive about the opportunity- the second, aggressive and passionate about leading our team of barely three.

    Similarly, working from the garage or the extra room at home lead to an extinguished productivity, and burnouts that frequented us more often. Rather, purchasing even a flexi-seating arrangement at a co-working space boosted inter-employee morale and trust to a level that was immovable.

    Hire Young Blood

    An adamant advocate of freshers, I myself was an aggressive intern when I was in college, delving into 3 jobs besides my inter-college sports and academic career.

    Apart from that, a fresher is often moldable and flexible to learn. Experienced professionals often have a set mindset that launches them into a certain systemized career trajectory that can be inflexible. Ask a 20-year-old writer, however, to build a website and the only answer you’ll get is “I don’t know how to do it yet, but give me an hour and a Youtube connection”.

    Also, they love power, money, and authority. Their priorities are set right, and if not them, there is no hope to set the world right.

    It’s Time to Rethink your Recruiting Strategies to Hire a Quality Talent Pool
    Hiring a candidate is quite a task but a pool of qualified candidates is nearly impossible. So, Here are a few strategies to hire the best talent pool.
    StartupTalkyArbaz Sayed

    Diversify your corporate portfolio- and don’t be afraid of seeking ‘cool’

    Not only through your start-up and its internal clientele, but also through external portfolios. My business partner and I have had successful (and many failed) start-ups in travel, blockchain, manufacturing, skincare, marketing and AI.

    We’re blessed to have a diversified clientele that keeps us on our toes, enabling us to seek whatever seems ‘cool’- real-life experience begins where research ends, and there’s a different kind of flair in challenging your knowledge.

    Sampling through the clientele

    Our first ‘other’ start-up was through a client who wanted to diversify into manufacturing. We’d written a plethora of books and articles on the topic, but to live It first-hand was a different ballgame altogether. Convincing the client of our genius didn’t take much time- in a couple of months, we had attained a fund for marketing and hiring, and used our weekends to set up his factory and his ecommerce infrastructure.

    More often than not, founders love to stay within their comfort zones because of their mental block- “I can’t go international because I don’t have the funds”, “I cant expand my verticals because I don’t have the manpower”, or even “I cant get into manufacturing because I’m into marketing” (okay, the last one is me). Inhibiting experiences because of these small, mortal limitations is anticlimactic considering the profession that you’ve chosen. Entrepreneurs do what they want to, and then find a way to enable the journey.

    7 Best Growth Hacking Techniques for Startups In 2021
    Are you planning to improve your customer base? Well, we bring a list of the 7 best growth hacking strategies for startups to boost conversions.
    StartupTalkyNiku Mandal

    Drop bad payers

    Mental health is above everything.

    Although I advocate the hustle culture, I firmly believe that incessantly torturing yourself is not the way to attain financial stability.

    Constructive criticism and hard to please clients often believe in your potential, and make you push yourself until you give them what they want. Compare them to people who suddenly turn into bad payers and over-critiquing audience as soon as the invoice hits their inbox, and you have a recipe for a migraine on your hands.

    I don’t often mind bargains, but after ten years in the industry and an optimized rate that I consider cheap, if I find someone who tries to cut corners, I prefer to drop them. Look for people who seek results, and not a deal, even if you are in an industry that essentially functions on discounts and quantity.

    Conclusion

    To end my argument, never forget that a start-up is the gateway to the limits of human potential, and containing childish whims like travelling the world, becoming a billionaire or even enabling world peace and hunger is nowhere near impossible. Be kind, seek innovation and test your limits.

  • Retrenchment Strategy: What Is It? | Types of Strategy | Companies That Employed It

    Businesses run on the three basics, Men, Money, and Machinery. If you are in a situation, facing loss. You will want to keep your head above the water. Devise a good strategy. Take some steps to look for what it is that has got your head into deep waters.

    What is it that has made you stand in this position of loss?

    You can analyze a lot of factors and make certain important decisions now.

    • What is it that you can let go of?
    • Is this important to you right now?
    • Can this help you improve?
    • Cutting this off will help you get out of this position?
    • Is it effective?

    How does an organization cut down costs and increase their revenue?

    Cutting down costs on activities that do not profit businesses means also cutting down the number of men in that sector. For example, if there is no longer a need for you as an organization to focus on the clerical department. You will have to eliminate the people working there, which will efficiently reduce the cost. It includes shrinking of a business or a part of it to enhance the overall performance.

    The decisions you make have to be realistic and achievable. So, Lets look at What is retrenchment strategy and the companies that employed the retrenchment strategy.

    Retrenchment Strategy – What is it, When is it employed and Why is it employed?
    Types of Retrenchment Strategy
    Pros and Cons of Retrenchment Startegy
    Companies That Employed the Retrenchment Strategy

    Retrenchment Business Strategy

    Retrenchment Strategy – What is it, When is it employed and Why is it employed?

    As it is a matter of finance, capital and investments are basic that let your organization keep going. Revising the basics: money, machinery, and men.

    So, What is a retrenchment strategy?

    The strategy includes the desertion of products and services that are no longer needed by the business.

    When is the retrenchment strategy employed?

    It is implemented when a company is facing financial issues. It is a corporate strategy, which is done by reducing an organization’s expenditure.

    Why is the retrenchment strategy employed?

    • To shift focus on activities from where revenue is generated and hence increase profits or simply because the operation, project, the service, product or the product line going on in the organization may not align with the core of the business.
    • To eliminate unnecessary costs that incur.
    • To ensure financial stability in the organization.

    Who employs the retrenchment strategy, and where is it used?

    The organizations use it on a linear or a collective basis. It is used in

    • Corporations
    • Startups
    • Companies
    • Businesses

    List of Companies going Bankrupts during COVID-19 Pandemic
    Unable to cope with loss due to COVID-19, some major companies have filed bankruptcy. They include big players like Virgin Australia, Gold’s Gym and Whiting Petroleum.
    StartupTalkyVarad Kitey

    Types of Retrenchment Strategy

    Retrenchment Strategy Types
    Retrenchment Strategy Types

    This is also applicable to line extensions, operations, and projects that are being carried out in your business. First, let’s take a look at the three main types of retrenchment strategies:

    1. Turnaround strategy

    It is also called management measurement. The turnaround strategy is used when a business wants to improve its performance and decrease negative trends.

    This strategy is used when the business might be facing:

    • A decline in the market shares.
    • Decrease in profits.
    • The issue of spending more money as an organization during a specified period.
    • Worsening debt-equity ratio.
    • Negative cash flow.
    • Decline in sales.

    2. Divestiture Strategy

    The divestiture strategy is adapted for when the turnaround strategy fails to yield results for a business. The divestment strategy analysis mainly the profit and profile factor. In an organization, the departments, products, services, or divisions are analyzed. Keeping in mind one question: Does this profit us? If not, then the company will let go of it.

    This strategy is used when the company might be facing problems like:

    • Not being able to keep up with the competition in the market.
    • Facing negative cash flows.
    • The business started or acquired does not match the core values of the company.
    • When a tech upgrade is needed and the company is unable to do so.
    • It is struggling to survive.
    • The company might be running a business that is not profitable to the company.

    3. Liquidation Strategy

    This is the arrival of a business at its last stage. When no other options are available, the company sells all of its assets. As ugly as it might be, it involves total shutdown of a firm and will attract negative reactions as it also leads to consequences majorly including unemployment, of the people who worked there. Which also creates a bad reputation for the company.

    To understand this more clearly, let’s take the Tata group as an example. It is a highly diversified entity with a range of businesses under its umbrella. A lot of which did not align with the identity of their core business.

    The businesses that Tata ran for a specified time were soaps, detergents, pharmaceutical companies, and cosmetics. All of which were identified as non-core by the Tata group.

    • TOMCO (Tata Oil Mills Company) was divested and sold to Hindustan Lever Limited. The company was sold to Hindustan Lever, as it was non-competitive and would have required substantial investment for them to sustain it.
    • Tata’s Merind were divested to Wockhardt.

    Adapting a retrenchment strategy might also be a company’s response to a significant reduction in demand for the product, product line, or the service it provides. Which would also include dropping off from the market.

    Learn How to Avoid Bankruptcy | How to Manage your Budget
    Struggling to manage your budget during your early days of startup? Check out this post to avoid bankruptcy.
    StartupTalkyParnas Ghosh

    Pros and Cons of Retrenchment Strategy

    Here are the Pros and Cons of Retrenchment Strategy:

    Pros

    • It can layer, simplify, and flatten the organization’s structure.
    • Prove, cost-efficient, and improve performance.

    Cons

    • It will create a negative image and reputation of a company.
    • Criticism and backlash from society.

    Companies That Employed the Retrenchment Strategy

    A list of 10 organizations that have adopted the retrenchment strategy for various reasons, overall enhancement and to run the organizations in their companies efficiently are:

    1. Tata Group
    2. Infosys Ltd.
    3. Wipro Ltd.
    4. Tech Mahindra Ltd.
    5. HCL Technologies Ltd.
    6. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.
    7. Capgemini
    8. Air India
    9. Dell
    10. Ford

    FAQs

    What is a retrenchment Strategy?

    A retrenchment strategy is a business strategy that includes the desertion of products and services that are no longer needed by the business.

    What is a retrenchment turnaround strategy?

    A retrenchment strategy is when an organization feels that the decision made earlier is wrong and needs to be undone.

    What are the three retrenchment strategies?

    The three types of retrenchment strategies are:

    • Turnaround strategy
    • Divestiture strategy
    • Liquidation strategy

    What are retrenchment strategy examples?

    Some of the examples of a Retrenchment Strategy are:

    • Selling Assets
    • Abandoning Markets
    • Decreasing Production
    • Downsizing
    • Outsourcing

  • How IKEA Manages to Keep Its Prices Low? | IKEA Low-Cost Strategy

    Thinking about renovating your home? Isn’t IKEA the first name that pops up in your head when you think about shopping for furniture?

    In recent times, IKEA has become the go-to option for young and old alike to shop for good quality, durable and affordable home décor pieces. ‘Affordable’ is the keyword here.

    Have you ever thought, how has IKEA been able to lower the costs of its products The brand has made a niche for itself in selling high-end beds, sofas, dining sets and wardrobes at half the price of its competitors, but how does it manage the same?. Well, here’s your answer.

    There are quite a few methods that IKEA follows to keep its prices low while maintaining the quality of its products. Let’s take a look at these methods.

    A Reverse Design Process
    IKEA’s Flat Packaging Innovation
    Bulk Production
    Unique Construction Technique
    IKEA’s Self Help Stores
    Take it home Policy
    A Pioneer In Do it Yourself

    A Reverse Design Process

    IKEA first decides on the price range for a particular product before starting to design the same. Where almost all competitor brands go by the book and follow the conventional process of choosing a design theme, making a storyboard, procuring the materials, putting together the design and then pricing the item according to the cost incurred, IKEA does the exact opposite.

    IKEA’s Flat Packaging Innovation

    IKEA’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, introduced a new selling system in the year 1956, which he termed ‘flat-packaging‘. This flat-packing selling technique has now become IKEA’s identity. So, what exactly is flat-packaging? It is a selling system where IKEA sells parts of furniture instead of selling the whole product together.

    This allows the products to be packed in flat pieces, facilitating easier transport to stores. It also gives customers the option of choosing customized pieces for their use according to their convenience. Thus, IKEA manages to maintain the low price of its products.  

    IKEA Flat Packaging
    IKEA Flat Packaging

    Bulk Production

    IKEA produces all their furniture in bulk. This is something that they have agreed to time and again. Be it dining tables, chairs, sofas, wardrobes, beds, showcase or anything else, they produce a good number of all designs. Therefore, they are offered discounts on the bulk purchase of raw material as well as making costs. This is how the bulk production method allows IKEA to maintain a low price strategy.

    Unique Construction Technique

    If you ever have the time to go through IKEA’s website, you will come to a part that describes their construction methods. They are always innovating new techniques and methods to maintain their low selling price while making sure that their customers have no complaints about the quality of the products.

    On the website, it is explained how IKEA uses the technique of constructing their furniture by layering sheets of wood over a honeycomb base structure. Since the honeycomb core requires less wood, it costs less money for production. Thus, IKEA is able to maintain a low cost of products without compromising on quality.

    IKEA’s Self Help Stores

    IKEA believes in promoting independent shopping. What is independent shopping? It is nothing but allowing customers to shop on their own. Thus, IKEA does not hire a lot of store staff. This helps them to cut costs towards wages and provide customers with lesser priced products.

    IKEA Store
    IKEA Store

    In order to allow customers to shop independently, they also print all the product details, cautions, installation processes, etc. on the price tags. Hence, customers can easily read the guidelines on the price tag and choose the furniture they want to buy without any external help.

    Take it home Policy

    IKEA has a policy where the customers can carry their buys home by themselves on the same day. Although, it is a tad bit inconvenient this policy does come with its own set of contributions towards the low price strategy.

    IKEA Take it Home Today Policy
    IKEA Take it Home Today Policy

    Since customers can carry their own products, they do not need to pay the delivery charges to IKEA or pay higher product prices that may be used to facilitate free delivery. This reduces a lot of overhead costs on the making charges.

    A Pioneer In Do it Yourself

    If you have ever shopped at IKEA, you know pretty well that you must be adept at assembling and installing the furniture yourself. The company promotes a DIY environment, where it allows customers to install their own furniture. The DIY model of IKEA stands for Do it yourself.

    IKEA Do It Yourself
    IKEA Do It Yourself

    They provide guidebooks and assembly charts to support customers in installing their own furniture. Thus, the company does not need to pay any extra charges to internal or external teams for installation, thereby, maintaining their low price.

    In the recent past IKEA has understood that the DIY method can become a hassle for some customers, so, they acquired TaskRabbit, an external furniture installation support company. Therefore, customers have the option of hiring executives at TaskRabbit for assembling their furniture at lower costs.

    IKEA TaskRabbit
    IKEA TaskRabbit

    Conclusion

    With so many unique features and methods, IKEA has become a front-running strategist in keeping its product pricing low and maintaining its position in the market. The innovation applied in every aspect of the business makes sure that IKEA keeps giving a tough challenge to their competitors in the market, holding the top position when it comes to being one of the best furniture-selling businesses in the world. Now you know where to go the next time you want to furnish your home.

    FAQ

    Why is IKEA so cheap?

    IKEA employs flat packaging, DIY model, and self-help stores which help the brand to keep its prices low and competitive while not compromising on the quality.

    What does the DIY model of IKEA stand for?

    The DIY model of IKEA stands for Do It Yourself, where it ships the product in flat packaging and the customer has to assemble the furniture by themselves which is one of the major reasons how it manages to keep costs low for consumers.

    Is IKEA cheap in India?

    IKEA to boost affordability in India has priced Out of the 7,500 products that it sells about 1,000 are priced less than Rs 200 and 500 cost under Rs 100.

    Does IKEA sell online in India?

    Yes, IKEA does sell online in India.

    What does the word IKEA stand for?

    IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

  • All About Defensive Marketing (With Examples)

    There are four main types of marketing techniques that are being commonly applied these days – offensive marketing, defensive marketing, guerilla marketing, and flanking marketing. Among these, defensive marketing is known to be the most revered one due to the low risks attached to it. Read on to know everything about defensive marketing and some well-known examples too!

    What is Defensive Marketing?
    Top 3 Types of Defensive Marketing
    Pros and Cons of Defensive Marketing
    FAQ

    What is Defensive Marketing?

    As the name suggests, defensive marketing incorporates a protective approach towards the consumers, irrespective of the skyrocketing competition. Once this mode is put into practice, much of the experimentation processes come to a halt. It is essential to understand that the company’s actual “defense” is regarding its position in the market, not the products sold.

    Cannibalization- Why Brands Cannibalize Their Existing Products (With Examples)
    You might have noticed that brands launch a product that succeeds their existing product but, Why do brands cannibalize their products? Let’s find out.
    StartupTalkyAbinaya Arangarajan

    Top 3 Types of Defensive Marketing

    The following three types are the best way to provide a deep insight into the core aspects of defensive marketing. Whichever form is applied, the test remains the same – the status of the company should not be degraded due to fluctuations in the market. This categorization is solely based on the means applied. They can be applied individually as well, based on the needs.

    Position Defense

    The existing position of the respective company in the market is to be maintained at any cost. One of the most important strategies applied is the deepening of all old bonds catering to customer satisfaction. This one is more prone to be the victim of offensive players.

    Mostly, a single best-selling product is set as the focus. Accordingly, other parameters are modified to suit the economic conditions while building the brand name continuously.

    Example of Position Defense

    The automobile giant Mercedes prefers to stick to the same routine, irrespective of similar attempts being made by Toyota.

    On the other hand, Apple does not focus on increasing the RAM of iOS devices by copying other brands. This helps the tech-savvy people rely on the quality.

    Ultimately, the standards remain high and the position does not plummet at all.

    Mobile Defense

    A lot of changes are made in the direction of “not losing the current position”. The steps taken are mostly for backing up the company so that the diversity in products helps in compensating at all levels. The changes include broadening the target market, enhancing promotional mechanisms, adding more products to the catalog, and altering market segments each time.

    Example of Mobile Defense

    The widely known Indian Tobacco Company (popularly abbreviated as ITC) forms the best example for this category of developmental defense marketing. ITC has spread its scope to food ventures (the daily essential Aashirvaad wheat), and other significant commodities. Agribusiness is also a new inclusion, leading to even more profits with the increase in demand.

    Counter-Offensive Defense

    It is not just an exclusive type of marketing, but also another way of promoting defensive strategies. The simplest way to defend the position is to nullify the various downgrading attempts made by attacking companies. Mainly, the attack is dodged in such a way that it turns beneficial for the recipient company. Prices are reduced and products are improved.

    Example of Counter-Offensive Defense

    Almost all beauty brands have incorporated organic products in order to suppress the increasing popularity of purely organic brands. This increases the range and helps them grow at the same time. If the organic companies begin including synthesized products to tackle this attack, this would be regarded as a counter-offensive move in the direction of probable profits.

    How Apple avoided Billions of Dollars of Taxes? | Apple Tax Avoidance Strategy
    Apple being the biggest tech company earns billions of dollars in revenue but it doesn’t pay billions in tax. How? Let’s understand how it avoided taxes.
    StartupTalkyDamini Bhandary

    Pros and Cons of Defensive Marketing

    Pros of Defensive Marketing

    • The quality is top-notch due to reduced modifications.
    • Customer satisfaction is ensured at all levels.
    • The scope of devaluation is increased.

    Cons of Defensive Marketing

    Conclusion

    Now the doubt is – how is it a breakthrough? In such uncertain times, taking calculated risks has become the new norm. In other words, defensive marketing is an apt real-life depiction of how an investor or strategist looks before leaping. It is widely believed that this type of marketing is widely being used to balance the economy and maintain the flow of incoming ideas.

    FAQ

    What is the difference between defensive marketing and offensive marketing?

    In defensive marketing, the organization focuses on its own betterment while offensive marketing techniques are driven by downgrading principles.

    The trends can be easily identified through a budget decline, use of media in promotions, propagation of defensive newsletters, and much more. These trends help in further streamlining the strategies so that the past mistakes do not overpower the sudden change in marketing technique.

    What are the top strategies useful in the implementation of defensive marketing?

    There are five Ps that make defensive marketing successful – pricing, partial distribution, product improvement, prudent advertisement, and the powerful awakening of the market. They help in managing even the most obsolete brands and making them shine in no time.

  • 7 Best Growth Hacking Techniques for Startups in 2021

    Many business owners around the world have discovered that the key to success is not just on the merits of the idea or quality of their product but also on their ability to attract customers. If you can’t attract your customers, there

    With new startups being launched every day people are spinning around to try growth hacking strategies where the companies analyze and evaluate their customer base and then tirelessly pursue growth with that knowledge.

    Growth Hacking is an innovative and unorthodox way of getting massive results by eliminating old conventional methods. The ultimate goal of growth hacking techniques is to promote your product without putting additional input of your time and money. But before we start exploring the best growth hacking techniques for your startups, we need to first understand what growth hacking is.

    A great explanation of Growth Hacking for beginners

    What is Growth Hacking?
    7 Best Growth Hacking Techniques For Startups

    Conclusion
    FAQs

    What is Growth Hacking?

    Growth Hacking
    Growth Hacking

    Growth hacking is simply a marketing strategy that is based on market research and experiment. It is used to find out the most cost-effective ways to grow your business.

    In the process of growth hacking, you have to include different types of metrics such as data, design, development, engineering, analytics, and statistics. The reason why it is called Growth hacking is that this is the best marketing strategy a growth hacker can use to find the most groundbreaking, creative, and fast way to grow a startup.

    There are best growth hacking strategies used by Startup growth hackers. Some of them include blogging, guest posts, reverse engineering, A/B Testing, SEO, email marketing, video marketing, viral marketing, and other kinds of content marketing techniques.

    The term “Growth Hacking” was officially used by Sean Ellis, the founder of GrowthHackers, in 2010.

    Growth Hackers Website
    Growth Hackers, one of the best software for growth and marketing processes

    He defined a growth hacker as

    “A person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is scrutinized by its potential impact on scalable growth”.

    Most of the time, Growth hackers are a crossbreed of marketers or coders or a person who has a deep knowledge of technology. They are the people who look at the conventional query of “How do I get customers for my product?”. They answer with viral factors, landing pages, open graphs, and email deliverability. A growth hacker should have problem-solving skills.

    Now you understood what growth hacking is. So let us see some of the ways how you can use it effectively to attract customers. Here we bring you a curated list of the 7 best growth hacking techniques for startups.

    7 Best Growth Hacking Techniques to boost your Startup

    Listed below are some Growth hacks which, if applied perfectly, can bring you a lot of customers.

    Have A Clearly Defined Goal

    As a Startup Growth hacker, you need to define your goal first. You have to identify the purpose of implementing business techniques for growth. You will also have to research your target market so that you will be able to know if you are doing everything right or not.

    Have a clear unique goal so that it can be further broken down into small achievable micro-goals. For example, goals like, how many customers do you need per week? Or how many leads do you need in a week?

    Defining your goal clearly will make it achievable as well as help you to get closer to success.

    9 Battle-Tested Hacks to Market your New Startup Organically
    Tushar Jain shares his marketing [https://startuptalky.com/tag/marketing/] strategy during the first 3 months of his starting OnPage Champ, which is an SEO[https://startuptalky.com/tag/seo/] tool totally focused towards on-page SEO. If you have a product startup like on Page Champ, the easiest th…
    StartupTalkyAshwini

    Incorporating sharing into its functionality

    One of the essential business techniques for Growth Hacking is to develop your small startup by incorporating sharing into its functionality. Sharing, here means that your content can be directly linked to social media platforms, granting your users to do the work of marketing for you.

    When people support something via social media, they are recommending it to their friends, increasing the chances that someone new will discover and check out your page or product.

    One company that implements this growth hacking strategy very successfully is Pinterest. This is an era of online marketing and you can use this as an advantage for your business. If your content is too good and has the power to go viral then you can easily build trust with your audience. This will also increase your social media engagement in long term.

    Affiliate Marketing Program

    If you want to get traffic to your website with a low budget, you can develop an affiliate section and invite people to register there. Once they register, they will be able to promote their affiliate link with their audience and make some money.

    This is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow a business. All you have to do is share a small part of your profit after you have a lead. Many big brands are using this strategy to grow their business like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.

    In this process, you don’t have to worry about the traffic or audience because the affiliate marketer will promote your site to their audience. There are so many tools available that will help you to track the sale of each affiliate marketer and automate the distribution of commission. Some of the best Affiliate Management tools you can use are:

    • Everflow.io
    • AffTrack
    • Post Affiliate Pro
    • ImpactRadius
    • Refersion
    • LeadDyno

    Career Options in affiliate marketing in India
    Affiliate Marketing is the next big thing in the Indian market. With the maximumamount of scope in India it can make you earn big bucks by not investing much.With the world moving forward people now want something better and new with eachpassing day. Affiliate marketing in India is a revolutioniz…
    StartupTalkyYash Raj Srivastava

    Incorporating Features into the Product to Encourage Sharing

    Incorporating CTAs into the product or content will serve as a physical reminder for existing customers to spread the word about your product, and this will naturally attract potential customers.

    If your company makes a certain product, one great way to aid in spreading its popularity is to incorporate a mechanism into the product to encourage them to share it or to create a companion product that encourages distribution.

    You can also offer rewards to your existing customers who share your content or refer your product with their friends. This way you can double the sale in lesser time. This method of marketing is called referral marketing and it is one of the most rapid methods of growth hacking that helps you to grow your business in a very short period of time.

    The Freemium Model

    One of the foremost ways to convert a potential customer into a paying customer is to offer free services or products and then market your main product through the free product.

    The free and paid products you offer should go well together with each other so that when people sign up or receive your free product or service, they also want to pay for the priced product or service.

    For example, Grammarly lets people use its app or extension for free but it keeps reminding the user that they can pay for their premium service to get an extra feature.

    Grammarly
    Grammarly

    This business model is called a Freemium model in which a company has both, a free and a premium product for the user. You can also offer a product at a lower cost to your target audience and then market your main product with the help of the first product.

    You now know that person is using your product, so he/she may get interested in your main product too. This is a method that is used by many Digital Marketers.

    The best thing about it is that it helps to get a large amount of traffic to your product or service. Once the sale is done, you can up-sell a high-ticket product. It is the best practice to take feedback from your users and make it the best product available in the market. it will help you to build trust among your audience.

    Piggybacking

    One of the innovative ways to grow your customer base quickly and easily is to piggyback on a company that already has tons of users. Piggyback marketing is to deal with a non-competing brand and advertise both the brands with the same piece of content or using other brand’s audiences to generate leads.

    Piggyback marketing
    Piggyback marketing

    If you are a new startup and you don’t have any target audience or customer base, you can piggyback on a company that is related to your business but is not your competitor. Piggyback is a marketing strategy used by some of the popular brands to get the adherence of the audience.

    One of the best examples of Piggybacking is PayPal. After piggybacking on eBay, PayPal got the attention of the users.

    Partner with the existing company

    If you are not in the favour of getting a piggyback ride with the other company then an easy way out is to make partners with an existing company advertise your brand.

    Partnering with a company will give you free marketing to the group of customers that they attract. In exchange, you will have to market their product or service to your audience.

    There can be some financial bonus involved in partnering with a company. These schemes will ensure that your company grows and reaches the perfect category of audience.

    Conclusion

    These were some of the Growth hacking techniques which companies use frequently to boost their sales. A startup can easily apply the same to market and grow their business.

    Growth hacking is a long-term process. So, even if you don’t see any solid results in the first few days, be patient, because if you have done it right, they will surely show some results.

    FAQs

    What is a growth strategy?

    A growth strategy is a plan of action that allows you to achieve a higher level of market share than you currently have and expanding your current user base.

    What does a growth marketer do?

    A growth marketer runs constant, iterative tests throughout the funnel, and uses the results to craft data-driven strategy updates that lift key performance metrics of the company.

    What are the four major growth strategies?

    There are four basic growth strategies you can employ to expand your business are:

    • Market penetration
    • Product development
    • Market expansion
    • Diversification

    What are the best growth hacking techniques for startups in 2021?

    The best growth hacking techniques for startups in 2021 are:

    • Have a clearly defined goal
    • Incorporating sharing into its functionality
    • Affiliate marketing program
    • Incorporating features into the product to encourage sharing
    • The Freemium Model
    • Piggybacking
    • Partner with the existing company

    What are growth hacking tools?

    Best growth hacking tools are:

    • Expandi.io
    • GrowthBar
    • Landbot.io
    • Zapier
    • CrystalKnows
    • Airtable

  • 8 Reasons Why You Need a Business Coach

    Businesses are guided by business coaches, who help owners clarify their vision and determine how it aligns with personal goals. As a result of business coaching, the business owner can take their business from where it is now to where they want it to be in the future.

    Coaching and mentoring are often confused because both roles rely on the years of experience of their respective practitioners. Most importantly, a mentor focuses on advice, while a coach assists the business owner in setting goals and holding them accountable so that they achieve their objectives.

    After introducing business coaching, 96 percent of organizations reported individual performance improvements, according to a study by management consultants Korn Ferry International More than 92 percent of respondents said their leadership and management abilities had improved.

    Owner Accountability is created by Business coaches
    Business Coaches help you identify your blind spots
    Plans that can be put into action are created by Business coaches
    Business coaches guide you to the Right path
    Business Coaches help you obtain venture capital funding for your business
    Business Cocahes help you scale your business
    Business Coaches help you fill in the knowledge gaps
    Business Coaches assist you in overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals
    FAQ

    Owner Accountability is created by Business Coaches

    Holding yourself accountable is a key component of business coaching. However, a consultant and a business coach are not the same things. A business coach is different from a consultant in that they are not paid for their services. However, they won’t do any of the work for you in your company.

    They are there to keep you focused on the end goal and to remind you of why it is important to achieve it. To keep your commitments, they will encourage you. If needed, they’ll act as a sounding board for ideas and point out your business and personal blind spots.

    Business Coaches help you identify your blind spots

    Good business coaches can help you identify your blind spots and help you overcome them. It’s easy for entrepreneurs to get bogged down in the minutiae of their business and lose sight of the big picture.

    A business coach makes several insightful observations about the brand and operations that you might have never considered before. For finding a business coach, it is recommended to use your network.

    Plans that can be put into action are created by Business Coaches

    Active business owners want to know what their motivations are for setting and achieving business growth goals. A company’s owners are ultimately responsible for the speed and passion with which a goal is achieved (if ever).

    No burning reason exists for achieving a business goal if it is not tied to the business owner’s dreams, goals, and plans for himself or herself.

    An owner’s vision of where they want to take their business is clarified, and coaching helps them plan and prioritize goals and strategies that will help them get closer to their desired outcome.

    Coaches assist owners in determining their goals and creating a road map to reach them, according to the company. Owners can benefit from their perspective on the business by identifying which items are merely tasks and which are long-term objectives.

    8 Steps of Effective Planning for Every Business
    To make your plan effective, we have listed 8 steps planning process for you to make a successful plan. Read this article to know more about planning premises.
    StartupTalkyYash Gupta

    Business coaches guide you to the Right path

    If you’re not sure where you’re going in business, a business coach can be your compass. The results you get from even small changes in your direction over time can be dramatic. When running a business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day.

    To ensure that you are on the right track, a business coach acts as an objective third party who regularly checks in.

    Business Coaches help you obtain Venture Capital funding for your Business

    To convince investors of the value of your business, a business coach can help you develop communication and negotiation strategies.

    When it comes to this type of financing, a business coach can help you identify your company’s growth potential and develop your skills. You can also talk to a business coach about alternative sources of funding, such as grants or crowdfunds.

    Business Coaches help you scale your Business

    As an example, a business coach could help you choose the right business structure, write a business plan, or start a home-based enterprise.

    You may become overwhelmed as your business grows. While you may be aware that there are many systems that you’d like to streamline or improve, you’re not sure where to begin the process.

    As a result of their unbiased viewpoint, a business coach can help you devise procedures to increase productivity and reduce stress.

    Business Coaches help you fill in the knowledge gaps

    The fact that you don’t know what you don’t know is often the biggest roadblock to success. No amount of Googling will help solve a problem that you aren’t sure how to express or anticipate. Many of my successes can be directly attributed to what you’ve learned from business coaches over the years.

    Investing in oneself should be always your priority. Business coaches are excellent accountability partners who can help you learn, grow, and evolve as a person.

    How To Do Performance Reviews Effectively 2021 | Tips and Examples
    This article talks about Performance Review Tips, Do’s & Don’ts. Good, Satisfactory, Poor, Combination Review with examples of Reviews.
    StartupTalkyAvantika Bhardwaj

    Business Coaches assist you in overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals

    Self-investment is one of the best investments that you can ever make. Having a business coach is an invaluable asset if you are struggling in your career, want to increase sales, or want to improve your business relationships.

    When you have a coach or mentor, they can help you navigate through challenges and achieve your personal goals. Through a mentor who has achieved what I hope to in the future, and by avoiding his mistakes in his professional life, you can accelerate your growth.

    Conclusion

    Finding a business coach who is a good fit for you is the next step if you’ve decided to work with a business coach. Consider asking your network for referrals as a first step in the hiring process.

    Always keep in mind that every business is unique and that a business coach who worked wonders for one entrepreneur may not be the best fit for yours! If your network is unable to provide you with any referrals, begin your search online.

    Verify the business coach’s experience before hiring. Working with a business coach is ultimately up to you. In either case, you should rely on your judgment. After all, you are the one who best understands your business and its needs!

    FAQ

    What do you use a business coach for?

    Business Coach can help you make better decision and set better goals for your business.

    Is having a business coach worth it?

    Yes, if you find a good business coach they can help you drive your business to success.

    Who are the best business coaches?

    Barry Moltz, Tammy Adams, John Mattone, Steve Mitten and Marshall Goldsmith are some of the best business coaches.

  • Why GSV wants to acquire Forbes Media

    Forbes which is one of the biggest business magazines is said to be acquired soon. There have been exclusive talks between Forbes Magazine LLC and GSV Asset Management in acquiring the former company. Let’s look at the deal between Forbes Magazine LLC and GSV Asset Management.

    Forbes GSV Deal
    Forbes Media
    GSV Asset Management
    FAQ

    Forbes GSV Deal

    According to people with knowledge of the matter, Forbes Media LLB has entered into the deal which will lead to acquiring the company by GSV Asset Management which is led by Michael Moe. The deal will increase the valuation of Forbes Media by more than USD 600 million.

    Some people who requested anonymity in their names as the information was private said that the transaction between the company is not yet finalized but is expected to come to an agreement in the coming months.

    A spokesman of Forbes Mathew Hutchinson said in a statement that they have no comment but have seen the investors in showing consistent interest in the company that has produced 3 years of record results. A GSV Asset Management representative had declined to comment on a statement that said 2021 is shaping to be a strong year as well.

    The Story of Reid Garrett Hoffman-One of the Most Successful Investors
    Reid Garrett Hoffman is one of the most connected personalities in the startupsector. Well, it is safe to say that he is a multitasker as being anentrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, and Author, he has left his mark on variousfields. He is the co-founder of professional networking site LinkedIn. Lin…
    StartupTalkyYash Gupta

    Forbes Media

    Forbes is an American based business magazine. The company was founded in the year 1917 which is based in New Jersey, United States. The magazine features original articles on the topics such as industry, investing, finance, marketing, etc.

    The company also provides reports on related topics which include communications, technology, politics, law and science. The magazine was founded by Bertie Charles in the year 1917 and later the company prospered under his son Malcolm.

    Later the company was taken over by Malcolm’s son, Steve who was the Chief Executive Officer and the President of Forbes and also the editor in chief of the magazine in the year 1990. The company is also involved in operating events. The brand has a worldwide reach of around 140 million people.

    One of the main competitors of the company is Bloomberg LP’s Bloomberg News. The competition is for tracking the wealth of billionaires across the globe and in providing financial news.

    In the year 2014 Forbes Magazine was acquired by a Hong-Kong based company which is whale media Investments. The company owns the majority stake of 95 % in Forbes magazine and the Forbes family owns the minority stake of 5% in the company.

    How to use Medium for your Business |How to set up Medium for Business
    Medium is a blog hosting platform, which lets both amateur and professionalwriters and publications publish their work. Launched in August 2012 by EvanWilliams, Medium is an apt example of social Journalism, and a wonderfulplatform to read and write important stories because everyone has a story.…
    StartupTalkyNiku Mandal

    GSV Asset Management

    GSV Asset Management portrays itself as a merchant banker which advises and invests in a wide range of businesses. The founder of GSV Asset Management is Moe who was a veteran of Silicon Valley and later grew to become an equity research analyst.

    The company’s website indicated that the firm is a multi-product asset management firm that is devoted to finding and aligning the fastest growing and the most dynamic businesses across the globe. The term GSV stands for Global Silicon Valley.

    FAQ

    Who is the founder of Forbes?

    Bertie Charles founded Forbes in 1917.

    Who owns Forbes India?

    Reliance Industries owns Forbes India.

    Who was Forbes?

    The company was founded in 1917 by Bertie Charles Forbes and was taken over by Steve Forbes in 1990.

    Conclusion

    It is to be noted that Forbes Media isn’t the only media company for sale Even Tribune Publishing is said to in between a bidding war with Hotel Magnate Stewart Bainum and the hedge fund Alden Global.

  • 5 ways to Grow a SaaS company with No Funding

    SaaS, or “Software as a Service” simplifies the user experience by cutting down the need to install software, allowing access to the application via an internet browser instead.

    Started a SaaS-based business or have a brilliant SaaS idea to implement? Great! But worried about raising funding?

    It is all indeed a game of numbers,

    • getting more new customers than customers not renewing or cancelling.
    • Getting paid subscription sign-ups rather than trail sign ups

    What new ideas can you apply for boosting growth and customer retention without taxing your funds?

    Various low-cost ideas can be applied in most business models with ease. Here are some growth hacks to help your SaaS start-up.

    Give away a valuable incentive and start charging early
    Target Acquisition and Retargeting
    Create engrossing content, keep engaging and increase your reach
    Listen to your customers
    Make competitors your partners
    FAQ

    Give away a valuable incentive and start charging early

    You want people to use your services, think about giving away something useful. Offering free trials and giveaway gadgets have become very common. So what else can you do?

    When customers switch to your service, they import information. So, how about offering them some extra storage? Or a bonus for every referral, after all, who doesn’t like some money?

    Get your existing customers involved and do the precious marketing for you. Offer them something that is linked to your service and connects them directly with your business.

    On the other hand, don’t be hesitant to charge for your service. You may think expanding the customer base is important but earning revenue is just as necessary.

    Believe in your product and put it to the test. Most people don’t value things that are available free of cost. Also, this would help reduce your risk in the investment.

    Don’t invest a huge amount of money in launching the product, but start at a modest level and continue building up. Your customers demonstrate their faith in you by buying, while this also drives away freebie users.

    Ultimate List of SaaS Product Review Sites
    Product reviews can help you in a number of ways and even be crucial in yoursales process. The fact is, 90% of consumers read online reviews[https://startuptalky.com/indian-review-sites-new-upcoming-trend/] before even visiting abusiness. Similarly, 77% of B2B buyers conduct their own research be…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Target Acquisition and Retargeting

    When the product was designed, did you think of potential users? And was your campaign aimed at specific customers?

    In many instances, time, effort, and even funds spent do not yield results. And the issue is simple: the message did not reach the correct person.

    Everyone does not need everything. Precious resources can be used selectively. You need to focus on the right audience who requires your solution.

    How do you go about it?

    • First, give a thought about the user’s attributes: Age, gender, location; types of business; problems, budgets, and so on.
    • Now, what about businesses similar to yours? What are they doing? Look at their strategy and analyze, how can you be different and make an impact?
    • Meet up with potential customers, attend seminars, webinars, forums, and use them to understand the market better.
    • Use analytics tool for your website, you will get to know your visitor, areas of interest, and content effectiveness, it will be a good exercise to identify customers

    Finally, use retargeting techniques to bring previous visitors, churned or likely leaving customers back to the fold, and sign up for your service.

    Top CRM Softwares For SaaS
    SaaS is capturing the attention of entrepreneurs[https://startuptalky.com/must-know-startup-terms/] worldwide and becoming apreferred choice for businesses of all sizes. In the United States alone, around80% final users prefer using SaaS applications (in 2016, this figure was 52%).To increases t…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Revenue of software as a service (SaaS) companies in India
    Revenue of software as a service (SaaS) companies in India

    Create engrossing content, keep engaging and increase your reach

    Content is compelling and engaging and has the power to bring people back for more. Also, it is a fantastic way to stand apart in a crowd especially in a competitive space.

    But the quality of the information matters, so you have to believe in the idea. You must produce quality work regularly and most of all information should be freely accessible.

    Share your knowledge about the industry, introduce your solution, and present a valid case to your intended audience, this will garner their attention.

    This will work in building an email list, and once sufficient numbers are reached higher traffic and brand awareness will follow. This should be good for business growth and ultimately revenue.

    Listen to your customers

    You will have a lot of voices talking to you, but the most important ones are your customers. So, listen you must. What are the best ways to contact you?

    • Start with welcome call minutes within minutes of customer signing up. Get feedback on your marketing funnel, personalize your solution support. You will obtain real-time experience data and know if you are reaching the intended crowd.
    • Offer weekly contact points i.e. Q&A sessions, Webinars, pre-recorded pieces of training, etc. to demonstrate, explain, and help your customers embrace the product. Your SaaS solution has to be embedded in customers’ business fabric, so let them learn the benefits and improvements as it develops.
    • Pay special attention to subscribers, as they are serious about your product and care about it. They have paid to utilize the facility, thus should be given preference and special privileges like access to new features.

    Listening to your customer will make them feel valued and create a personal connection with your company. Another good way to increase and retain your customers.

    3 Easy Steps to Create Kickass Video Tutorials for SaaS with 10 best Examples
    It’s one of the toughest jobs to generate new leads for your software, product,or service. But how many of your leads and sign-ups are you successfullyconverting to customers? Hell, you’ve optimized your homepage, your landingpages. You’ve done your SEO homework. You’ve sweat blood and tears writ…
    StartupTalkyRishabh Rathi

    Make competitors your partners

    Ever heard the proverb “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”, well a direct example would be when your partner with your competitors. You and your new partner(s) can work and play together.

    You will have plenty of smaller competitors usually and few big players in the SaaS marketplace. Instead of quibbling over the pool of customers, it may be worth combining forces to take on big players.

    Another way would be to actually partner with the big players. Becoming a direct competitor would be a difficult task. So it may be a better idea to work with them, like offering a peripheral utility. This would increase traffic, your brand awareness, and revenue growth.

    FAQ

    What is B2B SaaS?

    B2B SaaS stands for business-to-business Software-as-a-Service. It encompasses cloud-based software used by businesses for various tasks, such as accounting, office productivity, customer relationship management (CRM).

    What are the top SaaS companies?

    HubSpot, Microsoft, Asana, and Shopify are some of the top SaaS companies.

    Why do SaaS companies fail?

    Most SaaS businesses fail because they are simply not solving any existing problem and a lack of market.

    Conclusion

    Setting up a business is a difficult task, continuous growth is even harder. All of this needs you to have belief in your product, a flexible approach, and lots of smart work. You can implement these to attract and retain the correct clientele; create your brand in the market, get useful feedback to effectively manage decision making, and fulfill your goal of a prosperous business.