Marketing Strategy & Business Growth

Growth is a center point of strategy for any Startup and small business. The growing businesses need a lot of deliberation to ascertain the right direction and way to move forward. It also involves building of sales processes and success parameters that is required to be followed diligently.

With technology and automation processes, business can save time and resources and improve the leading to further growth. The business growth strategy also involves looking and the competition and capitalize on the learning even form other industries. The growth business consultant engage with the startup founder and keep highlighting the relevant discussion which help startup to make less mistake and learn quickly.

Strategic Business Plan

Whether it is a small startup or an old running enterprise, it is always a big question to further invest in the current business or get into a newer avenues. A simple solution is have a strategic business plan spread over next 3 to 5 years. The plan not only helps in analysing the current business but also make an effort to predict futuristic business environment.

With technology led disruptions in almost every business, it becomes more crucial to keep a check on risk capital or thought for mitigation measures. The strategic business plan captures all of that. The process involves existing number crunching, study of business environment and competition, SWOT of current business and project a way forward.

Business Transformation

Old and mature businesses are fighting a battle with upcoming startups. The new breed of entrepreneurs are bringing in better products at a much lower costs. The newer technologies are supporting them with minimal employee cost.

While you understand that it is a high time to change but big challenges are awaiting those thoughts like old and loyal employees, capital constraints, falling profitability and most important, busy routine of daily tasks.

We help such businesses by analysing current situation, preparing go to model in terms of building organisation structure, redesigning processes, redefining proposition, evaluating technologies and subsequently implementation of the same. The challenges are many but solutions are inevitable for ‘change to happen’.

Pitch Deck

We help startups and business to showcase their business model to angel investors, Venture capital funds or other funding companies by preparing a well thought through pitch deck. Pitch deck is not a mere presentation but an overview of the business showcasing all the business possibilities and futuristic growth. The pitch deck encompasses the business scenarios and all possible questions expected from the investors.

The right pitch ensures faster funding leading to faster business growth. As a business consultant, we help startups to critically evaluate their business from an investor point of view and be prepared for difficult questions.

Business Management Consulting for Startups

Starting a business of your own could be an exciting feeling, but entrepreneurship has challenges of its own. Business founders may not have the expertise to manage each of their business functions effectively and stand among their competition, and even if they do they can’t do all on their own with countless functions to perform from accounting to marketing strategies to technical support. Therefore, getting expert advice from specialized professionals could help them to manage their business, save their time & efforts, reduce costs and significantly improve their chances of success.

With a significant rise in the number of start-ups in the Indian start-up ecosystem, there is an increasing demand for business/management consultancy at reasonable costs. Business consulting/management consulting is crucial for entrepreneurs with little experience in handling businesses or having adequate resources to move forward toward growth.

What is Business Management consulting for Startups

Business Management consulting is the practice of offering consultancy services to businesses especially those in their early stages of development by offering necessary insights to improve business processes or enhance business productivity or meet their organizational goals. Business/management consulting includes a wide array of business functions such as Growth, Business development, HR & recruitment, business compliances, marketing assistance, branding, financing & fundraising, etc.

Though it may seem beneficial for larger established businesses start-ups may require business consultancy more than any business as they run on tight budgets and minimal resources and need to turn themselves into a viable businesses to grow. Business/management consulting aids start-up businesses to ensure that they have an efficient business plan, manage problems effectually, use resources wisely and get feedback from an outsider’s perspective. It also helps start-ups to shape their business processes and eventually their business model & strategies to create value for start-ups.

Who are business management consultants? How do they work?

Business Consultants are professionals with expertise in one or more areas of any business and help out business founders & organizations to bring transformative changes and gain more efficient workflows. Typically, businesses prefer to hire either a business or management consultant to gain ultimate benefits whenever they need assistance whenever need pieces of advice on any perception of their chosen path, or need a catalyst for any change or improvement in their business.

Business consultants or Management Consultants, as professionals offer assistance to manage business processes temporarily. They could be engaged at any stage of business development and often offer their expertise to help young start-ups to pursue success & growth. Some of their general responsibilities include-

• Assistance with Budgeting– Normally business consultants help businesses to allot budgets for various functions, review finances, and improve their business practices.
• Team Recruitment– Since an expert professional team is crucial for every business, business consultants help with the recruitment of staff.
• Providing business training– Since business consultants are people with years of knowledge & experience, they offer & provide training to business leaders.
• Encourage innovation & growth– Business consultants are also responsible for promoting innovation and expanding their customer base of the business in the relevant market.
• Locating partners– Business consultants also help start-ups to find strategic partners such as vendors, suppliers, financial services, etc.
• Securing funding– Often business consultants often lend assistance to their clients to secure business funding which is necessary for them to run their business operations and achieve higher growth.
• Developing marketing strategies-Business consultants also use their expertise to develop better marketing strategies to compete among their rival businesses.

Whereas Management consultants are professionals with a keen focus on imparting a specific workplace culture throughout each business level. They work on the development of managerial skills and business leaders either on a one-to-one or team basis in different kinds of organizations. They may also help a start-up to identify and manage its risks effectively over a specific period. Their general responsibilities include-

• Providing leadership advice-The primary responsibility of a management consultant is to review management processes & offer suggestions for improvement including leadership & management advice either to individuals/groups.
• Defining obstacles & proposing solutions-Management consultants may also help start-ups to identify problems concerning recruitment, growth, productivity, and organizational culture & suggest improvements for the same either in the form of written reports or presentations to be delivered to business founders or the entire staff in the organization.
• Analyzing financial resources-Management consultants also help start-up businesses to analyze their financial status by reviewing their financial statements and auditing the reporting & funding operations of a business.
• Market research &collection of data– Since businesses need extensive data to find out the key business challenges and propose solutions accordingly. Further with such data they may monitor metrics & KPIs, review financial data, conduct market research, or collect business intelligence.

Why hiring a start-up Business Management consultant could be the best decision for your start-up?

Start-up founders who work on limited resources, or come with little knowledge or experience in entrepreneurship may immensely benefit from business consultants/management consultants when hired reasonably. Here are some of the reasons for start-ups to consider undertaking business consultancy-

Specialized and relevant industry expertise

Business consultants/Management consultants carry the requisite knowledge & experience which would be beyond the present expertise or the existing skill sets of the young entrepreneurs. As business consultants are regarded as experts in their specialized field they have sufficient knowledge & training about business tactics to move the business in the right direction. Start-ups may have a long list of tasks to be performed for developing and implementing growth opportunities within and between organizations, and only a professional start-up consultant can help you with that.

Offering unbiased perspective

Most of the time start-ups are unknown of the major changes taking place in the relevant market and keep leading their business with their existing team & knowledge. Therefore, they need to be updated and receive unbiased feedback on their business processes & internal structure from a trusted & credible source. Thus, business consultants/management consultants may help them to realize their mistakes or issues in their business or revenue model, execution of tasks, team organization, etc.

Management Advice

From the initial business idea to the long-term business visions of the start-up business, the expertise, and advice of start-up consultants can be applied to many different areas of your business, and they offer many different consulting services. First-time entrepreneurs coming from premier business schools come with little experience & managerial skills might find it challenging to handle everything on their own. Hence, business consultants apply their knowledge & experience to offer advice for various fields such as management, finance, strategy, marketing, and development, etc. to younger & relatively inexperienced CEO who are learning to steer their businesses among tough competition. Such clients are provided with insights & gain clarity while working with an experienced professional who has been through the process multiple times.

Assistance for strategic business planning

With analysis of business processes & market conditions, business/management consultants assist their clients to prepare business plans & strategies. Business leaders work with professional consultants to plan crucial functions for their businesses as they usually do not have any concrete roadmap to start their journey, which is one of the most common challenges while starting. Business consultants could help start-ups to frame a strategic business plan following its requirement either short-term or for longer term helping businesses to steer it in the right direction.

Market Research & Data Collection

Business/Management consultants make market research & analysis of the changing market trends & customer preferences advising businesses to make any suitable opportunities that come across. Through a comprehensive study of the concerned markets, key competitors with similar business models & their marketing strategies, business consultants may also help businesses to increase their visibility, gain reputation, and higher productivity.

Usually, start-ups undertake business consultancy during crises taking a deeper look at the reasons afflicting the business and helping the business to find out a way toward recovery.

Cost reduction and time-saving

Making the optimum use of resources should be a priority for businesses. Thus, management consultants/business consultants help start-ups to cut business costs, eliminate unnecessary expenses, save resources and save time while focusing on the business’ sustainable profitability. For instance, if the sales & marketing department is spending money generously on any advertisement campaign, a business consultant will identify such areas and will also suggest cost-effective alternatives for attracting, hiring, and acquiring new talent. Likewise, a business consultant may also suggest ways to lower business taxes and recommend ways to improve product development or allot budgets as per the availability of financial resources.

Exposure to extensive valuable resources

Normally, businesses need to spend large quantities of sums to access broader market insights in the early stages of development. However, start-up consultants are experienced professionals who have wide exposure to valuable resources which could be beneficial for start-ups in their development phase. Some such resources include white papers, in-depth market resources, market surveys, customer analysis tools, and benchmarking competencies tools.

 How to find the right business consultant for your business?

Now that we have understood the benefits of availing business/management consultancy for a business, it’s time to look for effective ways to find out an ideal business consultancy for your start-up. Generally, rather than larger consulting firms,  smaller boutique consulting firms prove to be more helpful for early-stage businesses as they have more time & lesser workload on their plates. Here are some other useful tips for you to follow while looking for a business/management consulting firm for your business-

Define your goals & challenges as a Startup

Each business may have its unique set of challenges and business goals and may require locating a business consultant accordingly. While a general business consultant could not be expected to have the same knowledge & expertise in every business domain area, however, a start-up going through a wide range of problems could only be benefitted from a business consultant who is well-equipped to point a business in the right direction than to just look for resolving just any particular issue or problem. Therefore, firstly the start-up should define its business goals & milestones they intend to achieve by availing consulting services and then look for the right business consultant as per its budget and business needs.

Leverage your business network

Similar to hiring employees for business, it is beneficial to start with reliable & credible sources. Not just for availing consulting services but also to introduce themselves to certain potential consultants within their network range. Thus, business owners could try to communicate with any of their fellow business colleagues or fellow business managers who may have witnessed similar problems in their past and if they know any business consultant with expertise in that area/domain. More than their references, you will be relieved to get their stamp of approval regarding their professional capabilities and the odds of a successful outcome from the project.

Leverage Social Media platforms

Since social media is the most powerful tool to connect, meet and communicate with people. It is highly recommendable to be used by entrepreneurs to connect with professional consultants for any specific business issues. For example, the LinkedIn platform contains various professionals in fields such as start-ups& entrepreneurship, business development, e-commerce, online marketing, venture capital, etc. Thus, businesses could start searching for consultants with the help of necessary keywords, connect with them and seek the desired advice.

Leverage Consulting Marketplaces

In the age of technology, most of the popular consulting firms have an online presence and have built their marketplaces, where start-ups can discover the best business/management consultants by topic, budget, and location. Further, LinkedIn also offers a solution known as Pro Finder, which could be helpful for start-ups to choose professional consulting firms/consultants as per their requirements.

Therefore, Business Consulting Management consulting could help businesses to acquire the right entrepreneurial skills and manage their organization to lead their business among the competition. It is advisable to do adequate homework on your part before choosing any business/management consulting firm to ensure that you are going with the right person to solve your problem.