What can startups learn from big brands?

2020 has been a year like no other for businesses in all sectors.

Everything from high street shops to the horticultural industry faces wipeout from the shutdown, and there remain huge questions about how to survive in the changing landscape.

The key to surviving an unexpected challenge always rests on some sound business practices. While many start-ups can prove spectacularly successful in the short-term, it’s only by changing and adapting to the economic environment that a new company can survive for a sustained period. Here are some of the critical things that established brands have done to survive over the long-term.

Investing In Technologies

While start-ups are renowned for their ability to take advantage of internet knowhow to keep their costs down, it’s only by continually investing in the latest technologies that they are going to be able to stay on top of their game. Whether it’s an engineering firm or a financial services brand, efficiency improves with technology, and it can streamline anything from in-house communication to the production of new products.

That is especially important in the retail trade where consumers can be fickle in how they choose to pay for the goods and services that they receive. PayPal can teach us many lessons and has grown to be one of the world’s leading payment providers due to the convenience offered. This payment brand has helped many larger brands thrive in the online marketplace.

The e-commerce industry has benefitted from the security that comes with utilising PayPal as a payment method, and ultimately users can enjoy the convenience and safety way of making payments via PayPal without giving exact bank details. And this industry is not the only one that has taken advantage of PayPal’s perks for both companies and users. Restaurants have also revolutionised thanks to the widely-used and easy PayPal method. Even UK PayPal betting sites have benefitted, allowing people safe and simple ways to fund their sports bets with a reliable depositing method.

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Concentrate On Employee Management

Many start-ups can be fairly chaotic organisations with a high turnover of staff. But it’s important to learn the lessons of big business if you want to stay in the game. After all, each company is only as good as its workforce.

Nurturing environment for your employees can be encouraged by undertaking many steps. From revenue sharing schemes to increase the quality of the workspace, such measures can be introduced in a way that stops your talent from being snapped up by rival brands.

Above all, it’s about listening to your employees that you’ll get them to stick with your start-up through thick and thin. Good communication is the backbone of any sustainable business. Anything from a quick daily meeting to some more relaxed communication methods can have substantial dividends over the long-term.

Understand Your Customers

All established companies will spend a huge amount of time and effort in trying to anticipate the demands of their customer base. If you take a look at any of the most customer-focused big companies, you’ll find that they all come up with innovative methods to meet their customers’ needs.

Getting a good understanding of who your customers are and what they want is an essential part of the business. After all, there’s no use in being a start-up who spends all of their time creating an amazing product if there’s no actual need for it.

Researching the needs of your customer base goes beyond the basic goods and services that you provide. Your promotional efforts will also benefit greatly from a solid understanding of demographic targeting to ensure that your messages reach a receptive audience.

All businesses have been given a huge amount of help in understanding their customer base through the advent of big data. Digital tools like Google Analytics can go a long way in helping your start-up understand the behaviours of your consumer base. While there is always the room for error in exceptional circumstances, such innovations can help your small firm take on the practices of the biggest brands around.