Scale Up Mistakes: Ignorance can lead to Growth Hampering
We hope the year 2017-2018 was remarkable for your business. And we are all geared up with the set goals for the year ahead. We too are set to launch some & to create some awesome Brand stories. And while creating the updated Annual Calendars and Brand Engagements for the year ahead – we could shell out some points for each brand owner.
PR – Events & NetworkingÂ
It is good to be seen & heard. But make sure that you know all about the Events & Partnerships you enter into. Basics to check would include:
For an Event – you need to check the target audience and whether it would appeal to the audience of that event.
For Partnerships – check the relevance to business idea, approach, values & image. Also if the partners are complimenting each other?
Also check your monthly calendars, existing commitments and then go with the currently trending network marketing – online or offline. It should not hinder your submissions.
What’s trending might twist your Brand story
You need to keep a check on the brand tactic primarily. A lot of our clients share what trending and how badly they would like to follow that trend in their own branding. But watch out – it must match your Brand Strategy & Annual Goals.
Remember, haste makes waste so avoid the Emailers – which are sharing the best for your business trends. Stick to your Brand Goals and the strategy laid towards them. For this it is important that your Annual Plan is crystal clear and you have your brand goals set. It is also significant because it helps us create the Internal Communication & employee targets as per the brand goals set for the brand communication agency.
Moving ahead without a Check on the Oldie GoldieÂ
Old is Gold but in digital space of businesses – things need to be edited, updated and sometimes need to be removed too. Keep a tap on your business & its norms – keep the customers & visitors updated.
Keep a check on the brand value system that you have created. It is all the more significant if you are a family run business and have travelled the media-communication journey with the clients.
Your communication need to evolve and the value needs to be taken forward in the right manner as a successor to previous brand imagery and communication.
First Strategize then HireÂ
For an entrepreneur scaling up business is one of the turning points. It is also one of the most confusing time when we are not able to take a call with the right balance. The business seems prosperous but also the commitments and business inflow needs to be assessed. This is certainly a tricky phase, Scaling-up is difficult and need to be planned precisely.
You can start with the following questions as the least:
- What tasks I can delegate now ?
- MOST important thing I should not be spending time on?
- New Resource…and the ROI?
- Is there any opportunity cost of hiring, a design, a video expert or a google analyst?
- Can the new hire help me scale up further?
Do Not Derail from your Message – that won’t work long term
I have seen this with my young team members, their thrust for business is such that they are ready to alter the brand image at time – to make it look appropriate to the business they are pitching for.
Honesty is the best policy in Branding. You will only come across as more APPROACHABLE.
Do not change your brand story, the more you talk with experience the more authenticated you come across as and your clients with LOVE you and sign you up for the message & honesty.
Stick to your Guns – Watch your Offerings
New days businesses have emerged out of two things – Passion & Profit. None of these is accidental. It is the passion about work that leads to success and positive vibe around it.
In case you intend to diversify, add up to the offerings and communicate it to the clients – you need to revisit your branding. And before you decide to do that, consider the following:
- Are you planning something for the new audience.
- Do you need to change the pay you are positioned & perceived?
- Do you need to Upgrade the Branding | Rebrand it or may be launch a new vertical?
- Is the Upgrade complementing our existing services or not?
- Are we equally passionate to pull it off?
Vision Board your Business
Scale-up should be better planned then your start-up. When we startup we are more confused and desperate for business. Contrary to that when we scale-up we know our strengths, we have seen where we excelled and where we have improvised. We have developed team synergies and we are better prepared.
Vision boarding the scale-up would help us with the following:
- The future brand orientation and its effect on the business.
- Are we self-sufficient in terms of team or need to take help from freelancers or HIRE?
- Does it also mean – higher running costs for business?
- Would we need to have a marketing budget for ourselves?
- What’s my scale-up plan for next 2 years and 5 years?
Maintain a Brand Customary
This is from personal experience. And though the learning happened back in college during the business management course – the lessons stay. As a startup you need to stretch yourself a little and it is GOOD. When you scale up – you need to draw a line.
You need to ascertain the Yes and No for your business. In the book ‘Book Yourself Solid’ Michael Port has stressed on the above through a very interesting exercise, where he asks you to note down – the effective and empowering projects and also which have been draining.
Whether it is external or internal stakeholders we need to assess & define – the work customs. Clear communication is the first thing you need to do for appropriate scale-up.
Make your client engagement documents better and create systems and procedures for the team and vendors to – UnComplicate it.
We are happy to be here and sail through your startup and re-branding journeys and that makes us all the more confident about our brand recommendations and its business affirmations.
If you are planning to Scale-up or magnify the existing set of services & offerings, we are here to tread along as your branding partners. Mail to: ask@30thfeb.com and we shall connect over a coffee to discuss the vision board.