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Startups: How to Stay Attractive Despite Slower Investments

By Héctor García - Netsoft
CEO & Co-Founder

STORY INLINE POST

By Héctor García | CEO & Co-Founder - Tue, 08/16/2022 - 12:00

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Mexico is the second-most important market for startups among countries in Latin America. In fact, PwC data indicates that venture capital investments in these types of companies multiplied by four between 2017 and 2019, years in which this sector experienced significant growth across the region.

Today, these companies have been severely affected by the inflationary context that is afflicting both Mexico and other reference markets, such as the US.

While  2021 was a record year in terms of private capital for entrepreneurs and startups in the region, global uncertainty generated a strong decline in investment and a negative economic impact on these national and international corporations, which are now more obliged than ever to generate savings in operating costs in order to remain profitable.

The challenge is huge and it certainly will not be easy. Startups must optimize their operations, in all areas, to see a real cost-benefit, as well as face the need to reduce the time they spend on their processes, increase productivity and increase sales. All urgently.

For this reason, at Netsoft, we believe that the use of cloud business management software (ERP) is more necessary than ever today, especially if the corporation is thinking about a real expansion that will lead it to establish operations in other latitudes.

The main reason to think about this type of tool is because it is a scalable technology that adapts to the evolution of any company, which is important given the growth potential of startups. To see this growth limited by the lack of updates in a system or the cost of buying new licenses would be a serious mistake.

We always recommend, first, using a cloud-based ERP since it allows companies, due to its level of adaptability, to expand into new markets, a relevant factor when looking to grow.

Unlike traditional solutions, ERP software in the cloud allows you to work with processes adapted to business needs. This prevents companies from purchasing solutions that do not really suit their needs, increasing the cost of implementation.

The possibility of managing all operations within the same dashboard provides a level of clarity and agility to the business that it would not find manually, which implies substantial time savings.

This also allows real-time verification of the status of operations, which directly impacts decision-making, generating more efficient planning based on credible data, and no more speculation.

In addition, another recommendation is to go to a cloud-based customer management CRM. This automated system helps companies give their consumers the value they deserve, through marketing campaigns, management of personalized service strategies and after-sales service, among other processes.

Through this system, companies can first compile and correlate data, obtained from various sources and generated purchase after purchase, to create profiles of their various types of consumers and, based on these, create campaigns and strategies based on their tastes, preferences and needs, which helps to attract more customers, increase engagement and boost sales.

Another benefit lies in managing post-sale processes. It is not just about selling once but generating a level of loyalty that makes the customer come back again and again to buy a product or acquire that service that the startup is offering.

The CRM allows real-time registration of all that data from buyers that will be used for the aforementioned purposes, which represents a greater possibility of having a positive impact and at the right time.

The technology allows, once the sale is closed, management of all the data generated in the process and to be attentive to the next steps that the user takes, such as the publication of a review on the company's social platforms, recommendations to other users, in addition to knowing the critical points that can be improved according to the information that the same user provides about their experience.

All of the above is done in a clear and simple way on the same platform that complements and integrates the ERP in the cloud, preventing the manual completion of the data from generating errors and confusion.

For this reason, it is no coincidence that almost 60 percent of startups consider that they have a latent need to integrate technology into their operations. In fact, there are studies that indicate that more than 80 percent of these companies consider automation as key to their future.

I believe that the business intelligence offered by a cloud business management software is vital to facilitate processes. Gathering all the data from an operation in one place allows you to create strategies focused on success, helping to maintain healthy finances derived from a higher level of customer satisfaction, sales, and loss reduction.

Photo by:   Héctor García

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