While some startups fail simply because they didn’t come up with something that people want, A large number vanished due to the wrong execution of their growth and marketing. Many founders struggle to sort out essentials that nurture a startup. What makes it even harder is the number of tactics and the failed attempts at standardization that direct us how we should be running our growth & marketing efforts. While standardization is a bit of advice which is supposed to inspire good quality of work, a lot of entrepreneurs take them as a ‘must- do’ and apply them regardless of their niche.

Embarking on a journey of growth can be both rewarding and challenging at the same time for the startup owners. At the start, one needs to make a lot of adjustments to products and services according to the market requirements. This helps consolidate the ground beneath various revenue streams.

With a global startup failure rate of around 50%, there is no golden rule to help set upon a road to success when building a new company. However, it does help to learn from success and failure stories. One company’s pitfall can be a turning point for another company.

Let us take you through some essentials that have helped startups get through to a sustainable growth stage.

Below are 13 essentials from research analysis about successful startups and companies that can be startups in the upcoming year 2020. This article highlights tips from founders and companies to successfully expand your start-up.

1. Invest In Ecommerce

According to research by BigCommerce and Square, the e-commerce industry is growing at a rate of 23% per year after year. The report also shows that 51% of Americans and 67% of Millennials prefer online shopping as compared to offline stores, and 36% of American shopping budgets are spent online. (Source: http://bit.ly/2Mu7fi6)

E-commerce software companies, customer service software companies, and others in the public are attracted to sectors that work well in the public market. There are currently hundreds of companies that have started to support software and business, which is where Amazon, BigCommerce and other businesses are looking for acquisitions.

2. Analysis of Profit margins

The other most important aspect of business growth is understanding the most profitable products for you. Not necessarily, the products you sell in the largest quantity or at the highest price. You should be able to identify the most profitable products that will provide valuable returns and a direction that you should follow in the future.

Yaantra is a 6-year-old Delhi startup by three founders – Jayantha Jha, Ankit Saraf and Anmol Gupta at the age of 20. Since its inception, the trio has successfully transformed mobile phone repair, restoration and resale assistance into a business worth Rs 200 crores.

This business started with the initial investment of Rs 5 lakh each, and became profitable in six months and has seen a 240 percent growth (CAGR) in the past six years, having raised more than $ 12 million. (Source: http://bit.ly/32aWF6k)

3. Funding Advice

It’s vital to take financial advice from experienced investors in your area. They will show you how they got started their organizations. Also, they will guide you to the appropriate credit companies to obtain commercial loans at the lowest interest rates. The google-backed hyperlocal delivery startup raised $45M for expansion in India?

Experienced investors can also provide you with the resources to start your business. Many successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists are willing to fund viable ideas that can make a profit.

(Source: https://tcrn.ch/2IFzFV2)

4. Integration Of artificial intelligence

The global AI market is expected to exceed $8 trillion by 2025. From predictive APIs and fraud detection to personal assistants and augmented reality, there is virtually no industry where AI cannot be applied. Getting artificial intelligence training at this time can give your startup a serious competitive edge in a few years.

For example, Allbebet, a blockchain-based betting platform, has proposed a set of AI algorithms that predict the outcome of sporting events. The neural network analyses previous games moves players and excludes them. Its accuracy exceeds 70%. Amnesty International will also learn from the results of previous bets placed on the platform. This will allow you to increase your forecast accuracy to 80%, an unprecedented level for the betting industry.

5. Leverage technology for startup growth

Startups must leverage technological solutions in the most economical way possible. These efforts can make help the companies to survive through the early stages of growth. The hierarchy relates to efficiency and sustainability, which will increasingly rely on certain biotechnologies. Modern business owners can choose from diverse cutting edge technologies.

ContractPodAi which is a London-based Contract Management is now ready to strengthen its Indian presence by injecting funds.

The company proclaimed its technological expansion in India. It raised $ 55 million in its B series of funding run by Insight Partners with the participation of the current investor, Eagle Proprietary Investments. (Source: http://bit.ly/2OyAX8d)

6. Know your market at home and abroad

If you are an expert on the subject or an expert in the market, then you will surely have a significant advantage over inexperienced companies. Knowing the market well enough can give direct & indirect advantages. The important thing is to be comprehensive and diverse.

7. Diversification Into Other Sectors

Ever heard of Zola’s inspiring story? It is a wedding portal worth over $650M ruling the travel market, as it has expanded into honeymoons. It has raised over $140 million majorly because of its potential to diversify.

The wedding planning site took an initiative to increase its presence step by step towards the journey. The company recently announced its honeymoon deal, which will allow couples to plan, book and raise money for their after-marriage trips while planning the main event. (Source: https://tcrn.ch/2B2twyc)

8. Customer service: Can make or break you

Whether you provide a service or sell a product, it will be advantageous for your company’s reputation to have interaction with third parties. This reputation is essential for creating new businesses and keeping existing customers happy and satisfied. Companies like Zappos have grown their worth into millions with the help of customer-centric strategies.

9. Focus on your niche

Content or niche is the curriculum specific to the area in which you will be doing the work as compared to others. Look for a specific niche where there is an opportunity to grow so that you can provide the best products or services. You don’t want to enter a saturated market, but you can find an unattended place. Once you discover what the flow of your content is, it is time to directly target where there is a minimum competition so that you can gain the advantage of the first player and market share and have an impact. Stand out from everyone and don’t clutter.

For example, the “Innerwear market in India is transforming. While the central idea of women’s innerwear was considered a conflicting topic initially, people have gathered together to break barriers and stopped being on a mute mode about it. According to a report by Franchise India, India’s lingerie market is currently at $3 billion and holds the largest market share in India with high margins in returns” (Source: http://bit.ly/2nvTvuy).

10. Focus on building your base

The base is where the growth of anything including startups begins. This means knowing what your target audience is, and determining the best plan to market them. The four parts of building your base are the content type, the content platform, static or commitment updates, and the time the rule was built.
It’s important to build your subscriber base through content marketing & have a niche-driven social media presence. Your audience is the main component of short and long term growth. Once you build your base to a certain level, you can diversify revenue streams.

11. Start converting and reaping it to your audience

After you own your product and service on an online platform and after building your base, it is important to increase qualified followers. Unique visitors to your chosen broker must sign up. This allows an increase in subscriber list so that marketing products directly to them becomes easy, as they increase conversion rates.

Email subscribers tend to be further valuable than social media followers, since you “own these contacts” and you can communicate with them at any given time, considering you have active consent for the same. Even though a message on your Facebook startup page could reach 5% of consumers in your domain, an email will be sent directly to the newsletter subscriber’s inbox.

Yet, the best way to increase your audience is to take advantage of your social networks and focus on SEO. But remember: even if you can attract a lot of web traffic, everything will be in vain if you can’t get visitors to choose your content.

12. Spacing yourself from your home platform

Once you’re able to grow your audience on your main social media channel or blogging platform, it’s time to expand on other channels and not to enjoy your glory. You can do this by expanding to various traffic/media channels that you expect to attract and sustain an audience base.

This means having adequate landing pages, and also spreading them to the major social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This not only helps you put your brand in front of more viewers but also gain more commanding loyalty and commitment from your current audience, as you’ll have various options through which they can communicate with you. You will become part of the conversation.

13. Start monetizing your audience

The closing step towards the launch and growth for startups is monetizing an audience. If you have grasped the steps above correctly, you should already have recognized your optimal point, find the tendency of your content, develop your base and subscribers, and be on varied platforms. Now is the time to reap rewards.

To do this, you must understand what works and what doesn’t. You previously have a good number of subscribers, so start analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, making modifications where necessary, and see where there are opportunities to start converting your audience into paid clients. Be ready to adapt and follow the path of interest dictated by audience analysis.

Razorpay, which is the best payment gateway for online payments has recently raised $75 million co-led by Sequoia India and Ribbit Capital and the company has raised over $105 million so far (Source: http://bit.ly/315okUP).