Author: indiafreenotes

1. Consider the surrounding community

When hunting for a business site, entrepreneurs should consider whether a given community is actively seeking new companies. Contact the local economic development agency to learn about possible incentives, which could include financial support for tenant improvements, municipal programs giving preference to area businesses or local tax and planning department waivers.

Economic development consultant Justin Erickson advised entrepreneurs to lock down incentives prior to signing a lease or making a commitment as “communities sometimes do not follow through with promised incentives once a company has signed a lease or bought a building.”

2. Beware of problem locations

Some locations are great. Others are miserable. Consider the revolving restaurant site, a spot that’s home to a new restaurant every six months: Each new owner believes that he or she has the secret sauce to make the site work only to call it quits after a short stretch. The fact is, not all locations are the same. Regardless of the product, service or business plan, some locations are simply bad for business.

“If you find yourself trying to decide between a better location at a higher rent versus a lesser location for a lower rent my advice is go for the better location,” said commercial lease consultant Dale Willerton. “When I’m consulting to tenants and doing site selection my job isn’t to find the cheapest location  it’s to select a site that will help the tenant maximize sales.”

3. Identify target customers

Entrepreneurs must carefully consider their target clients when developing a business plan. Then they should seek locations abundant with this type and ensure that these areas can provide employees with the needed skills.

“Estimate the market size and the customers’ purchasing power in the primary area,” Morato said. “Driving or walking time to the location should be studied. Also, examine the vehicular and traffic flow and take note of physical barriers and traffic limitations or detours.”

4. Pay a fair price

The ideal location will rarely be one with the lowest price tag. Entrepreneurs should be realistic and ready to pay for a good site. An ideal location will contribute toward the enterprise’s success. A poor one will result in rapid closure. Good locations are not cheap. A business plan should include a realistic projection of the costs involved.

“It may cost us more to do business here, and there are definitely some handicaps to doing business here, but there is a tremendous upside to being near your customers,” said Paul Beach, an executive who runs a company that makes lithium-ion batteries in California.

5. Know the competition

Very rarely will a business be the only game in town. Entrepreneurs must assess the competition and be certain there’s enough business to go around. If a given community is already saturated with similar businesses, consider a new location. Those determined to compete in a tight market must offer a product or service sufficiently game changing to draw enough business to make the operation viable.

“Identifying the competition in a market helps determine if your business idea is feasible,” according to the Iowa State University website. “A competitive assessment also directs how a product/service should be positioned.” This analysis will determine if the company can gain a competitive edge by offering something the existing competition doesn’t.

They say money makes the world go ’round, but the rapid advancements of technology aren’t far behind. Companies worldwide are relying on emerging technology more than ever to help drive innovation, strategy, growth and increase competitive advantage. Technology has become a crucial and indispensable part of almost every kind of business. Without the role of technology in business, many businesses simply could not survive. Just imagine a multinational organization or a small business enterprise trying to operate without the use of a telephone or computer — or even the Internet. Whatever form business technology takes — from video conferencing to the virtual sale of a new car or house or a more secure method for online banking and shopping — the role of technology in business continues to change the way we live and work.

Technology in business allows organizations to improve both the performance and overall effectiveness of products, systems and services, which, in turn, enables businesses to expand quickly and efficiently. Technology has a wide range of potential effects on management, as well as various ways it can impact the operations, productivity, profitability and sustainability of an organization. Modern technology offers numerous tools and applications — such as electronic email and live chat systems — that help managers effectively communicate with staff and oversee projects. Business technology not only improves communication in the workplace but also with clients. Companies use technology systems to improve the way they design and manage customer relationships. Technology such as electronic files speeds up the workflow process and can save space, paper and printing costs. Business technology enhances accounting procedures and recording of financial documents and improves inventory management. Technology in the workplace also improves the efficiency of recruiting, screening and hiring potential candidates. Another importance of the role of technology in business is to provide security to a business. Major advancements in electronic security systems and biometric alarm systems are helping keep businesses safe from hackers and thieves.

The Management of Information Systems

More corporations and small businesses than ever use technology to collect, store, analyze and manage information. Companies effectively use that stored data as part of their strategic planning process and to support their marketing efforts. Management information systems (MIS) enable companies to track sales data, expenses and productivity levels. The information gathered can provide reports on every function of a business, including manufacturing, human resource management, finance and accounting, consumer behaviors, market trends, demographics and competitor pricing. Data also can be used to identify areas of improvement within a business as well as opportunities for change and growth.

The management of information systems involves the planning, designing, organizing, coordinating, operating and control of technological products. Business managers need to have a thorough knowledge of technology tools as well as the field of technology management. If management of information systems is handled well, a business can reduce its costs of operations, create and implement new products, enter new markets, improve customer service, streamline administrative operations and create competitive advantage in the marketplace. The proper management of information systems will benefit both the organization and its customers, which will lead to the growth of that organization.

Technology Feasibility:

The assessment is based on an outline design of system requirements in terms of Input, Processes, Output, Fields, Programs and Procedures. This can be quantified in terms of volumes of data, trends, frequency of updating, etc. in order to estimate whether the new system will perform adequately or not. Technological feasibility is carried out to determine whether the company has the capability, in terms of software, hardware, personnel and expertise, to handle the completion of the project.

When writing a feasibility report the following should be taken into consideration:

1. A brief description of the business
2. The part of the business being examined
3. The human and economic factor
4. The possible solutions to the problems

At this level, the concern is whether the proposal is both technical­ly and legally feasible (assuming moderate cost).

Technical aspects relate to the production or generation of the project output in the form of goods and services from the projects inputs. Technical analysis represents study of the project to evaluate technical and engineering aspects when a project is being examined and formulated. It is a continuous process in the project appraisal system which determines the prerequisites for meaningful commissioning of the project.

Aspects of Technical Analysis

Technical analysis broadly involves a critical study of the following aspects, viz.,

1) Selection of Process/ Technology: For manufacturing a product, more than one process/technology may be available. For example, steel can be manufactured either by the Bessemer process or by the open-health process. Cement can be manufactured either by the wet process or by the dry process.

The choice of technology also depends upon the quantity of the product proposed to be manufactured. It the quantity to be produced is large, mass production techniques should be followed and the relevant technology is to be adopted. The quality of the product depends upon the use to which it is relevant technology is to be adopted. The quality of the product depends upon the use to which it is meant for. A product of pharmaceutical grade or laboratory grade should have high quality and hence sophisticated production technology is required to achieve the desired quality. Products of commercial grad do not need such high quality and the technology can been chosen accordingly.

A new technology that is protected by patent rights, etc., can be obtained either by licensing arrangement or the technology can be purchased outright. Appropriate technology: A technology appropriate for one country may not be the ideal one for another country. Even within a country, depending upon the location of the project and other features, two different technology may be ideal for two similar projects set up by two different firms at two different locations. The choice of a suitable technology for a project calls for identifying what is called the ‘appropriate technology’.

The term ‘appropriate technology’ refers that technology that is suitable for the local economic, social and cultural conditions.

2) Scale of operations: Scale of operations is signified by the size of the plant. The plant size mainly depends on the market for the output of the project. Economic size of the plant varies from project to project. Economic size of the plant for a given project can be arrived at by an analysis of capital and operating costs as a function of the plant size. Though the economic size of the plant for a given for a given project can be theoretically arrived at by above process, the final decision on the plant size is circumscribed by a number of factors, the main factor being the promoter’s ability to raise the funds required to implement the project. If the funds required implementing the project as its economic size is beyond the promoter’s capacity to arrange for and if the economic size is too big a size for the promoter to manage, the promoter is bound to limit the size of the project that will suit his finance and managerial capabilities. Whenever a project is proposed to be to be set up at a size blow its economic size, it must be analyzed carefully as to whether the project will survive at the proposed size (which is below the economic size). Performance of existing units operating at blow economic size will throw some light on this aspect.

3) Raw Material: A product can be manufactured using alternative raw materials and with alternative process. The process of manufacture may sometimes vary with the raw material chosen. If a product can be manufactured by using alternative raw materials, the raw material that is locally available may be chosen. Since the manufacturing process and the machinery/requirement to be used also to a larger extent depend upon the raw material, the type of raw material to be used should be chosen carefully after analyzing various factors like the cost of different raw materials available, the transportation cost involved, the continuous availability of raw material , etc. Since the process of manufacture and the machinery/ equipments required depend upon the raw material used, the investment on plant and machinery will also to some extent depend upon the raw material used, the investment on plant and machinery will also to some extent depend upon the raw material chosen. Hence the cost of capital investments required on plant and machinery should also be studied before arriving at a decision on the choice of raw material.

4) Technical Know-How: When technical know-how for the project is provided by expert consultants, it must be ascertained whether thee consultant has the requisite knowledge and experience and whether he has already executed similar projects successfully. Care should be exercised to avoid self-styled, inexperienced consultants. Necessary agreement should be executed between the project promoter and the know-how supplier incorporating all essential features of the know-how transfer. The agreement should be specific as to the part played by the know-how supplier (like taking out successful trial run, acceptable quality of final product, imparting necessary training to employees in the production process, taking out successful commercial production, performance guarantee for a specified number of years after the start of commercial production, etc). The agreement should also include penalty clauses for non-performance of any of the conditions stipulated in the agreement.

5) Collaboration Agreements: If the project promoters have entered into agreement with foreign collaborators, the terms and conditions of the agreement may be studied as explained above for know-how supply agreement. 
Apart from this, the following additional points the deserve consideration:
(i) The competence and reputation of the collaborators needs to be ascertained through possible sources including thee Indian embassies and the collaborator’s bankers.
(ii) The technology proposed to be imported should suit to the local conditions. A highly sophisticated technology, which does not suit local conditions, will be detrimental to the project.
(iii) The collaboration agreement should have necessary approval of the Government of India.
(iv) There should not be any restrictive clause in the agreement that import of equipment/machinery required for the project should be channelized through the collaborators.
(v) The design of the machinery should be made available to the project promoter to facilitate future procurement and/or fabrication for machinery in India at a later stage.
(vi) The agreement should provide a clause that any dispute arising out of interpretation of the agreement, failure to, comply with the clauses contained in the agreement, etc., shall be decided only by courts within India.
(vii) It must be ensured that the collaboration agreement does not infringe upon any patent rights.
(viii) It is better to have a buy–back arrangement with the technical collaborator. This is to ensure that the collaborator would be serious about the transfer of correct know-how and would ensure quality of the output.

6) Product Mix: Customers differ in their needs and preferences. Hence, variations in size and quality of products are necessary to satisfy the varying needs and preferences of customers, the production facilities should be planned with an element of flexibility. Such flexibility in the production facilities will help the organization to change the product mix as per customer requirements, which is very essential for the survival and growth of any organization.

For example, a plastic container manufacturing industry can be produced according to the market requirement. This will give the unit a competitive edge.

7) Selection and Procurement of Plant and machinery

Selection of machinery: The machinery and equipment required for a project depends upon the production technology proposed to be adopted and the size of the proposed. Capacity of each machinery is to be decided by making a rough estimate, as under; thumb rules should be avoided.

i) Take into consideration the output planned.
ii) Arrive at the machine hours required for each type of operation.
iii) Arrive at the machine capacity after giving necessary allowances for machinery maintenance/breakdown, rest time for workers, set up time for machines, time lost during change of shifts, etc.
iv) After having arrived at the capacity of the machinery as above, make a survey of the machinery available in the market with regard to capacity and choose that capacity which is either equal to or just above the capacity theoretically arrived at.

In case of process industries, the capacity of the machines used in various stages should be so selected that they are properly balanced.

Procurement of Machinery

Plant and machinery form the backbone of any industry. The quality of output depends upon the quality of machinery used in processing the raw materials (apart from the quality of raw material itself). Uninterrupted production is again ensured only by high quality machines that do not breakdown so often. Hence no compromise should be made on the quality of the machinery and the project promoter should be on the lookout for the best brand of machinery available in the market. The performance of the machinery functioning elsewhere may be studied to have a first hand information before deciding upon the machinery supplier.

First: Always look to personal assets or personal means

Now, I know that you don’t want to hear this but if you don’t have any other choice and you truly believe in your business then why not use your own assets or cash to get that business off the ground and making money?

You want a bank or lender to take a risk on you but you won’t take a risk on yourself  just does not seem fair.

Plus, I can guarantee you this: If you have your own assets at risk you will work harder and longer to make sure your business does succeed (which is the end goal anyways).

Second: Other bootstrapping means

There are many ways to bootstrap your business besides using your own personal funds or assets. You might look into:

Crowdfunding: while this might not provide a huge amount of money, it might provide enough to get started. Once started, other financing avenues will begin to open up.

Friends and family loans: your friends and family know you best and if you can’t sell your business concept and benefits to them then you will never be able to sell it to paying consumers. Even if your friends and family can’t or won’t invest in you, they may know of others who will you just have to ask.

Microcredit lenders: Backed by the SBA, these lenders provide more than just small amounts of capital usually up to $35,000 with the average loan being around $13,500 they also provide advice and guidance to help you better manage and grow your operation.

Third: Look to partners or investors

If your business concept is not in a huge market, has high and quick growth potential or has a lot of proprietary assets, then you will have to look locally. Get out and network in your community for other business owners or local investors.

You would be surprised at how many local or retired business owners just want to give back to their community and can provide more than just capital but can open up many other doors to you and your business. You just have to get out there and talk to everyone who will listen. And, don’t be afraid to ask. If you don’t ask, you will never get what you want!

While you might hear of others business owners landing some type of bank debt or professional investment to get their business started; also know that there had to be some outstanding circumstance or reason for it – like their uncle being the president of a national bank or as a favor to a well known family member or just simply that they have other sources of outside income that qualifies them for the loan.

The bottom line is that banks and other lenders just do not lend to start-up businesses.

In your early days, you really do have to go it alone. But, make it a challenge. Make it one of your goals to eventually qualify for that coveted business loan. This not only will help you financially manage your new business better (keeping items like cash flow, collateral, credit and debt ratios in mind) but, when you do get approved for your business loan, it will really let you know that your business has made it to that next level and on the right path to further success.

A true entrepreneur does not look at a failure to secure outside financing as a fatal obstacle to starting their new business but, in focusing on the long-term potential gains that business could provide, would easily utilizes these three steps and other self-funding means to get up and running as soon as possible.

As your business grows, more financing opportunities will open to both it and you, you just have to get started.

Hundreds of startups are launched every year. But only a few of them are able to make it to the second year. One of the top reasons behind startup failure is cash crunch or unwise financial management by new entrepreneurs. Money, like time, is a finite thing and must be allocated extremely judiciously. Startups are already lean on capital and hence entrepreneurs should be very cautious with regards to financial management. Are you a first-time entrepreneur entangled with the complexities of finance? Well, the post below offers the top tips for a sound financial management for your new venture.

Underline the different types of business costs

Your business plan must have a dedicated section for finance and accounting. The said section will clearly outline the different expense areas associated with running a business. The major expense areas for any business are legal costs, marketing costs, staffing costs, business insurance and ongoing production expenses. If you are planning for a brick & mortar establishment, you should also count in establishment & infrastructure costs. When you have a clear picture of all the expense areas of your business, you have a better idea on where to and how to exactly allocate your capital or funding.

Create an organized budget & adhere to it

This is undoubtedly one of the key money-management tips for first-time entrepreneurs.

After you have underlined the different expense areas for your business, the next step is to set budget for each. When you will set the budget, create 3 columns for each individual expense area- Primary, Urgent and Extra/Avoidable. This categorization will enable you to allocate your funds more strategically to ensure the key areas receive the most attention. It will also prevent you from draining your treasury unnecessarily for extra or avoidable expenses. The main idea of a budget is to create organization in your management.

Having a budget is not enough. You should also make sure to stick to it. Check your budget at the end of every month and find out discrepancies between the estimated amount and actual expenses. It will help you to understand whether you are going the right track or need to modify your expenses.

Educate yourself

Finance is a serious department in any business and you must keep yourself well-informed about every aspect of it. One of the best steps to smart financial management in business starts with the knowledge of major financial terms. You should gather sound idea on the crucial terms like budgeting, interest, soft inquiry, State tax, subsidized & unsubsidized loans and so on.

Go through articles and columns on finance allocation, expense areas and financial management in your business. Find out finance-related articles that are specifically written for your industry and market. You should also check out webinars and podcasts to enhance your knowledge further.

Learn how to save

Finance management is not only about sticking to your budget. You should also learn to save. It will help you to beat sudden emergencies and also leverage your opportunity to boost your resources further. Here are some great money saving tips for businesses:

• Go for a shared working space (if your business permits) to save on rent
• Try virtual networking & communications with both clients & employees to save space & costs
• Hire talented dynamic interns instead of an entire pool of highly experienced professionals
• Outsource some of the jobs to save on overhead and staffing costs
• Try open-source & cloud software programs to save on business software costs

Keep check on accounting department

One of the major reasons behind cash crunch in a business is unregulated invoices and late payments from clients. You must ensure a well-regulated and dynamic accounting department to prevent such issues. A smart accounting team lays the foundation of sound financial management for a business.

Improve your credit score

Make sure to check your credit score every month. Being a startup owner, you are certainly aspiring for sound funding from investors. Well, investors generally prefer businesses with high credit scores. Better scores affirm responsible and credible operations. So, if your credit score needs a boost, talk to a financial advisor on improving your score for wider funding opportunities.

Responsible and smart financial management is crucial when you are planning to make it big with your business.

To achieve the maximum level of profitability and success, an HR professional will align each employee’s work with the strategic goals of the firm and also ensure that the staff is well aware of the required actions and behaviors by setting clear-cut performance expectations in job descriptions. Take a look at some of the key HR objectives that apply to SMEs and startups:

1) Develop a Competency Model

The main objective of an HR department is to hire the right people for the right jobs keeping in mind their skills, expertise, and education. This objective is achieved by setting clear job descriptions, establishing job competency models for each department in the company and benchmarking roles against similar jobs in the industry.

In order to ensure smooth running of the business, HR professionals will take into account studies and data related to staffing, transactions, and costs and then create a competency model accordingly.

2) Define Organizational Dimensions

HR strategies are developed according to the aspects of the organization. It is also interesting to note that the prevailing culture of the company not only has a critical impact on the HR strategies devised but also represents the management style and values of the organization. Defining the organizational dimensions will give you an idea on how the organization is going to be more or less – will it be an organization that expects employees to ‘do more with less’ or will it be overstaffed in order to give way to innovation and experimentation?

Some other key factors that directly impact the HR strategies devised are the nature of business done by the organization, the chain of command and the structure of the organization itself. In order to effectively hire and retain staff to achieve strategic goals of the organization, human resources systems, policies, and practices are also taken into account.

3) Define Role of Mission, Vision, and Values

The mission, vision and values of the small business or startup play a crucial role in shaping the HR strategies and objectives for the future ahead. The mission of the organization will help you understand why the business exists and who it serves while the vision statement basically provides insights on what the organization hopes to achieve and where it sees itself in the future.

The values of the organization are beliefs that serve as a driving force behind the operations and actions of the organization. All three – the mission, vision and values of the organization directly impact the type and number of employees needed to meet the organizational goals.

4) Perform Workforce Analysis

A workforce analysis is considered a key part of the human resource strategy and focuses mainly on the organization, its culture, people, and the systems that have been implemented. Doing a workforce analysis is helpful in analyzing the current situation of the company in terms of the elements discussed above and where they ideally want to be in the years to come.

Identifying the gaps in these areas will enable the HR professionals to come up with specific objectives designed especially to bridge these gaps.

5) Evaluate Implemented Strategy

All HR strategies are guided by evaluation based on specific, measurable factors. A small business or startup will consider a wide variety of factors for developing, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness and performance of its HR strategy. Usually, doing an evaluation will give you accurate facts and figures on employee turnover, number of vacant positions, customer complaints, and employee grievances along with the satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels of both customers and employees.

HR Role in Management

Hiring employees: A human resource manager has to recruit employees for various departments. But not all candidates are competent for a vacant post. This is why the manager needs to create his/her own hiring process. If you are a hiring manager, you can easily automate and make your own hiring process with a recruitment software and you will be able to effortlessly source eligible candidates through posting jobs, screening the applicants, setting the interviewers and so on.

On-boarding of the hired: Not only does the HR manager recruit new employees but inducts them with the organizational culture and the ground rules. The preparation of a great onboarding and induction process may need a great amount of time but once it is applied, you will notice that the newly recruited staffs are getting on the same page with the older ones swiftly.

Communicating with the employees: The company directors can abruptly change a policy (for example, the ground rules, office time and other stuff). The human resource manager disseminates this information properly among the company workers through announcements and SMS notifications.

Optimizing compensation costs: The compensation experts in the HR department conducts extensive wage and salary surveys to develop a pragmatic compensation scheme. They ensure the company status remain intact compared to the industry standard or the employees working in similar companies when it comes to compensation costs or employee benefits.

Managing attendance: Attendance management is a key function for every human resource department. To this end, the HR manager has to deal with the recording of check ins and check outs, calculation of total worked hours, overtime and many more. Fortunately, an attendance management software can be deployed to minimize this pain point with ease.

Settling disputes among employees: There is barely an organization where no conflicts take place. In fact, conflicts can take place between the management and employees or even among the employees. However, the HR manager works as the middleman between the management and employees to solve any issue that arises within the company and thus maintains a sound relationship.

Providing work safety: There are three Department of Labor agencies in each country who are responsible for the safety and health-related issues of the workers. The HR personnel ensures the compliance of the government laws and regulations so as to provide a hygienic and congenial work ergonomics. This way, the human resource manager reduces the number of injuries, casualties, and fatalities of workers while they are maneuvering dangerous apparatuses, hazardous equipment and lethal chemicals in the workplace.

Managing company assets: It is a quite common scenario for some business enterprise that distributes laptops, cars, bikes, and other stuff to its employees for varied purposes. However, it is very important for the HR not only to allot these assets but also to take back those assets and record that information in the company database. This can easily be done by an asset management software.

Juggling with diversified methods: Every organization is unique. So, there is no “one size fits all” solution out there for every organization of the world. Thus, the HR has to juggle with multiple methods of managing his/her employees and finally has to determine which one works best for his/her organization. For example, some employees can be motivated by the ‘X’ theory while the others can easily be encouraged by the ‘Y’ theory.

Looking after the company database: It is none but the human resource manager who takes care of all sorts of important company data and information. He always has to maintain an updated database which includes job responsibilities, personal data, performance evaluation or assessment of the employees. However, employing a document management software can reduce the strain of maintaining an enormous amount of company papers. This type of software can help the HR manager share and get the desired papers instantly using the advanced search options when it is required.

Maintaining public relationships and company image: The human resource department actively organizes business meetings, seminars, symposium, giveaway ceremonies, and others in order to build a sound relationship with the target audience, government, and fellow companies within the industry. This act of engagement with the company stakeholders really upholds the company image.

Managing payroll and incentives: Frequent changes in federal and state taxes and employment law make it literally complicated and time-consuming for the HR to adjust those changes over and over again. If this payroll process can be automated by a payroll management software then this complication can effortlessly be solved with the minimalistic efforts.

A marketing plan for a new venture is not the same as a plan for an existing business as it begins with distinguishing
business planning through the vision, strategy, tactics and standards, as well as from a business plan including several sub-plans such as a financial plan, a marketing plan, and other plans when relevant: human resources, logistics, legal, and others.

Consequently, marketing planning of a new venture, often called strategic planning, is only a part of any new venture marketing plan.

When starting a small business and in any business start-up, entrepreneurs have to rely more on subjective assumptions and qualitative marketing research by interviewing potential customers, relevant business partners and other stakeholders.

The following information can be collected to some extent and analyzed effectively by using “realistic” assumptions all in order to lower the level of uncertainty when launching a new venture and perhaps increasing the self-confidence of the entrepreneur:

• Current macro environment: influential business trends as well as innovative trends.
• introduction of the prime market in questions and possibly a secondary market.
• Basic competitive trends: NOT your upcoming competition!
• basic consumer behaviour trends: NOT your upcoming segmentation!
  opportunities and threats that do not depend on your venture – only a partial SWOT.

Managing operations in the incubation phase and entering the growth phase is much easier for a company with multiple products in different phases of the curve than for one that has only one product that it’s trying to commercialize. Not only does the multiple-product company already have a reputation, but also, the products in the growth phase can help fund and fuel those products trying to survive incubation.

The products in saturation can also provide a base upon which to introduce new products. A new company trying to get its first product into the market doesn’t have these advantages. There are special challenges facing a new company trying to get footing in the marketplace.

Operation on a shoestring

Though all businesses face financial constraints, the situation is often more critical in a new business attempting to introduce a new product into the market. Unlike established companies, a start-up doesn’t have a recurring source of revenue upon which to support its development efforts. New companies typically operate on money raised directly from investors or on their own personal cash.

Above all it’s important for a new company to stay flexible. Because of the inability to afford a large staff, the company’s founders often have to take on multiple roles. They must handle not only the financials but also the design, production, and marketing of their product. This requires workers to be flexible and have a wide breadth of knowledge.

Transition to growth

If you’re a start-up, perhaps one of the greatest challenges you face is the transition to the growth phase of your product. This transition requires you to meet several needs:

• Documented processes: As the complexity of your organization increases, so does the need for defined and documented processes. These processes are necessary to promote smooth operations and planning.
• Organizational structure: While in the incubation phase, you probably didn’t have any policies or procedures in place. You may not have needed them because your staff was small, and everyone was up to speed on what was going on. However, with growth comes the need to add staff, giving rise to the organization chart, complete with a need for a reporting structure.
• Systematic planning: In the beginning of your new venture, you may have done things by the seat of your pants. Your staff may have acted on any opportunity that came along as quickly as possible. But as your enterprise matures and grows, planning becomes essential because coordinating the organization becomes more difficult.

• Task specialization: As you grow, the need for specialized individuals increases. Dedicated resources to such tasks as operations, marketing, and sales become increasingly important, and your firm may establish separate departments. This task specialization makes seeing the big picture more difficult and requires more coordination across the organization.

These changes can be difficult for those involved with a start-up. Larger companies often have different groups that take over product management as a product transitions from one phase to another. This is often necessary because the skills required in each phase tend to be different.

Every day we interact with various economic activities like – getting courier delivered at the requested address, making phone call to friend, relative, or client, having coffee at coffee shop, or taking metro to commute office. Such activities are called services because they involves deed or act and offered by one party to another for sale. 

Services differ from goods in many ways. The way a product is produced, distributed, marketed, and consumed is not the way a service is. Hence, a different marketing approach is necessary for the marketing of services.

Today, in this post we are going to explain – What services are? What are the characteristics of services? How services are marketed?

According to American Marketing Association services are defined as “activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale or provided in connection with the sale of goods.”

According to Philip Kotler and Bloom services is defined as “any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.”

Characteristics of Services

1. Intangibility: Services are cannot be touched or hold, they are intangible in nature. For example– you can touch your Smartphone. But, you cannot hold or touch the services of your telecom service provider.
2. Inseparability: In case of services the production, distribution, and consumption takes place simultaneously. These three functions cannot be separated.
3. Variability: It is impossible to provide similar service every time. You’ll experience some change every time you buy a particular service from a particular service provider. For example Yesterday you had a coffee at CCD. Today, you are again at CCD to have a coffee, but you have got different place to sit today; the person served you coffee is different today; other people having coffee are also different today. Hence, your experience of having coffee today is different as compared to yesterday.
4. Perish-ability: You can store goods, but it is not so in the case of services. Services get perished immediately. 
5. Participation of customer: Customer is co-producer in production of services. For delivery customer involvement is as important as is of the service provider. For example if you went to a parlour for haircut, how it cannot be possible without your presence and involvement.
6. No ownership: In the sale of services, transfer of ownership not take place. It means to say that consumer never own the services.

Marketing of Services

A different marketing approach is necessary for services marketing, because services differ from goods in many respects.

Customer Service in a service firm is highly interactive in nature. Customer interacts with the firm physical facilities, personnel, and tangible elements like the price of the service. The success of any service firm depends on how its performance is judged and perceived by the customer. Today, Service Firms are becoming highly competitive, so, it is essential for service firms to provide high quality services for their survival.

An expanded marketing mix for services was proposed by Booms and Bitner (1981), consisting of the 4 traditional elements product, price, place, and promotion and three additional elements physical evidence, participants, and process. These additional variables beyond the traditional 4 P’s distinguish ‘customer service’ for service firms from that of manufacturing firms.