I’m going to make a guess about why you’re here. You’re here because you are about to plan a business budget for the next year, aren’t you? We had a brainstorming recently and focused on key business areas important in the business development process. Whether you are bringing in over $1M in yearly revenue or less, you can double that by paying attention to these tips & tricks. Everything is just based on Miquido wins and fails.
7 proven strategies to improve your business
1. Go global and open a sales office
To expand our software development services, we decided to open two sales offices: first in London and the second one in Manila, Philippines. Looking at both economic and consumer trends, it was clear that it could be a profitable investment. There was also another strong reason behind wanting to get closer to our clients and new markets. London is just two hours’ flight from Krakow, our HQ and design/development centre.
For a vast number of clients, nearshore software development services are a vital part of their business, and when becoming a partner, you need to always be at hand. Several years of working with international brands taught us more than the best business schools around the globe.
2. Let them come, the Internet!
80% of Internet users own a smartphone and mobile search last year outstripped desktop. It means that your business must be ready immediately and your website too! Responsive Web Design or your own mobile app is no longer rocket science, it is something you should have implemented some time ago. If your website takes longer than ten seconds to load and displays old, irrelevant content, do you think users will stay?
In such a dynamic world, unique it tech solutions are the only way to increase customer engagement and outperform the competition.
On the other hand, your brand must be visible in Social Media, think about SEO and SEM, content marketing and targeted ads. This is how it works now, and probably will work for some years into the future.
3. Say NO to dullness. Your staff will appreciate it a lot!
Startups, growing companies, and enterprises. Banking & finance, healthcare & medicine, m-commerce, music, travel etc. Why is Miquido working in different fields, on so many process levels, solving a wide variety of problems? Because every one of them gives us a lot of valuable know-how related to new devices, technologies or ideas. This knowledge is priceless!
Our graphic designers, programmers, software testers and project managers can develop their skills, and as a team, we can provide solutions like HelloFresh or Picniic, and be admired even by Google or TIME Magazine. Working harder and smarter is challenging, but the effect can be amazing.
4. Think BIG
The core of every business should be a polished idea. It is a reason why clients buy your services and a motivation for you to expand globally. Take a look at startups to find out how they become worldwide leaders. From humble beginnings they can become a serious player on the market. Our story is pretty similar, but with one exception — we still haven’t reached our development goal. Still not satisfied!
Try your ideas and results in international contests — this is the next big thing you can do to develop, promote & open doors to new partnerships for your business. We tried this in Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CE. The effect is mind-blowing: Miquido is the fastest growing mobile app design & development company in CE!
Share know-how and build a community — organize a great event. It is the perfect occasion to show your products & unique approach, find new experts or expand business opportunities. Choose one or two of the most interesting events and do your best! To give you an example, in 2014 we decided to organize Mobiconf, which is one of the biggest mobile conferences in CEE. Every year’s edition sets a new record for participants, press coverage and shows how people value great content and learning from the best speakers.
5. Provide value
Our business strategy is not just for selling services but helping our clients increase sales, customer engagement and productivity by building mobile apps, wearable and smart home solutions. This attitude brings results rather quickly. For us, it is visible through sales figures: 9 out of 10 our projects came from referrals.
We have 5 rules which we believe are fundamental:
- focus on what you do and do it as best as you can
- transparency & close cooperation build trust
- create interesting, useful, engaging content and share it
- know-how comes with innovation
- mobile-first — bring ideas to your customers that really matters on mobile
6. Hire experts
Building a team of professionals takes years and we all know that it isn’t a start to finish sprint. It’s more like a good marathon with obstacles. You simply can’t provide services without a great team. The team is a company’s wealth, not the money you earned.
7. Always tell the truth
No matter how difficult a situation you have in a project, you should always inform your client and give candid feedback. Build trust, not wishful thinking for you and your partner. As Anthony Robbins said: „Every problem is a gift — without problems, we would not grow.”
Are you thinking of creating a future-forward digital product? We would love to hear from you and talk about your project!
