Business

10 Areas of Operation Your Business Needs to Improve

Published

4 years ago

September 23, 2020

Most businesses operate inefficiently in at least some ways, but how can you tell which areas need improvement, and how can you improve them? Identifying these problem areas and working to fix them is vital if you want your business to succeed.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to improve the areas of your business that are struggling the most, and the areas that can most benefit from improvement.

How to Improve a Business

In the next section, we’ll discuss 10 of the operating areas most likely to need improvement. But how can you plan to improve something you didn’t even know was inefficient?

According to Chicago management consulting firm AArete, one of the most important concepts is quantification. You need to be able to quantify your goals, measure your current performance, apply changes, and measure how your performance changes; if you can objectively measure an improvement, you’ll know your strategies were successful. Quantification is easier in some contexts than others; for example, you may be able to increase sales from $2 million per year to $2.8 million per year, or you may be able to cut hours wasted from 100 per week to 40 per week. In any case, you’ll need to have some way to track your performance, before and after your strategic changes.

As for the specific tactics meant to “improve” a certain area of your business, those will vary depending on the area you’re working on and what you’re trying to achieve.

Key Areas to Improve

These are some of the most common areas of operation that businesses need to improve:

Goals and strategic imperatives. First, you may need to address your high-level goals and strategic imperatives. Oftentimes, businesses struggle simply because they don’t have direction—or because their direction is poorly defined. For example, let’s say your business has been stagnant for a few years, seeing little to no growth; which goals are you trying to meet, and which strategies are you applying to achieve those goals? If you have a lack of specificity, or if your goals are somehow untenable, the stagnation is unsurprising.
Expense management. Chances are, your business is spending more money than it needs to in at least one area. You may have hired too many people too quickly, you may be overpaying for your lease or your utilities, or your cost of raw materials may be exorbitant. Identifying and trimming down these expenses will help you operate in a lean (and profitable) way.
Financial tracking and monitoring. Most businesses have an accounting department responsible for keeping track of their spending and revenue, but that’s not a guarantee that you’re tracking things correctly. If you’re not actively looking at the right trends, or if you’re not tracking every dollar precisely, it could come back to hurt you.
Marketing and advertising. One of the most reliable ways to grow a business is through marketing and advertising, but there are a lot of ways your marketing strategy can go wrong. You can pursue the wrong target audience, invest in the wrong strategies, or simply overspend on your campaign, ruining your ROI. It’s important to take a critical look at your marketing and advertising strategies, analyzing them for effectiveness and bottom-line value to your business. Weed out the tactics that don’t work and keep experimenting with new ones.
Data analytics. Data is becoming increasingly important for modern businesses, thanks to competitive pressure and more accessible technology. But to use data effectively, you have to gather the right data, use the right tools, and apply the right types of analyses. For inexperienced businesses, this can be overwhelming; inaccurate data, poor analytics, or incomplete tools can compromise an otherwise promising data analytics strategy.
Competition analysis. Most businesses start out with a business plan that sketches out a competitive analysis, but your competition analysis shouldn’t end here. In fact, you should be analyzing your competition constantly. If you’re not actively watching what your competitors are doing and finding new ways to outcompete them, you’re quickly going to become outclassed by your rivals.
Sales. Depending on the nature of your organization, you’ll also need to worry about sales. How are your salespeople spending the hours of their day? How many sales are they closing, compared to how many leads they’re getting? How can you help your team land more sales while simultaneously improving their time efficiency?
Employee morale and motivation. Employee performance is important, but so is employee retention. Too many businesses neglect employee morale and motivation as critical factors for success. What are your employees thinking and feeling? Are they satisfied with their working conditions and with their potential for the future? How can you make them feel better about their positions?
Communication efficiency. Few organizations are operating at peak communicative efficiency. In some cases, businesses are plagued by poor communication habits, from time-wasting meetings to emails without subject lines. In other cases, the root cause is a lack of access to the right tools and technologies to support good communication. No matter what, it’s your job to improve communicative efficiency, reduce miscommunications, and ensure nothing gets lost in the process.
Inter-departmental collaboration. Too often, departments within large organizations turn into isolated silos; the people within those departments become self-contained, and each department develops its own micro-culture and communication styles. Accordingly, departments find it more difficult to collaborate and communicate with each other. Some departments, like sales and marketing, need each other to thrive, so it’s imperative to break these silo barriers down. You can do this with a mix of strategies, including cross-training, hybrid roles, and departmental blending.

Even after addressing these common areas, there will always be room for improving your business. There will be old inefficiencies to address, new techniques and technologies to experiment with, and inventive ways to transform your business. The most successful companies are the ones that remain perpetually adaptable, constantly evolving in response to new conditions and improving their overall functionality.

Business

Opportunities for Black Banx in Emerging Markets

Published

18 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Matthew Wiles

A significant digital transformation is underway in the world of finance, marked by the emergence of non-bank innovators offering a diverse array of financial technology products and services. This transformation is not confined to established markets; rather, it extends its reach into emerging economies, offering a compelling digital alternative to traditional banking institutions. These alternatives are particularly vital in addressing the issue of financial exclusion, which has left substantial populations underserved by traditional banking systems.

Among these innovative digital banking entities stands Black Banx, a fintech brand dedicated to fostering financial inclusion in emerging markets by seamlessly integrating banking services into digital ecosystems. Founded in 2014 as a visionary concept by German billionaire Michael Gastauer, Black Banx swiftly evolved into a global force in the global financial market Officially launched in 2015, the institution rapidly garnered international recognition, extending its services to 180 countries and territories from its inception. Within a mere 12 months of operation, Black Banx amassed over 1 million customers, marking its initial expansions in key regions such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. At present, with a customer base exceeding 40 million as of February 2024, Black Banx stands as one of the fastest-growing digital banks not only in developed countries but also in emerging markets.

What Are Emerging Markets?

An emerging market mostly describes the economic landscape of a developing nation progressively engaging with global markets during its growth trajectory. These economies possess some but not all of the defining characteristics of developed markets, which typically exhibit robust economic growth, high per capita income, well-established equity and debt markets, foreign investor accessibility, and a reliable regulatory framework, according to Investopedia.

As emerging market economies evolve, they tend to integrate more deeply into the global economy. This integration fosters increased liquidity within local debt and equity markets, heightened trade volume, and augmented foreign direct investment. Moreover, these economies witness the emergence of modern financial and regulatory institutions as they transition from low-income, less developed, often pre-industrial states to modern industrial economies with elevated standards of living.

With improving standards of living, the demand for financial security and opportunities escalates, underscoring the pivotal role of banking services. However, traditional banks face challenges stemming from bureaucratic processes and sometimes limited services. Conversely, fintech firms are gaining prominence owing to their convenience, user-friendly interfaces, and expedited signup procedures. Furthermore, their accessibility anytime and anywhere with internet connectivity enhances their appeal to the public.

Strong Demand for Financial Technology

The surge in digital banking adoption, particularly conspicuous in emerging markets, owes much to innovations originating in these regions. For instance, nearly nine out of ten consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing both emerging and developed markets, actively utilize digital banking services, with a significant portion expressing openness to expanding their usage through digital channels.

Enthusiastic adoption of fintech tools and e-wallets among consumers in emerging markets has propelled the market penetration of these innovative solutions beyond levels observed in developed markets. In the emerging Asia-Pacific region, the penetration of fintech apps and e-wallets surged to 54 percent in 2021, compared to 43 percent in the developed segment. This is indicative of the accelerating shift towards fintech transactions and services, as per McKinsey & Company.

A portmanteau of finance and technology, fintech refers to the burgeoning industry of companies utilizing computer programs and other technologies to provide support or enable banking and other financial services. In developed nations, there’s been a rapid expansion and adoption of fintech technologies ever since businesses and even governments started accepting digital financial transactions as a standard mode of payment. But even in emerging markets, the demand for fintech has also skyrocketed as more people report a diminishing reliance on cash for weekly expenditures.

Identifying Opportunities in Emerging Markets

Launching a successful digital bank entails navigating a myriad of challenges, irrespective of the market’s maturity. However, digital banking in emerging markets presents its own unique set of hurdles, particularly in securing widespread adoption among mass-market consumers. To thrive in any market landscape, a digital bank must first establish meaningful access to its target customers. While the initial interaction may appear straightforward in the digital realm, the reality proves more nuanced.

The proliferation of digital advertising notwithstanding, capturing customer attention remains a formidable task, compounded by the intricacies of onboarding procedures, even for digitally savvy clients. Moreover, the reliance on app downloads as a precursor to engagement further heightens the barriers to entry as first-time users may find them intimidating.

Building a solid trust relationship with customers is important for digital banks to maximize their opportunities in emerging markets. Trust, arguably the linchpin of sustained usage, demands meticulous investment in creating positive onboarding experiences and fostering comprehension of banking channels and products. However, achieving this trust quotient is not easy, especially in emerging markets with lower access to financial services and digital literacy.

Black Banx’s Success in Emerging Markets

Black Banx is a digital bank focused on empowering financial inclusion in emerging markets by integrating banking into digital ecosystems. It was founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer who always believed that well-designed financial services have the potential to uplift even the most marginalized segments of society, providing them with enhanced economic opportunities.

Consequently, Black Banx is steadfast in its mission to promote financial inclusion while harnessing the advancements within the fintech landscape. Today’s digital technologies offer unprecedented tools to reconstruct banking paradigms, especially for those underserved by traditional financial institutions, with smartphones and laptops serving as gateways to financial empowerment. But while Black Banx makes use of the most advanced fintech technologies, including blockchain and artificial intelligence, it delivers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate user experience through its website and mobile app so even the inexperienced or less tech-savvy consumers won’t have a hard time using its platform to carry out financial transactions.

With his expertise and decades of experience in the financial industry, Gastauer has a keen eye for trends and what works in different markets. So instead of delivering different experiences for developed and emerging markets, the renowned fintech mogul opted to roll out the same suite of services to both because of his motivation to realize financial inclusion and offer only the best banking experience to all. As such, Black Banx facilitates seamless transitions between physical and digital currencies and even cryptocurrencies. The digital bank also tailors its channels to accommodate customers at various stages of their digital journey, ensuring that they feel guided every step of the way until they achieve their financial goals. All of these contribute to Black Banx’s success in emerging markets.