The market is becoming increasingly competitive. While the economy is growing at a steadier pace, there are more players in almost all industries, giving customers the option to be pickier when it comes to the products and services they use. The fintech industry is even more competitive, especially with open banking and new services disrupting the establishment.
This immense competitiveness has forced a number of companies to push their growth level and operational capabilities to remain competitive. Some even go as far as bootstrapping at a whole new level to keep overhead costs down. Even when implementing these strategies, it is important NOT to neglect these three important aspects.
User Experience
The real currency for startups of today is user experience. Even with the best of products, you can’t expect to win customers’ hearts through a poorly designed interface and sluggish apps. User experience has become so important, even bigger, more established companies are revisiting their products and actively making UX improvements.
Some startups are more successful than others in maintaining a high level of user experience; others aren’t so good at understanding what the customers really want. We saw Twitter making several changes to stay relevant and its users screaming in frustration after every one of them. This kind of approach is definitely not one that you should take if you want to remain competitive.
The big picture reveals an obvious trend. Apps and web interfaces are becoming simpler and easier to understand. Excessive design features and visual elements are replaced by classy animations that users actually love. More importantly, key features – or products – are made accessible as quickly as possible.
Information Security and Server Reliability
Despite the latest cloud technologies and some advancements introduced over the last few years, many startups still experience reliability issues when delivering their services. Most of the time, reliability issues come from trying to save on operating costs and using supporting infrastructures that aren’t up to par.
Other times, security is the aspect sacrificed in the name of efficiency and growth. Instead of applying proper security measures and data management routines, a lot of startups are starting to apply lower standards. The recent cases of information theft happening to Wonga and Three UK are perfect examples of how lowering your guard can be catastrophic.
Information security measures are relatively easy to maintain. There are even solutions to hardware failures and information loss, including the best data recovery LA has to offer. Make sure these measures are in place for the maximum protection of both your users and the business itself.
Essential Assets (Read: Employees)
Never – and I do mean never – forget to take good care of the startup’s most important assets: the team members. Putting them through countless nights of working late and pushing them too far for the sake of company growth will never result in good things. In fact, a lot of companies have failed simply because they failed to keep their team members happy and productive.
Pay close attention to these aspects and you’ll have no trouble at all remaining competitive. After all, these are essential aspects that act as the foundation of growth itself.
