MAM
Five hidden areas of revenue optimisation for startups
Startups need to optimise their revenue, as they often operate with limited resources and try to get the most out of each coin they earn. Startups generally encounter severe competition, rapidly changing market dynamics and need for investors’ attraction through growth demonstration. An efficient strategy of revenue optimization can mean a business success or failure.
Most startups tend to concentrate on conventional strategies, which include pricing adjustments and sales growth, but there are some hidden areas that have been overlooked by many that can bring in significant amounts of revenue. These areas offer new opportunities for growth and profitability.
The following are a few hidden areas of revenue optimisation that should not be overlooked:
Human capital optimisation
As a startup, every resource counts, making it essential to ensure that employee productivity is optimized to the fullest. To maximize the impact of human capital, it is crucial to efficiently delegate tasks and maintain a centralized view of what everyone in the organization is doing. Startups can also leverage data-driven approaches to optimize their sales force and capture the highest possible revenues. This involves customer segmentation, workload mapping, and task automation. In the fast-paced and resource-constrained environment of a startup, every employee’s contribution counts.
Data-driven decision making
Another area that has gone unnoticed by many startups, resulting in a loss of potential revenues, is data-driven decision making. Most startups rely heavily on intuition instead of using the wealth of information available while making key decisions about their business. Many startups also collect data but don’t know how to use it effectively to guide decision-making. Startups can rely on a trusted third-party software to better manage costs while also using the data that is readily available to them. This can be seen as an investment, but a necessary one. According to the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence survey conducted in 2019 by NewVantage Partners, 92 per cent of leading businesses are investing in big data and AI initiatives to drive innovation. By developing robust data models for analyzing customer potential, buying behavior, and market trends, startups can make better choices concerning target segments, pricing policies, and resource allocation.
CRM integration for enhanced customer engagement
Another way a startup can increase its income is by taking advantage of advanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies. CRM is a business strategy that manages a company’s interactions with current and potential customers. For startups, CRM is crucial because it helps them understand and profile their customers better. It enables startups to tailor their marketing efforts, sales strategies, and customer service to meet the specific needs and preferences of their target audience. By leveraging CRM, startups can gain a 360-degree view of customers, personalize marketing and sales, improve customer service, enhance sales forecasting, and streamline operations. CRM simplifies customer interaction and provides important data insights, enabling startups to streamline sales activities, improve client engagement, and generate untapped opportunities for growth in revenue.
Supply chain optimisation
Another hidden avenue of profit maximization for startups is the optimization of their supply chain. Inefficient management of the supply chain can lead to stock-outs, late deliveries and increased costs which impact directly on revenue. Startups must carry out thorough analysis of their supply chain, identify bottleneck areas and implement measures to enhance efficiency such as just-in-time inventory management, supplier diversification, and process automation among others. Through optimising its supply chain, a startup will cut down on costs, develop better customer relationships and ultimately boost its revenues.
Sourcing and procurement
How start-ups source or procure materials, services or other resources could make a significant difference in their incomes. Poor sourcing practices may result in higher costs and poor quality products being delivered late thus eating into profitability margins. New businesses should carefully evaluate their sourcing strategies using data analytics and market intelligence tools so as to find out about the most economical and dependable suppliers. By doing this, start-ups can optimize their sourcing processes and decrease operational expenses thus improving overall financial performance.
Pricing and monetisation
The last thing that needs to be considered by a start-up is the way it prices its products or services. Many startups face a challenge of striking a balance between pricing that attracts customers and pricing that maximizes the potential for revenue generation. Startups can leverage data analytics and specialized tools to develop sophisticated pricing strategies. By analyzing customer data, startups can gain insights into willingness to pay, price sensitivity, and perceived value. Web analytics and surveys provide behavioral data to segment customers and tailor pricing. Pricing optimisation software can analyze sales, trends, and factors to recommend the optimal approach.
To sum up, while startups focus on traditional revenue optimization strategies, there are many hidden areas that affect their financial viability in large measures. Start-ups can generate growth in revenues and long-term sustainability through human capital optimization, data-driven decision making, CRM integration, supply chain efficiency sourcing and procurement and pricing and monetization.
The article has been authored by Entera founder Sharad Goyal.
Brands
Zscaler, Airtel launch India AI Cyber Research Centre
New hub to boost cyber resilience and trusted AI use
NEW DELHI: As India’s digital engine roars ahead, so do the risks riding shotgun. In response, Zscaler, Inc. and Bharti Airtel have joined hands to launch the AI and Cyber Threat Research Center – India, a national initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s cyber defences and accelerating responsible AI adoption.
The centre is designed as a multi stakeholder platform that brings together industry, government and academia. Its mission is clear: protect critical sectors such as telecom, banking and energy, shield everyday digital users, and future proof India’s fast expanding online ecosystem.
India has long been a major innovation hub for Zscaler, with a substantial portion of its cyber research talent based here. With this new centre, that footprint evolves into a national collaboration engine. The idea is simple but ambitious, build in India, for India, and help power the country’s journey towards a secure and digitally self reliant future.
The timing is telling. India is building digital systems at population scale, not just enterprise scale. That scale has widened the attack surface dramatically. At the same time, cyber criminals and nation state actors are deploying AI to scan, probe and exploit vulnerabilities in minutes.
Zscaler’s research arm, ThreatLabz India, reports millions of infiltration attempts every month. These include espionage campaigns linked to regional geopolitical tensions, 1.2 million intrusion attempts from 20,000 sources targeting 58 Indian digital entities, and a rise in zero day exploit attempts across multiple industries.
In such an environment, perimeter based security models are struggling to keep pace. The new centre aims to push a shift towards secure by design systems and Zero Trust architecture.
Its strategy rests on four pillars: protect through real time intelligence, remediate by working directly with government agencies, facilitate adoption of AI driven security and Zero Trust frameworks, and build a stronger cybersecurity talent pipeline through specialised certifications.
As founding members, Zscaler and Airtel will combine global threat intelligence with local network visibility. Zscaler will deploy a dedicated India focused research team and draw insights from its Zero Trust Exchange platform, which processes over 500 billion daily transactions worldwide. Airtel, meanwhile, will contribute deep visibility into IoT and mobile traffic, helping detect suspicious activity faster and coordinate response across the ecosystem.
Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal, said the partnership extends Airtel’s commitment to safeguarding customers and the nation’s digital fabric. He added that the collaboration would address challenges unique to the Indian market and encourage secure and confident digital engagement.
Zscaler chief executive, chairman and founder Jay Chaudhry, said India’s digital ambition cannot be secured with legacy firewalls and VPNs. He noted that a modern Zero Trust architecture is essential for a hyper connected world and that the new centre would harness the scale of Zscaler’s global security cloud while empowering a new generation of Indian cyber defenders.
Additional members from critical public and private sectors are expected to join the initiative in the coming months, expanding its scope and deepening collaboration.
In a world where threats travel at machine speed, India’s answer is to think faster, collaborate wider and build smarter.
