Scale Your Emerging Brand with These Four Strategies

There has never been a more opportune time to start and grow a business. Each year, an average of 30,000 new CPG products launch. But the problem most companies face today is acquiring the resources and capital to support their growth. To address this challenge, emerging brands should invest in these four major areas.

Improve inventory management

Inventory accounts for a large percentage of capital, making it one of the most important areas for a business to get right. Underestimating inventory at the wrong times can leave you with disgruntled customers. Overestimating can drive up costs and tie up working capital.

What’s more, the industry is experiencing a number of supply chain disruptions, which has a direct impact on customer demand, storage space, and stock levels. Successful inventory management systems allow for improved planning and help strengthen gross margins and reduce overhead costs.

Align marketing strategies

Digital engagement is central to today’s marketing strategies. Many companies use a mix of in-house teams and an agency to optimize their marketing. For example, a brand might have dedicated content and creative teams in-house but then outsource it for digital strategies.

Regardless of the approach, it’s important that brands optimize their marketing for a holistic strategy. In fact, 27 percent of consumers are most frustrated when brands send inconsistent messaging on different channels. Brands must ensure their marketing messages align across a number of touchpoints, including:

• Website and blog posts
• Marketing automation
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media marketing and management
• Digital advertising
• Analytics
• And more

Outsource accounting to drive efficiency

As a business grows, so does the number of transactions. This can make accounting and bookkeeping tedious. To accurately manage finances, including statements, bills and payments, software and internal accounting services can serve as useful resources.

Knowing the right time to find outsourced accounting help can drive efficiencies and benefit the company long-term. Asking questions like, “Do I have a handle on my cashflows and margins?” or, “Do I know how to plan for unforeseen expenses?” can help brands make the right decision for the company at any given stage of growth.

Evaluate capital-raising options

Many growing businesses must secure funding at some point, but raising capital comes in a number of stages with many options, from pre-seed to Series C, or even an initial public offering (IPO). Knowing how and when to raise capital can provide a competitive advantage.

Four specific scenarios can signal when it’s time to consider raising capital, including:

• The desire to invest in growth
• The need to hire more talent
• The desire to test and release new products
• The need to keep up with demand

In addition to raising capital, debt financing options are available for a company to get funds quickly. However, no two options were created alike.

For example, traditional asset-backed lending solutions may have drawbacks such as extra fees, warrants, and zero flexibility or scalability – and require several conditions to receive capital. As brands choose what works best for their business, it’s important to look for solutions, such as a modern Growth Line of Credit from Ampla, scales with your business and takes into consideration all revenue channels across retail, e-commerce, and wholesale.

Build a solid foundation to support business growth

When gathering the resources and capital to support scale, brands must read the fine print and pick the best option for them. With the help of strong inventory management, best practices to maximize marketing, consistent accounting updates and reminders, and capital-raising knowledge, brands can ensure they have a solid foundation to support and grow their business.