Technology stack, the scalability wildcard for your organization

Judging by the beginning of the title, you'll think that we're about to talk about electric batteries or stacks of objects. We like the second one, so we'll give you the first preview: a technology stack is the software starter pack in companies that need ensure sustained growth with a future project in mind.

It's enough to select the correct objects in this technological stack to expand the commercial horizons of a company from the beginning with IT tools. That is why it's essential to know the scalability capacity.

The definition of a technological stack implies a previous work of strategic analysis because the choice of the software products that are going to shape, it's the tools that are going to work in a systemic way as the business grows with its customers. So this selection should by no means be taken into account in isolation.

Technology stack... what is it?

Stacks in the IT world refer to a collection of programs that work together to provide specific functionality. For example, a web development stack may include an operating system, a web server, a programming language, and a database.

Hand in hand with this, one of its greatest strengths implies ability to adapt to the requirement. If we're facing a project related to the marketing area, we've a MarTech stack. If we're in charge of a finance project, we've a FinTech stack. As each stack has a compendium of technologies, they all provide a standardized set of tools to implement whatever the application is, benefiting to reducing the amount of time and effort in development.

The stacks are commonly used by organizations to develop internal applications and to offer services. For example, a company may use a web development stack to create an e-commerce application. On the other hand, a hospital may use a mobile development stack to create a mobile application for patients.

A clear example we can provide from Lab9 regarding technology stacks is our work for Sharyco, a corporate application supported by at least four developers and a mobile development stack.

How to build a technology stack correctly

While there are no hard and fast rules about what may or may not guarantee your organization's technology success, these recommendations can guide you in how diagram your scalability stack. Next:

Plan for the future: it's true that technology solutions solve immediate problems, but each one must be in the focus of analysis along with the rest of your technology stack, opposite case, the realignment will be very costly.

For example, if you plan to add email to your MarTech stack, you should consider what other channels would be in the future. If you plan to add a chatbot or messaging via WhatsApp, you'd be better off jumping into a platform like Twilio early on.

Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): the MVP focuses on creating a product or service with basic but easily sellable features. This creation leads to the recommendation to test the project on a smaller scale before making an investment. This way can easily monitor the needs of the market.

Take advantage of open source technology: open source tools are free and freely available, which gives your company free access to use, copy, modify, share and build on existing code and applications.

For example, we can cite the popular MEAN technology stack, which includes MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS and Nodejs, all of which are open source and free.

Create budgets: budgets and tech stacks are two essential topics when diagramming your tech stack. You'll always need the numerical state to start thinking about your future project. Questions such as "what revenue margins will my MVP have to reach to be profitable?" or "how will scale affect your expenses in the future?" should not be missing from your checklist.

Consider the team's experience: building certain types of technology stacks requires different levels of expertise. In fact, adopting new technologies can even slow down or stall progress if you don't have an experienced team. To avoid this, you should training collaborators or hiring a specialist.

The user as the protagonist: there's nothing better than knowing your customer's pain points to come up with an idea that meets each and every one of their needs. Research, analysis and establishment of parameters are essentials for a project to have a budget according to the scalability of the technological stack.

To be and to do Agile in the field of Project Management

To be or not to be agile, that's the question.

What is more worthy of the action of the spirit,

suffer the misinformation of unjust fortune,

or oppose the arms to this torrent of calamities,

and end them with proactivity and innovation?

To be or not to be Agile. That's the question, isn't it? It is in this amusing adaptation of the world's most famous soliloquy - Hamlet's play - that we seek to reflect the more sensitive and poetic side of agility. Agility derives from simplicity as a philosophy of life. Having a thirst to create, being permeable to sudden change, constantly seeking to find value in the little things, and empowering people in their diversity are sentences that in some way give a definite shape to what constitutes the competence of agility.

If we dare to answer Hamlet's solitary question, but in our adapted version, there is only one option to select: to be Agile. In today's world, where dynamism is the currency, companies that maintain traditional management systems should even question themselves more about what they want for their companies and where they are aiming: are they where they always wanted to be? That's why all roads lead to agility.

A lot of Agile here, a lot of Agile there - what is it all about and why is it so useful for companies? To delve into this wonderful dimension of innovation, we should start by learning about one of its many areas, Project Management (PM).

Project Management + agile

Whether they are artistic, construction, technology, or sales projects, all about them are equally important and worthy of being carried out. At a business level, for example, these plans are essential because they generate business value, that is, a tangible benefit from the tangible and the intangible as well. By this, we mean the prestige of the brand and the set of values it inspires both for its customers and collaborators.

Increasingly, results need to be obtained in shorter and shorter periods of time. In addition, projects are developed in complex environments that undoubtedly affect management methods. We talk about technical, economic, social, environmental, and political aspects.

It is in this scenario that the figure of project management appears; the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the activities of a project to meet the defined objective within a given period of time.

The objective of project management is to obtain an original and practical product that satisfies the needs of your company's customers.

But when does agility appear?

The first step comes from adopting an agile mindset -described at the beginning of this article- and secondly, it brings its methodological application, which is Agile Doing. Its usefulness in these circumstances lies in providing people with a shared point of view to be able to adopt a specific approach when developing products and services in a work environment.

Whatever the organization is, it is up to them to accompany the transformation towards agility, especially if we consider that it is not only a way of doing but also a way of being. Those companies that maintain their traditional schemes have surely wondered how it is possible to transition from an installed organizational culture to a totally different one.

Although that may inspire a bit of fear and uncertainty, we must not forget that everything that implies simplification of steps and reduction of time will benefit any company. It is all about going step by step, respecting the processes of each area, and trying to count on a team specialized in these new methodologies that execute mentoring and advisory actions.

That is why if we focus only on procedural aspects, it is likely that the new procedures that have been put into practice will end up returning to their origins - the traditional - if the organizational culture has never been worked on to shift towards flexibility.

On the contrary, if these beliefs are more agile than the processes themselves, they tend to become more agile. In other words, we talk about the collective vision of the teams working within the company that will determine the degree of difficulty that managers will face when making the transition.

Agile involves an iterative approach that focuses on delivering value during short work cycles to obtain rapid feedback from the client and then better adapt to the new requirements.

In terms of project management, there are four commandments that configure the management process as an agile project:

Prioritize the individual and his interactions so that he is happy with what he is doing and is aware of his usefulness to the project.
Focusing on developing a product or service that addresses the customer's needs, rather than focusing on obtaining documentation
Close collaboration with the customer to ensure smooth communications
Responding quickly and efficiently to circumstantial changes, rather than focusing on adhering to a pre-planned schedule

Branding in construction: intelligently build your company's DNA

"You are for me, the wind has told me so,
you are for me, I hear it all the time…"

(“Eres para mí, me lo ha dicho el viento,
eres para mí, lo oigo todo el tiempo…”
Translate of Julieta Venegas´ song)

Yes, you hummed it, and that's fine, that is "good branding". A catchy and fun tune plays in the background, immersing us in a story of encounters and misunderstandings: the famous and acclaimed "I Don't see you but I feel you're There". Whether you want to or not, when things are inescapable, there is no escaping what is meant to be, and even more so if it is coldly calculated.

With enchanting and magical gadgets, branding behaves as the starter pack of every company that seeks to stand out and acquire a differential against the rest of the competition. Moreover, the ecosystem belonging to the real estate and construction business is the perfect place to apply strategies that provide organic and effective recognition between customers and their favorite products.

Branding has the particularity of involving various tactics from the marketing area to connect brands with their target audience through the creation of a complete experience. It involves not only visual aspects such as a unique typography or a color but also the whole behind-the-scenes, which has to do with the unconscious message that the firm intends to convey.

Defined more formally, we can say that branding is the process of creation, construction, maturation, and strategic development of a brand. It is a constant circuit - one might even add philosophical - in which a company's objectives are susceptible to being molded to perpetuate its permanence over time.

This is possible through the introspective work that the marketing team must work on, determining and establishing the brand's identity, its purpose in this world, and more. We can get this conclusion by answering the following questions: who am I, what is my mission, what are my values, and what is my target audience?

Jeff Bezos, CEO of the e-commerce company Amazon, famously stated that "branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room". How true is this? Let's see…

The brand promise

One of the biggest ambitions in the branding exercise is total control of what people say and what they don't say about a company. That is why not only marketing specialists participate in this process, but also the consumers themselves who attach their perceptions, inaugurating brand meanings minute by minute. Of course, these actions are the fruit of the consciousness of the human mind.

By the way, the movie starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie under the name "Focus" in one of its scenes alludes precisely to this phenomenon we mentioned: the professional swindler -Smith- is in charge of "programming" the mind of the bettor through the identification and repetition of the number 55. Finally, the latter opted for the target number, and the character played by Smith achieved his goal.

The construction universe, without any problem, has everything to gain to use the strategies that generate a promise of value and commitment to loyal and potential customers. This is about establishing a connection, firstly emotional and secondly rational, to communicate to them that the company is what they are looking for if they are undecided.

The question is whether the pieces that contain the corporate proposal fit perfectly with the pieces that bring with them people's impressions. Are you looking for good quality materials at the best price for your home or business? My company is your solution.

Elements that can't be missing in your branding strategy

The tone of voice: your brand must differentiate itself from others in a unique way.
Quality: it's better to make little relevant content than to elaborate tactics of little consistency that only destroy the relationship with your stakeholders.
Relevance: if your message lacks values that people are free to identify with, it's meaningless. Taking advantage of the meeting points with your audience is the smartest option.
Consistency: it's recommended to insist and remind customers that you are there, marking your presence, otherwise you could run the risk of disappearing.
Opportunity: the context is key to defining communication channels and times that will favor a successful reception of your business DNA.

Tips for improving your branding strategy

In case you are an architect, civil engineer, interior designer, or real estate company looking for good positioning and that also intends to establish a close dialogue with your audience, pay attention to the following branding recommendations:

Make sure to have a clear, eye-catching, recognizable logo that matches the message your brand wants to convey.
Don't forget that a good slogan is one of the best ways to communicate what makes you different from the rest, favoring your presence in the visual and auditory memory of your audience.
Establish communication channels that facilitate your contact number and social networks.
Join the wonderful world of advertising and complete the Google business listing to promote your construction company easily. This will ensure the attraction of a large number of customers.
Try to have a website that contains all the necessary and detailed information about your products and services with the help of audiovisual productions. You can also include a blog with quality content that not only sells but also informs your audience about the benefits and utilities you can offer.

Liquid organizations. The era of the new servant leader.

Here's a riddle for you related to organizations: he usually wears black and white but is not a zebra, has a piercing gaze but is not a panther, is often quite heartless, and is not the college professor who gave you a three on the last midterm of your life. He's overbearing and more distant than the kingdom of Far, Far Away in the Shrek movie. Want the answer? Here it goes: b-o-s-s.

As if it were an absolute monarchy that - sadly - still constitutes a large part of organizations, the figure of the "boss" as an entity appointed by a supreme God is at the top of the ranking known as "the list of roles that should cease to exist in your company".

The intrepid advance of a technology that does not ask permission to grow, paradigm changing became notorious, especially in the organizational world. Companies and institutions are looking for exponential growth are currently in changing towards liquid management models, or in other words, models with a horizontal organization chart.

Goodbye, bosses. Hello servant leaders.

What are liquid organizations?

Rooted in the term "liquid modernity" by Zygmunt Bauman, a Polish sociologist who died in 2017, this conceptualization refers to those corporate structures that evolve and transform in a diluted environment with the particularity of being flexible. That is where the words "adaptation" and "transformation" stand as the north of every mechanism of action and thought.

In this type of organization, working is structured is much faster, more transparent, and more concrete. With a blurred vertical hierarchy, the arrangement of work roles depends of the emergence of multidisciplinary teams that cooperate fluidly on a project basis.

Another characteristic of liquid organizations is that their focus is on human capital, i.e., the person is the center of the company, and every effort is to recognize and retain, not only for the position held but also for the skills and aptitudes -especially digital ones- that only enrich the organizational structure.

Companies and liquid collaborators accept changes and the speed of transformation as something natural, becoming versatile entities and individuals who know how to handle unexpected scenarios, working on innovative ideas that minimize risks.

The new leader in the liquid organizations

With this, the exercise of leadership as such has also evolved. The image of the glass office with a closed door that no one dares to touch has disappeared. Now we are in front of a liquid leader with no walls to separate or doors to terror. He's the one who observes, inspires, and motivates the team of talents to foster relationships.

The quality standards that invite creativity and eliminate any trace of superiority or miscommunication that may perpetuate the poorly executed figure of the boss.

Thus, one of the main challenges of a flexible organization is to achieve true self-discipline since each person's primary task is to develop an awareness of the leading role in the project and how one must act to produce multiplying results as needs arise.

For this reason, the constitution of a liquid person takes into account not only the expected technical requirements but also soft skills such as the development of analytical thinking, active learning, social leadership, the use and control of technology, resilience, service orientation, emotional intelligence and the power to provide original solutions to the organizations.

Agility in liquid organizations

One of the cornerstones of this cutting-edge management is nothing more and nothing less than the philosophy of agile methodologies: be agile, and do agile.

Born at the dawn of the century that has us as protagonists, the concept of agility came to this world as a solution to a series of questions that many technology specialists began to ask: unproductive actions, projects that were canceled due to customer dissatisfaction, unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork, very long working times … and more.

In this sense, the importance of the agile contribution in this area is the culture. That is, generating a space for organizational evolution and growth that involves not only the structure itself but also the employees.

What is the plus of the agile philosophy?

Structure: it simplifies and eliminates levels, roles, and responsibilities inside organizations. It streamlines and decentralizes decision-making.
Processes: frees time to focus on actions that generate value, manage and enhance planning and performance.
Technology: favors the creation of tools and systems that support the implementation and start-up of rapid and dynamic changes.
People: prepares managers to be servant leaders, manages talent through recognition and fosters organic communication networks.

Process design: an intelligent way to manage organizations

Process design, a crucial business methodology, has significantly influenced how we experience everyday life. Our lives are a blend of emotions, driven by adrenaline and habituation, keeping us alive amidst life's fast pace.

Technological revolutions have transformed consumption patterns and management strategies in organizations. To convert resources into results efficiently, process design offers an invaluable approach.

Embracing process design is no longer optional, but necessary in this digital age. By integrating cutting-edge innovations, organizations unlock their true potential, staying ahead of the competition.

Process design extends beyond businesses, guiding individuals to improve daily routines and achieve work-life balance.

Process design, what’s about it?

Process design establishes functions and determines the process used to produce a product or service. Much of the decision-making in the process is made in the long term and can't be reversed in a simple way, especially when there is a capital investment. For this reason, it's essential that it is designed in alignment with the general strategies of the organization, being functionally satisfactory to the requirements demanded.

This type of work management must have a solid structure that guarantees its effectiveness and efficiency since it allows for the repetition of established tasks. Otherwise, workers will resort to routine actions based on their experience, leading to inconsistency and inefficiency.

Process optimization? Yes.

This type of procedural organization encompasses a wide range of execution modes. From the entirely manual task to automation as a simplification of functions. In this sense, the nature of process design is transformation. Thus, process design must take into account methods and economic considerations.

The structure of a process design

The process has two major components:

Decision in process design: decisions are those strategies arranged by creativity and strategy for the benefit of the company or institution.
Process structure: it comprises specifications and requirements to comply during the cycle. On this, lies the importance of a good design. This way of developing workflows is an input for development. It must establish the functions needed and their consequences by the company's policies. It's precisely here where the proposal of functional alternatives also comes into play according to the cost analysis since the beginning.

In terms of typology, we can recognize three types of design processes:

Intermittent or project-based process (customized, flexible, and highly innovative. Each requirement is worked on independently)
Repetitive process (the work team and the arrangement of resources are functional. It's come up as sales are developed)
Continuous process (there's a high esteem for a specific product or service, so there are standard models. Product variety and innovation are low)

When is the ideal time to introduce process design in my company?

Introduction of a new product or service to the market
Redesign of a product or service
The desire for change in competing priorities within the company
Increased demand for services
Existence of inadequate business performance

It's about new organizations that engage in business process design when they begin to think about the forms and methodologies they will adopt when implementing something entirely innovative or at least thinking about redesigning it. Likewise, effective business processes must be scalable and replicable.

Trial and error

The important thing is to test and verify the new process before it's implemented within the company. A simple and quick way to do this is to execute actions of the cycle and expand. Likewise, another strategy is using specific procedural sabotage, so that the appearance of some defective event occurs. There, the identification, analysis, and subsequent resolution of the problem should be carried out, so that it is eliminated and avoids future situations that slow down the created process.

Marketing + construction companies = guaranteed success

Have you ever thought about powerful marketing can be in real estate development and construction? It is precisely this fabulous duo that triggers the effective and successful realization of a purchase decision.

Marketing is a tool known to be involved in market research, the development of sales strategies, and the analysis of metrics. Whatever the organizational typology, it is essential to resort to actions that allow building the profile of the buyer persona (the ideal customer model that a company has), making a list of objectives, outlining the path to follow, and observing the results (positive or negative), is elementary.

In an arid terrain as the construction industry may seem, the application of tools belonging to marketing, in its range of options such as B2B -business to business- or also known as B2C -business to consumer-, stand as bulwarks against unrealized sales, unreached potential customers and unfulfilled budgets.

If we are talking about a construction company whose stakeholders -strategic customers- are other companies, we are talking about the B2B sales process. In this case, it is of utmost importance to understand where the opportunity and complexity of this marketing technique lie.

Marketing B2B implementation

As we already know, when engaging in a dialogue with a large organization, we are not only faced with a large group of people involved in decision-making but also with a much colder and more strategic attitude when it comes to saying yes at the time of purchase.

For this reason, there are at least five stages that must be during the implementation of B2B:

Definition of the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): making an ideal customer profile of a company based on previous market research so that the company knows who it is targeting and why. All kinds of details are analyzed here, such as the size of the company, its revenues, its location, its data, and more.
Develop a content marketing plan: this is about the creation of content that may be of great interest to customers. The mission here is to inform and establish oneself as a reference in conversations on some topics.
Lead selection and weighting: having a pre-sales team, also known as a Sales Development Representative, to facilitate and organize the lists of contacts ready for purchase.
Diagnosis and proposal: the salesperson already has all the necessary information to determine the best solution that establishes a value proposition adapted to the Lead's needs. Negotiation power and reasonable time to make the final decision also play a role here.
After-sales: at this stage, customer services become essential to further strengthen the relationship with the customer, to ensure contract renewal, and even to awaken possible recommendations to potential customers.

What is B2C in marketing?

If we take an imaginary picture of a person choosing a product from the shelf or choosing which smartphone model and color to purchase from a buying and selling site, we are talking about the B2C process.

In contrast to B2B, where sales strategies start with a company and end with a final consumer, we are dealing with B2C.
Another particularity of this typology is the motivation that triggers the consumer's decision-making. If the B2B world were purely and exclusively rational, in B2C, the mobilizing reason would be emotional. In other words, the emotional perception depends solely on how well the company connects with people's most sensitive side.

Within the company-consumer universe, sales are of lower value and much more impulsive due to the psychological factor involved in goods and services that are in free supply and demand. In this sense, the person discards the selection by specific characteristics of the product but prefers to choose and buy something that involves an added value in terms of the heart: something that reminds him of good times, something that activates his positive emotions, or something that allows him to experience much more than a mere object of consumption. For this reason, in B2C marketing, communications are built on the values of subjectivity, emotion, and creativity.

Unlike B2B, this type of sales has a distinctive feature: it is on the sentimental experience of customers, so it can often happen that the analysis of marketing strategies in these cases is hard to carry out because hearts are still immune to metric X-rays. However, tools can help us to be closer to expectations. Some of them are:

Conversion ratio: it is a metric to know the traffic of visitors converted to customers through the company's website.
Creation of the Buyer Persona: to know the customer's journey, the best option is to know him in detail. From their tastes and preferences to their behavior when consuming a product or service or even to determine their favorite type of music or book.
The connection between your company's brand and stakeholders: you can measure it through interactions between customers and the company's communication channels. The number of views, shares, and likes on corporate websites, social networks, or blogs.

What is inbound marketing on your website?

Today's marketing bets on strategies for business growth with a more human interaction between the company and customers.
In this way, it attracts more prospects and transforms them into new customers: Interact with them on sites, platforms, and social networks, when they want, where they can.

This is the inbound marketing philosophy.

Inbound marketing is the best way to market your products or services, and it is also the best way to help your current and potential customers.

The most stable contact between your customers and your business is your website, and because of that is essential to have inbound marketing in your web design.

Inbound marketing on your website

Your website is nowadays the visible face of your brand, everything that includes and communicates your business.

It is essential to have a good web design thought about user experiences, where users can get an idea of the company based on a professional image and communication.

An optimal site offers the best aesthetics with the necessary content to position itself to your target audience.

Websites are dynamic and updated according to the needs of your customers and prospects, but…
How is the process of designing a website more efficient?

Through a fast and agile process: the Growth-Driven Design.

What is Growth-Driven Design?

Growth-Driven Design is an approach to website design and maintenance that minimizes the risks of traditional web design.
This systematic approach shortens the time to launch by using data, learning, and continuous improvement.

Instead of making an isolated investment in your website every few years, Growth-Driven Design (G.D.-D.) proposes an efficient construction of the site to which improvements are implemented, through a cyclical process of planning, testing, implementation, and dissemination.

The three pillars of Growth-Driven Design are:

Avoid or minimize the risks associated with traditional design.
Continuous learning and improvement.
As learning takes place, it is reported to marketing and sales managers.

The benefits of applying Growth-Driven Design

Instead of planning to do everything, GDD focuses on iterations or "sprints" for shorter timeframes (less risky and less expensive).

It consists of design tests on your users' existing data and implementing or discarding changes according to the results obtained.

Adapt your site according to the needs of your audience.

With an intuitive knowledge of the habits of users within a website and you get to refine the site to achieve a simple and enjoyable user experience based on actual results.

Create a positive user experience.

While user experience is essential, a good web design that offers advantages is important.

Ensure the navigation of your site with a good design and development.

Remember that the loading time has to be less than two seconds since people will leave after that time if they do not receive a response from your website.

Give the relevance that usability needs.

The user enters your website from their mobile, tablet, or desktop computer. The design must respond in the shortest possible time.

With a responsive design that adapts to different formats and devices and offers the best experience to visitors.

You get to optimize the results you seek by implementing measures that facilitate, improve and enable navigation. It is an investment that offers an excellent means of communication with users or the interested public.

Web design is an essential element since it is in charge of creating the public and visible face of a brand.

The challenges, and unreliable and inconsistent results that teams experience during a website redesign are a product of outdated strategies.

Growth-Driven Design is an approach to web design that eliminates many pitfalls and drives optimal results using data.

Growth-Driven Design brings:

A smarter approach
Quicker and better startup
Investment spread over time
Launch on time and within budget
Optimization of results
Data-driven decisions
Month-to-month improvement

Invest in the growth of your business with the inbound marketing philosophy by applying Growth-Driven Design.

Growth-Driven Design is an investment that delivers reliable results month after month. Your website gets stronger as you continue to measure, iterate and act.
We can help you.

The 6 bases of the collaborative work methodology

When people are open to collaborating on different projects, alchemy improves productivity and creativity in the company.

Innovation is possible because each participant contributes ideas from knowledge and experience.
For collaborative dynamics to be fluid, it is necessary to go step by step with an organization that structures each intervention.

The six bases in the process of team collaboration are:

1- Basis of recognition: how to work as a team for efficiency and speed

If an individual performs a task with expertise, it is probably to achieve the objective. On the other hand, if you work with partners, the work can be richer in content and innovation.

The different experiences and points of view feed the project, bringing value and speed to the project.

If each person is willing to collaborate and share the same objective, the work achieves into practices the collaborative methodology in all its bases.

In teams, there is a synthesis of experiences, different perspectives, and unique ideas. One person's perspective challenges another's and opens a discussion, and by reaching an agreement, project goals are advanced.

The success of a company or organization translates into people working together as a team, either remotely or face-to-face, which can achieve better results and create more impact than working individually.

2- Communication base: the importance of working in teams with connection and trust

A team with good communication, where each person practices active listening and contributes from their knowledge and experience, manages to connect with each other and achieve results and common goals.

To establish a positive connection, each person must feel safe and confident to give their opinions and emotions while playing an important role.

A dynamic that allows effective group collaboration and incorporates the playful experience, where people contribute and give their opinion without the pressure of taking an exam, feeling it as a game where no one loses, and everyone wins.

A Google research regarding collaborative teams concluded that while psychological safety was essential, trust was a critical aspect of teams for high performance.

Building trust is a task that requires respect, asking questions, answering doubts, and keeping the work of each member and the group organized.
The success of a project is born from integrating ideas, not imposing them.

3- Commitment base: the team's commitment to collaborative work

Each idea is a solution, and decisions are made that contribute to the common cause of the team.

With a solid foundation made of commitment and trust, the team achieves actualization by pursuing its purpose, creating together, and making an impact.
At this level, the synergy of a group goes beyond the capacity of what any individual could accomplish alone.

No one likes to feel that they are doing all the work alone or notice that their work has gone overlooked.

In the daily and weekly reports, in addition to communicating progress or doubts, you should help by providing clarity and solutions to problems, thus setting the stage for recognition, which influences the team's commitment.

Working with an innovative mind requires seeing problems as learning and growth opportunities. Developing any project with an optimistic attitude makes a difference. The amount of ideas generated is better, and the work experience improves.

4- Basis of the environment: collaborative environments in work groups

A successful project achieves in collaborative workspaces in optimal conditions.

The commonplace, whether physical, digital, or a combination of both, provides what is necessary for good communication and connection between people.

The office is an obsolete solution because there are too many distractions, and setbacks can cause slow performance. Most workers in technology fields for several years now prefer to work remotely.

-Use the online tools available for team organization and communication.
-The use of file sharing helps remote teams connect.
-Platforms designed for organizations bring agility to online work.

Collaborative teams must have a meaningful or complex purpose to benefit from collaboration.

A brand launch campaign, a branding and marketing study, web development, or the creation of a new service or product; requires a group of people working together who are specialists in each area.

The passion for working together dies when a task becomes a group one, considering that not every project is collaborative.

It is advisable to keep a team of people with few members (up to 6), work better since each individual is essential, and the dynamic becomes faster.

Time is another factor to regulate within the collaborative environment.

The most productive experiences have synchronous and asynchronous times.

If the time a project takes is managed with intention, valuing the contributions of each team member and the time invested in achieving the goals, you will know you are doing right.

In collaborative remote worker environments, the time differs for everyone. You can work in a team from different time zones and geographical distances, thanks to flexibility and organization.

Routine causes stagnation in innovation

Don't always assign the same projects to the same people: mix them up for better results.
Collaboration is not just delegation or task assignment. Assigning projects as a break from the same old, interspersing themes and structures influences more creative collaboration.
What projects and co-workers could benefit from a fresh perspective on collaboration?

5- Organizational base: leadership and management of collaborative teams

Identify individual strengths in the collaborative environment while keeping an open mind. Let your team know that their efforts are not taken for granted.

With realistic expectations and clear objectives, the team can focus more on tasks and decision-making.
The group works with the opportunity to share ideas, receive feedback, support ideas, and have a clear picture of objectives.

Clarify objectives to each team member considering their roles, responsibilities, learning needs, and expectations.

Collaboration helps people learn from each other

Managing workgroups requires a vocation for integration, a deep desire to communicate goals and objectives in order to achieve them, and turn your work into a benefit that has value.
The general objective of any team is to have a common point of view on growth and valuation.

6- Measurement basis: evaluate and analyze the results of team collaboration.

To improve, you need to know what is failing and what is working.

Measure data responsibly, respect privacy, and test the effectiveness of collaboration.
It helps spot trends in design and content, promotes organization, and provides insight into how collaborative work impacts the business and how to improve.

Increase creative output by giving your team as much freedom as possible, but that doesn't mean they'll lose sight of the goals. In the process of knowing the impact, we have to ask about its objective, and how we measure results, there is an equal commitment in the group.

Working together with the team in a productive way by giving them a common objective and achievable goals encourages collaboration and creativity.

Perform periodic measurements and analyze the results

Some marketing strategies require months to see goals achieved and usually provide long-term benefits. Others may receive measurable results in the short term and require constant updates.
Collaborative teamwork allows your company to grow, if you apply this methodology and are looking for a facilitator to guide you in a personalized way, contact us, we are here to collaborate.

The importance of cross-selling in the Amazon business model

Cross-selling is the sales strategy popularized by Amazon where products or services are displayed next to the product your customer is interested in buying.

It is an excellent way to increase customer loyalty. This strategy makes cross-selling an ideal to foster the growth of a digital business.

Implementing the suggestive offer helps to increase sales, as there are features in different products that relate to the ones your customers went to buy. This way, taking advantage of promotions and quantity discounts, they finally buy several related or complementary products.

For example, if a consumer enters the process of buying a TV, the chosen product appears on the screen, and others, such as wall brackets or tables with the measurements for that TV added to the cart.

Although is a pioneer in this model, many e-commerce platforms currently offer to cross-sell: Mercado Libre, Tienda Nube, Diggit, and many others.

Amazon attributes the cross-selling technique to 35% of its sales today.

This action is a commercial strategy to obtain customers that want to buy other products and spend more. Just by logging on to the site and clicking on any product, the other tempting options unfold.

The intelligence of Bezos, the founder of Amazon, to implement cross-selling in a business that offers such varied products has allowed him to obtain millionaire profits over his competitors, taking advantage of the emotion of the customers' purchase.

How Amazon has become the World's largest e-commerce Platform

It has established itself as one of the world's most profitable and popular e-commerce companies for entertainment and various products, along with Netflix, who until now had almost no rivals within the streaming after Blockbuster closed its doors for good. (Read the article on Netflix)

Amazon's rise as a cloud platform is due to its entertainment service and products for sale, such as software, video games, music, books, clothing, furniture, etcetera.

It is gaining millions of followers with content and making great audiovisual productions for series lovers, which it broadcasts via streaming, just like Netflix.

The History of Amazon

It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Previously, he had resigned as vice president of D. E. Shaw & Co, a Wall Street company, and moved to Seattle, where he began working on a business plan, which would eventually become Amazon.com.
Bezos chose the name Amazon for his e-commerce business from the meaning of the term "Amazon," linked to the exotic Brazilian region and the river that bears the same name, which is the largest in the world, as he planned to make his company the largest in the world as well.

He drew up a list of 20 products online, of which only five remained: CDs, computers, software, videos, and books. Among this smaller list, the founder decided to sell books online due to the worldwide demand for literature.

The reduced prices for books and a long list of titles brought Amazon success, so it became a recognized online platform to sell digital books.

Amazon's business plan was risky, as it expected to get benefits on its initial investment within five years, which could go very well or badly.

However, luck was on their side because while many companies ended up melting down due to the expansion of the internet in the early 2000s, Amazon stuck with it and started to grow, making huge profits that proved the success of their ambitious plan.

Amazon launched a new marketing strategy called Amazon Prime Day

The company offered the opportunity to its Prime customers to get flash deals on millions of products during 'Prime Day'. However, in 2019 taking into account the success of the previous Prime Day launch, Amazon decided to increase the offers from 24 to 48 hours.

The Amazon case is another evidence that growth does not necessarily have to be short-term, but focusing on the strategy makes the difference too.

Companies like Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Lay's, and Netflix themselves achieved a position in the market by creating products or services designed to meet the demand of a large audience. Amazon is one of the most profitable companies in recent years and probably the second in e-commerce.

Learn about success stories in online business by reading our articles and in our networks.

Hubspot: One of the most comprehensive automation software

HubSpot is a software developer and marketer that offers sales, customer service, and marketing tools. Hubspot is the creator of the inbound methodology.

This methodology is slowly being introduced in Latin America but is already well developed in North America and Europe and is a new way of thinking about strategies to attract customers to your business.

Your sales team needs to understand the context in which your customer is and to identify the needs and problems they are looking to solve because as your business grows, you need a system that allows you to document and store all that information.

The situations we mentioned are perfect for addressing with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) since this tool allows you to organize and intelligently use all the information about your prospects and potential customers.

The inbound methodology applies to every department of your company and is referred to as the "inbound philosophy'', as it can apply even to our daily lives.

HubSpot offers a complete and easy-to-use CRM platform for implementation in your business.

What is the Hubspot story?

Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah are the founders of HubSpot. In 2004 they founded the company because they noticed that the way consumers were buying was changing, that no one wanted to be invaded by commercials or advertisements, and from that observation, they developed this new methodology.

Since 2005, the year in which the company opened its doors, until today, they haven't stopped growing. In 2014 HubSpot launched its own CRM.

It's designed to work seamlessly with a company's sales department and is free with the basic version. If you require advanced integrations, you must pay a fee.

HubSpot is set on the inbound principle, which advocates the idea that people don't feel comfortable being invaded and chased by companies to buy their products or services and, to this day, continues to advocate that this is the right way to do business.

What is inbound?

As we all know, since marketing appeared, the audience received content that wasn't always interesting. That is called outbound marketing or the traditional way. But now, with this new era, inbound marketing forms connections for the customer by solving real problems.

Inbound is the philosophy on which HubSpot built its company. This philosophy adapts to business and is feasible to apply to different areas: for example, we've inbound marketing, inbound sales, and inbound operations, and each one adapts its tasks to this business methodology.

To understand an example of how we can apply inbound in a business, let's take a look at
how inbound marketing works, and the main area where HubSpot started to implement this methodology.

It relies on the principles of inbound and connects with marketing tasks, taking the customer as the center of a company's operations and understanding that they no longer want invasive content that forces them to buy by insistence.

Inbound marketing seeks to bring quality content to customers, bringing what they need and in the format they are looking for. Inbound marketing is a more human way of doing business that always seeks customer satisfaction.

Inbound strategies: Attraction - Interaction - Delight

This strategy aims to attract new and retain old and current customers.

Attract

Create relevant content such as blog articles, social media posts, tutorials, and emails with news and information that interests them.

To arouse interest in your customers through inbound marketing, optimize all content with an SEO strategy, which consists of associating phrases and keywords to your products or services and specifying how they can help your customers solve their problems and achieve their goals.

In this way, your content will systematically appear to the target audience you are looking for.

Interact

You've to focus on how the customer service team handles calls from prospects and prospects. Always sell a solution rather than a product.

The interaction will ensure that the deals you close represent real advantages for your customers, delivering value to ideal customers.

Delight

The delight strategy of inbound marketing aims to ensure that the customer feels satisfied, happy, and at ease after making a purchase.

Your sales team acts as advisors and consultants even in after-sales. Tools like online chats, surveys, and social media allow to stay in touch with the customer and build trust, ensuring a great shopping experience.
After the global impact of the pandemic, the world is mutating to a new way of doing business and a new way of socializing, which large companies could take into account if they want to grow in the new era.

Incorporating new technologies with a human approach to doing business and keeping in mind the satisfaction of employees and customers are the keys to companies that, even with the pandemic, have still grown. HubSpot is one such example.

To learn more about new sales systems and stay updated, follow us on our social media.