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Customer Experience

What is Customer Experience, and how can you make it drive growth?

Customer Experience (CX) involves the interactions between a business and its customers throughout the entire buying journey. This spans from marketing, through sales, to customer service, and every other touchpoint in between. In large part, it’s the total of all interactions a customer has with your brand.

CX is not just a set of actions. It encompasses the emotions your brand evokes in your customers or potential customers. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider how they feel about your brand.

Every interaction with a customer, or touchpoint, has the power to either enhance or damage their perception of your brand. Therefore, the decisions you make at each touchpoint are critical and can significantly impact the overall success of your business.

How can Customer Experience (CX) drive growth?

Remember the old saying: “The cost of acquiring a new customer is five times the cost of keeping an old one.” Therefore, providing each customer with a positive experience is vital for sustainable business growth. Great Customer Experiences can lead to incremental growth through cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Great CX also drives customer advocacy, practically bringing new customers to your business for free.

Negative CX is a leading cause of declining growth. Customers with negative perceptions leave, pushing customer churn through the roof. In the digital world, this can happen very quickly.

Social media and online review sites provide customers a platform to share their experiences with a wide audience. Unfortunately, customers are more inclined to share complaints than compliments, and a single negative comment can quickly spread to millions. As a result, customers hold significant power in shaping a business’s reputation through their experiences.

At what part of your growth journey should you start to focus on CX?

A company’s growth journey is often divided into the stages start-up, ramp-up, and scale-up. A common and very general definition of ramp-up is that a company has reached a turnover of 1 million euros or has about 10 employees. And for a scale-up, it would be a turnover of 10 million euros and about 100 employees. But please note that this is a very general definition and can vary depending on lots of circumstances.

It makes sense to start focusing on CX once you reach ramp-up. Your product or service has been launched, you have paying customers, and you have started to form teams. Now is the time to broaden your perspective from chasing new customers to also keeping existing ones.

Who is responsible for the Customer Experience?

Every employee is responsible for Customer Experience. Customer-facing functions like marketing, sales, and customer service stand for a large part. But not all. Below are some examples of how the rest of the company shares responsibility:

  • Inventory management must ensure that a customer gets a product they ordered, so they don’t have to be told it has run out of stock.
  • E-commerce sites need to provide the same experience to online customers as that received by in-store customers.
  • Accounts receivable (AR) and billing needs to assist and alleviate any issues around billing and payment.
  • Human resources (HR) must ensure that the right employee, with the right skill sets, is hired for the right job.
  • Logistics needs to guarantee that the product arrives when promised.
  • Finance must ensure that your company can support the subscription-based pricing models customers want.

What is a CX strategy?

A Customer Experience (CX) strategy outlines the necessary steps to ensure a positive, valuable, and distinct CX at every touchpoint. It should consider competitive intelligence, market and consumer data, and internal strategic objectives, initiatives, and value statements.

Moreover, a CX strategy must encompass all departments, not just those traditionally viewed as customer-facing. In today’s business landscape, every employee plays a role in customer service. Including teams across the organization can help align everyone around customer-centric goals and improve the overall CX.

Best practices for Customer Experience management

Collect feedback from your customers

It is a great idea to ask for feedback when and wherever possible. Review functions can be included as plugins to your website; you can send surveys via email, ask on social media or just phone some of your customers sometimes and ask.

Follow up on feedback fast

If a customer takes the time to give you feedback, you need to act on it or at least answer and explain. A customer who feels heard/not heard can have a big impact on your NPS (see NPS described below).

Create a customer-oriented culture

A clear brand message through all functions across the company will enable a seamless experience in the customer journey. As a manager, you want to make this a priority. Another tip is to reward excellent customer service amongst your employees.

How to measure Customer Experience

In order to determine the success of your Customer Experience strategy, you need to find KPIs relevant to you. The KPIs you use depend on your business, customers, and industry. But since customer experience is designed to increase customer satisfaction, some general KPIs might be inclusive enough to list here. These would be:

  • Revenue growth
  • Customer retention/customer churn
  • Cross-sell and upsell amounts
  • Customer service costs
  • Net promoter score (NPS) change
  • Various digital metrics like page visits, time spent on-site, conversion rate, etc.

Do you need help advancing Customer Experience?

At Cooach we help growth companies by offering Business Support services. Subscription Customer Experience Insight is one of the services we offer within Customer Insights.

Cooach Subscription Customer Experience Insight provides you with customer insights gathered by conducting quarterly Voice of Customer (VoC) surveys provide complex feedback on key moments of contact with customers and customers’ needs and expectations that need to be fulfilled to be competitive in the market. Finally, you gain a clear indication on how to create the best customer experience ever and how to deliver it consistently. Our VoC survey results in two metrics that are benchmarked and visualized in a Dashboard in our portal. A specialist will present the result and advise on appropriate necessary measures.

As a Cooach client, you can access templates, Q&A, and expert help via Slack. If you are not already a customer, you can still register for a free account and enjoy our template library.

Here you can log in or register an account, free or paid, depending on your current needs. https://cooach.io/en/signup/
Anställningsavtal

Crafting an effective employment contract

As an employer, crafting an effective employment contract is critical to the success of your business. Not only does it establish the terms of the employment relationship, but it also protects your company from potential legal disputes down the road. In this blog post, we'll discuss some tips for crafting an effective employment contract that benefits both you and your employees.

Do you need to set up an employment contract?

As a Cooach client, you can access templates, Q&A, and expert help via Slack. If you are not already a customer, you can still register for a free account, where many templates (such as the employment contract template) are available.

Here you can log in or register an account, free or paid, depending on your current needs. https://cooach.io/en/signup/

Please continue reading this post if you are curious about general information on crafting effective employment contracts. Cooach operates in Europe and helps companies achieve growth. This text is based on European standards.

Legal scope

Consider the necessary scope based on your business, the role the incoming employee will have and what tasks are involved. Do you need clauses on non-solicitation, customer protection, and penalty/compensation? If yes, involving legal expertise to set up the template for your employment contract is a good idea.

Specify the parties

You need to specify which party is the employer in the case of multiple companies within the group. It should also be clear that the person being entered as the counterparty has the authority to sign an employment contract.

Specify position/title

This is usually evident if you hire a person who has undergone a recruitment process. Otherwise, the dialogue with the employee should have been transparent regarding the position/title before the agreement is sent over.

Specify the first day of employment and primary workplace

For example, the primary workplace can be in your office or completely/partially remote. To correctly manage and divide work in the future, it’s crucial to be clear when creating the employment contract.

Specify the employment form

The employment form governs conversion rules and preferential rights. Specify if it is a permanent or fixed-term contract. Permanent employment can begin with a trial period of a maximum of six months if you consider it necessary.

Fixed-term employment can be a substitute, or you have identified a temporary need (special fixed-term employment). If you only need an employee for specific occasions, specify a special fixed-term employment with an hourly wage.

Specify the working hours

Full-time employment assumes 40 hours per week unless otherwise specified in a collective agreement. Here, you specify what the employer and employee have agreed on in terms of scope.

The employment covers specified periods in the time report. Otherwise, the employment is subject to applicable legislation.” Specifying what overtime compensation looks like for the current employment is also essential.

Specify the notice period applicable to the employment

You can include a longer notice period from the start but can´t apply a shorter one than the law implies. This may also be regulated if you have a collective agreement in the workplace.

Determine the form of compensation

When it is clear how many hours per week the employee shall work the usual practice is a monthly salary. When there is no clear need for a certain number of hours per week, it is common to set up a fixed-term employment with hourly pay, for a temporary need.

Salary review

Specify in accordance with what is stated in your internal policy or collective agreement. The most common practice is to have an annual salary review where you, as the employer, also evaluate the employees’ performance.

Vacation and advance vacation (this part is based on Swedish vacation law)

In Sweden, employees have the right to take 25 days of vacation per year, regardless of age or employment type. If there’s a collective agreement, there might be additional regulations for more vacation days, which could also be mentioned in the company’s policies. It’s possible to agree on more vacation days than the legal or agreed amount, but never less than 25 days.

Vacation pay refers to earned compensation that hasn’t been taken yet. It can be paid out when an employee takes their earned vacation or leaves their job.

Some companies also have the option to offer advance vacation, which is paid vacation that is taken before it is earned. Specify in the agreement what applies to the category of employees you are now writing the agreement for.

Other

Under “Other,” you can specify essential details related to the individual employment agreement. This may include a bonus model, an attachment related to the agreement, or whether this agreement replaces a previous one.

Conclusion

When you have filled in the agreement and carefully read through all parts, you should also ask the employee to check all information before signing to get an accurate agreement.
Aktieägartillskott

Shareholder contributions – how it works

Shareholder contributions agreement governs the relationship between a limited company and a shareholder who contributes equity to the company. The shareholder contribution may be conditional or unconditional. The purpose of the shareholder contribution is to bring new equity into the limited liability company, usually in situations where the limited liability company's equity is depleted or in other cases of capital need.

Do you need to make a shareholder contribution?

As a Cooach client, you can access templates, Q&A, and expert help via Slack. If you are not already a customer, you can still register for a free account, where many templates (such as the Shareholder Contribution template) are available.

Here you can log in or register an account, free or paid, depending on your current needs. https://cooach.io/en/signup/

Please continue reading this post if you are curious about basic information on shareholder contributions, conditional and unconditional. Cooach operates in Europe and helps companies achieve growth. This text is based on European laws and regulations.

Shareholder Agreement

A separate shareholder agreement governs shareholder contributions to companies with multiple shareholders. A shareholder agreement on shareholder contributions may contain provisions on, for example, when and how much shareholder contributions should be made to the company by the shareholders, whether the shareholder contributions should be conditional or unconditional, and what conditions should be met for repayment of the shareholder contributions.

Which shareholders make the shareholder contribution?

One or more shareholders of the company may make shareholder contributions. Usually, shareholder contributions are made by all shareholders.

Unconditional shareholder contribution

If you make an unconditional shareholder contribution, you have no right to get the money back. For example, the shareholders may agree that all shareholders will be obliged to make an unconditional shareholder contribution of a fixed amount if the company embarks on a financially risky project. However, such an agreement is usually only made when deciding whether the company should embark on the project.

An unconditional shareholder contribution is non-refundable and increases the shareholder’s cost of the shares. This is beneficial from a tax point of view in calculating tax-free and low-tax dividends and in calculating future capital gains.

Conditional shareholder contribution

If you make a conditional shareholder contribution, you require the company’s shareholders to vote at the general meeting to repay the money if certain conditions are met, usually when the company’s finances are once again sound and stable. This is not a requirement on the company itself, as this would create a debt that would not strengthen its equity.

A conditional shareholder contribution can be repaid under certain circumstances; we write more about this later in the article.

What assets can be used?

A shareholder contribution is made by bringing money or other assets into the company. What is contributed must have value to the company. One way to contribute assets is to waive a debt owed to the company, such as a claim for expenses recorded as a debt to the shareholder.

How large is the contribution usually?

The contribution size is usually related to each shareholder’s holding. However, there is nothing to prevent shareholders, irrespective of the size of their holding, from agreeing on a different distribution, e.g., that everyone should make an equal shareholder contribution.

The contribution must be irrevocable

For a shareholder contribution to increase the company’s equity, the contribution must be irrevocable, i.e., not a loan. Otherwise, the contribution will be counted as a debt, which does not strengthen the company’s overall financial position. A written statement should be provided to the company that it is a contribution, not a loan.

Repayment of shareholder contributions

A conditional shareholder may agree with the other shareholders that, under certain conditions, they will vote in favor of repayment at the general meeting. However, it must be made clear to the company that this is not a loan but a capital contribution.

Who will be the counterparty?

The repayment condition must not be directed against the company, as it would not be considered a genuine shareholder contribution. The company will still have an obligation (debt), and the contribution will not affect the company’s equity.

The other shareholders should be obliged to vote in favor of the repayment of the shareholder contribution. The repayment is legally regarded as a dividend. This means that only when there are distributable profits can the shareholders who made a conditional shareholder contribution be reimbursed.

When is a refund of contributions usually made?

It is common for shareholders to make contributions when the company is insolvent. Therefore, repayment is often delayed.

The shareholders’ agreement should specify when shareholders should vote to repay the shareholder contribution. The repayment should be made at an appropriate time when there are sufficient distributable profits. Most commonly, it is decided that repayment will be made when there are distributable profits according to an established balance sheet.

Since repayment of a conditional shareholder contribution is treated as a dividend under civil law, repayment may not be made in the year the profits are created. Only when there are distributable profits, i.e., when an approved annual financial statement with distributable profits has been prepared, may a repayment be made. A valid general meeting resolution is also required before a refund can be made.

A conditional shareholder contribution repayment is treated as a loan repayment for tax purposes. This means that there is usually no income taxation on the contributor.
How to reach the next stage! From ramp-up to scale-up.

How to reach the next stage! From ramp-up to scale-up

At Cooach, we understand the challenges that growing companies face, and we are committed to helping you scale faster, more efficiently, and with reduced risk. This guide is aimed at growth companies in the ramp-up stage, which means you have passed the initial start-up phase and made some progress.

Download the guide today and receive our checklist for nailing ramp-up!
Cooach Data Room services

Improve chances of attracting capital with a Data Room

Anybody looking to buy or invest in a company will want to investigate it thoroughly. This phase, when the buyer (or investor) gets to review every aspect of the seller’s business, is called Due Diligence. It is an audit where you must provide access to all your business records, so the potential investors/buyers can decide how much they are willing to pay.

You can make this process easy, efficient, and secure by setting up a data room to store your assets and business-critical information. The Data Room will allow you to invite several people at the same time safely, control who has access when and to what, track the history of their interactions, and protect you from data loss (as it would be cloud stored).

What is a Data Room?

Data rooms are secure spaces for reviewing corporate documentation. In the past, these were physical data rooms housing a lot of paper. But today, these physical locations are replaced by digital solutions.

There are many types of digital data room solutions on the market. Larger companies involved in M&A may prefer a more advanced VDR (Virtual Data Room) with integrated Q&A and automated functions and tasks. Whereas smaller companies can start with a file share service like Google Drive, One Drive, or Dropbox, where there are many possibilities to design a clever setup and gain many of the benefits that the more advanced systems offer.

The benefits of a Data Room when seeking to raise funds

There are several benefits to using a data room for companies seeking to raise funds. But there are many other benefits as well. Data room technology facilitates the company’s future growth and development. We will look at some of these benefits below.

Keep your business secrets safe

The records that potential investors want to review are crucial to your company as they reveal your business’s strengths and prospects. To keep these records safe, a Data Room is utilized to minimize the possibility of unauthorized access. Only individuals given permission can view the information, with restrictions on how they can handle it. Digital watermarking, document protection, activity tracking, and non-disclosure agreements are additional measures to ensure your sensitive information’s confidentiality.

Save time for all parties involved

Speed is crucial when making fundraising choices. Potential investors are occupied and frequently have multiple options to evaluate. Therefore, it is essential to receive a prompt response regarding an affirmative investment decision or valuable feedback on their choice. Having all the necessary information in one centralized location that can be accessed from anywhere at any time can significantly assist the process. A Q&A section in the Data Room can answer frequently asked questions quickly and notify your team to respond when an investor asks more specific questions.

Offer transparency

Precise and efficient presentation of information from the beginning can prevent frustrating delays and misunderstandings that could jeopardize future deals.

Make a great impression

Raising funds is a competition among many companies with promising ideas. Investors are presented with numerous options to choose from. A Data Room is a tool that not only presents all the necessary information to investors but also presents your company’s expertise in a structured and professional way, making a positive impression of your company. Every aspect counts in the quest to convince an investor that your company is a wise choice for business.

Get prepared

Preparing documents for inspection in a Data Room will help you prepare mentally for engaging with investors. Making sure documents are relevant, accurate, up-to-date, and compliant, and that contracts are signed, can help you to see your company from an investor’s point of view and puts you in the right frame of mind for engaging with investors.


Engage your audience

Engaging investors is vital to successful fundraising, and a Data Room provides secure channels to facilitate quick communication with permitted investors. You can add multiple investors into the Data Room and engage with them separately in private spaces where presentations, Q&A sessions and negotiations can be conducted; further information can be given, documents shared, and valuable feedback received. Investors often find the ability to comment on documents beneficial during negotiating.

Remain in control

Tracking features of a Data Room gives you insights into the behavior of investors. It lets you see who has accessed the room, what they viewed, and for how long. This information can help you determine which investors are genuinely interested in investing in your company and prompt you to respond positively and efficiently. Additionally, it will alert you if an investor you want to engage with hasn’t accessed the room, so you can follow up and remind them to take a look. Task management tools can help your team take full advantage of each fundraising opportunity.

Future proof your Due Diligence process

A well-organized Data Room plays a crucial role in attracting and maintaining potential investors’ attention during a company’s fundraising phase. Its security features and ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders, including investors, customers, and other parties, make it an indispensable tool for fundraising and future business growth and development. Data Rooms are necessary for mergers and acquisitions and other initiatives requiring due diligence. They can also be the central hub for storing and sharing important company documents and facilitate effective communication within different departments.

How can you create a Data Room?

At a basic level, the steps to creating a Data Room would be:

  1. Find a Data Room provider
  2. Upload the documents you wish to keep in it
  3. Categorize and index the contents in the most suitable file structure
  4. Redact any information that users should not see (or should not see yet)
  5. Create roles (i.e., define the different types of users who will need access) and set their permission levels
  6. Import any checklists you need to manage and track the project

Do you need help setting up a Data Room?

At Cooach we help growth companies by offering Business Support services. Data room is one of the services we offer within Company administration.

Cooach Data Room Services organizes and manages all your company’s legal documents in a secure location. We help you set up a virtual data room using a platform of your choice such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox. We assist in relocating all your legal documents, such as employment agreements, consultant agreements, rental agreements, and more. This service is highly recommended for companies that want to improve their document management routine or prepare for due diligence. We will work with you to ensure that your data room is easy to navigate and update, providing you with better control and oversight. 

Access our platform for free – get self-service templates, workflows and basic versions of Cooach Workplace® and Cooach Toolbox®. Upgrade with more products as you go. https://cooach.io/en/signup/
Cooach Payroll services

Checklist for an efficient payroll

You can't compromise on ensuring your employees the right salary at the right time. But payroll is a big and complex job that involves so much more than pressing a button. Use our checklist as a guide to see if your payroll routines have the right preconditions to work as efficiently as possible. How many items can you tick off?

Is all payroll processed digitally – without manual intervention?

It is an absolute prerequisite that the data is entered correctly every month. But many companies still struggle with manual procedures like Excel files and paperwork when collecting timesheets, travel expenses, receipts and other payroll documents. Perhaps the employee also forgot to report some detail or recorded something violating applicable rules and policies, creating unnecessary extra work (and frustration) for the payroll department.

So, what’s the trick to avoiding this common pitfall in your payroll administration? A big part of the solution is investing in modern time and travel reporting systems synced directly to your payroll system. A lot of the hassle can be avoided by letting employees do all their reporting in user-friendly apps and web-based systems. The administrator will receive everything needed to run payroll correctly and completely. In other words, the right data in, the right data out!

Have you documented your work processes?

If someone in your payroll department suddenly went off sick or quit, do you have someone who could step in and do the job in their place? Do you have records of procedures and steps that need to be ticked off during the month?

An excellent way to secure your payroll administration is to identify and document all the recurring tasks involved in the payroll process. This will make it much easier for a temporary replacement or a new employee to get to grips with the company’s payroll routines. Last but not least, getting all the details down on paper also helps to see what can be done smarter. What tasks are currently done manually that you could automate? What are your biggest frustrations and time stealers, and how could you eliminate them?

Do you have full control over policies and deadlines?

Do your payroll administrators have to rush to get all the paperwork in place regarding payroll? Do they spend several hours answering the same questions from staff over and over again? The solution is to be transparent with your policies and procedures so that there are no question marks about how to report time, travel, and expenses and what the deadlines are for clearance and certification.

It is a great idea to collect this information in a (digital) employee handbook that everyone in the company can easily access and clearly explain the importance of each person taking responsibility to facilitate the work of the payroll department. With clear guidelines, many of the recurring questions from staff can be avoided – something that can free up a lot of time in your payroll administration.

Is your payroll administration equipped for the challenging demands of the future?

Is your payroll system a few years old? Then it’s time for an upgrade. A system change may seem like a big project, but the fact is that there are several solid arguments for investing in a solution that allows you to work safely and efficiently – both today and tomorrow. Here are some of them:

– With a web-based payroll system in the cloud, you always have access to what you need and don’t have to be locked to your office computer.

– As new payroll laws and regulations come into force, the system keeps up – so you never have to worry about having the right values and calculation formulas in place.

– You get the tools to manage payroll and other sensitive data in a GDPR-safe way.

– Last but certainly not least, with a proactive provider investing in new developments, you can always be sure you’ll have access to the latest innovative features. Something that can free up many valuable hours and give your payroll administrators a more pleasant day – where their skills are put to full use, and they don’t have to waste time manually keying in data.

Do you need help with Payroll?

At Cooach we help growth companies by offering Business Support services. Payroll is one of the services we offer within HR.

Cooach Payroll services  provide a comprehensive and efficient payroll solution for your business. Our team of experts handles all aspects of the payroll process, ensuring accurate and timely payments for your employees. With our Slack Cooachbot HR, we send payroll reports to employees and respective channels, so you have complete control and visibility over the payroll process. Our experienced team is available to answer any questions or concerns. Let Cooach to manage your payroll, so you can focus on your core business.

Access our platform for free – get self-service templates, workflows and basic versions of Cooach Workplace® and Cooach Toolbox®. Upgrade with more products as you go. https://cooach.io/en/signup/
Group consolidation at Cooach

Group consolidation – typical challenges and tips on how to solve them

Group consolidation is the merging of two or more business entities. It can be a formal process of legally combining two businesses or a method of financial reporting whereby a group of organizations is treated as a single entity. This article will treat group consolidation as a method of financial reporting. Examples of entities that might want to do this are: holding companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, or joint ventures.

Reasons for group consolidation

Group consolidation is not something everybody chooses to do. But when companies do it, it is typically to achieve the following benefits:

  1. Improved financial reporting: Consolidation helps provide a clearer picture of the financial performance of the entire group, which is helpful for stakeholders.
  2. Increased transparency: Bringing all entities under a single financial report makes it easier to understand the financial position and performance of the group.
  3. Improved planning and decision-making: Consolidation provides a comprehensive view of the entire group’s finances, allowing for better-informed business decisions.
  4. Improved risk management: Group consolidation enables companies to identify and manage risks across the entire group rather than just in individual entities.
  5. Reduced costs: By streamlining financial reporting and reducing duplicated efforts, group consolidation can lead to cost savings.
  6. Increased efficiency: Group consolidation can help streamline operations and processes, making the group more efficient.

Three typical challenges with group consolidation

Entities reporting in different systems

Some entities may be using excel, and some may have financial reporting systems, and all need to be merged into one report.

Poor data quality and lack of consistency

Group consolidation relies on accurate and consistent financial data from all entities involved. Poor data quality and inconsistency can result in inaccurate financial reporting and impede the benefits of consolidation.

Differences in local regulations

Companies operating in multiple countries can face challenges with group consolidation due to differences in local accounting and financial reporting regulations. This can result in difficulties reconciling financial data and presenting a consolidated report that meets all relevant regulations.

Time-consuming

It can be challenging to do something you only do occasionally. On top of that, new rules and regulations surface and require your time to review the process. And in general, manually cleaning up and reconciling data takes time and effort.

Tips and best practices for group consolidation

Clarify your goal

Before you start, you must clarify your goal and the data you want to collect.

Secure data quality

An ERP (Enterprize Resource Planning) would be a helpful tool for this task.

Set currency conversions correctly

Doing this manually can create errors that will ruin your entire consolidation. It is better to set up an automized and standardized process for this.

Set common standards

Talk to each other and ensure you have the same standards for your data, formats, units, and naming conventions. Requirements and rules may vary in different countries, but help each other streamline this as much as possible.

Set internal processes

Internal processes are essential. Refrain from significant changes and instead make more minor adjustments as you grow.

Keep it simple

Keep your eyes set on your goal (see our first tips) and peel off anything that is not necessary.

Use a consolidation tool

There are several on the market, but we recommend you look at Konsolidator, which is easy to use, even if you have no previous experience with consolidation. A consolidation tool has several benefits.

  • Automatic group processes for intercompany make it easy to eliminate and reconcile.
  • There are processes for fixing errors.
  • You can get overviews of IFRS16 – goodwill or PPA adjustments automated.
  • A tool can include new rules and regulations updates

Do you need help with Group Consolidation?

At Cooach we help growth companies by offering our services with business support, marketing, and sales. Group Consolidation is one of the services we offer within Finance.

We manage consolidation for groups with companies in several countries with different currencies and local differences against the group’s accounting framework. Cooach combines system support with expertise at all levels to produce accurate monthly financial statements, reports to management and the board of directors, and external financial reporting. At the same time, we are constantly prepared for the implementation of new companies, including establishing the PPA’s and training local accounting functions.

As a Cooach client, you can access templates, Q&A, and expert help via Slack. If you are not already a customer, you can still register for a free account and enjoy our template library. Here you can log in or register an account, free or paid, depending on your current needs. https://cooach.io/en/signup/

What is a CMO on-demand, and how can it benefit the growth company?

How can we build an effective digital marketing platform? There are so many CRM systems; which one should we choose? How do we ensure a successful SEO tactic? Making the right decisions regarding budget, paths, and pace is crucial. A CMO-on-demand (Chief Marketing Officer) can be a flexible way to provide your company with senior marketing expertise cost-effectively and with low risk.

The growth journey is challenging. Competence, capital, and lack of time are often the entrepreneur’s most significant concerns. When it comes to sales and marketing, a common scenario for growth companies is hiring a senior CMO resulting in strategic competence. Still, the needs are also operational, so different agencies are signed to help with SEO, advertising, content production, and social media. It can become expensive and inefficient. Another common scenario is hiring a junior operational marketing person who lacks experience. As a mid-way solution, bringing in a CMO-on-demand can provide senior expertise and hands-on power to match the growth company’s needs.

What does a CMO do?

The CMO is responsible for the company’s marketing and branding, designing and implementing strategies, developing a marketing plan, identifying target groups, and creating advertising campaigns and sales tactics. A CMO is also responsible for evaluating and enhancing the marketing results and improving methods and tactics to reach the company’s target groups more efficiently. The CMO can work with various marketing channels, such as social media, print media, radio, and TV, and is responsible for managing budgets and related resources. A CMO usually reports to the company’s CEO or business management.

Common challenges for the CMO of a growth company

The growth company needs to quickly create an efficient marketing and sales function and create a framework for scaling up and down. It is crucial to have the right strategy for different phases of the growth journey, and the key to success is often about the following:

• Identify the target groups and understand their behaviors

• Produce value-creating content efficiently

• Drive organic visibility via a variety of (digital) channels, but in sync

• Advertise via many different digital channels with a compelling ROI

• Set up and use systems and tools (marketing automation and CRM systems) for efficient processes

• Create relevant KPIs and analyze data

• Work data-driven, constantly analyzing and adjusting for better results

• Create and manage possible new customers (leads)

• Automate and optimize the process from leads to orders

• Get new customers to start using the company’s products and services (onboarding) and monitor customer satisfaction (satisfied customers buy more over time)

Bringing in new customers and new businesses is crucial for growth. Marketing and sales need tight cooperation, and a sales-oriented CMO could bridge the gap and make growth happen.

What are the benefits of buying CMO on-demand?

A CMO on-demand can contribute to the growing company to a greater or lesser extent based on the actual needs and over time. During specific periods the need may be more significant and then decrease. The arrangement with a CMO on-demand creates flexibility and reduces risk but gives the company resources and support when and where it is needed.

How can Cooach help your growing company with marketing services?

Cooach has a broad network of marketing managers with extensive experience from growth companies, and they know the common challenges and opportunities. Based on the customer’s needs and actual situation, we will tailor a scope to support in the best way. Cooach can also provide experienced HRM:s, CFO:s, and legal counselors to give the smaller growth company quick access to skills and expertise usually only affordable for larger companies.

Purchasing services and functions

The hybrid organization opens up great opportunities and provides enormous flexibility. Today, as an entrepreneur, you probably spend a lot of time on tasks not connected to the core business and are perceived as unnecessary “admin time” instead of value creation. But you take help with individual services or even entire functions. As a company founder, you will release time, avoid fixed salary costs and reduce risk. You can get traditional business support functions within Finance, HR, Company Administration, and Marketing & Sales to your smaller start-up/ramp-up company without hiring staff resulting in lower risk and the possibility to scale up or down as needed. 

Cooach’s business support platform allows you to scale up and down according to how your conditions change. The platform also offers innovative automated services and features, making repetitive tasks cost-effective. Cooach’s platform makes it easy to handle demands and needs from investors and employees, and you, as an entrepreneur, get support and relief.

The digital workplace and flexible communication tools enable easy collaboration. And even if the core competence should stay tightly linked to the company, business support functions – distributed among several people – can become the internal resource previously missing and give you, as an entrepreneur, support and relief to focus on building your company.

Access a Human Resource manager when you need: how does it work, and how can it help the growth company?

How should we recruit? Where do we find the right types of employees? What skills are most important at what stage for our company? Who should draw up an employee policy? Rapid growth requires competence, commitment, and structure. And the people you employ will be crucial to your company's destiny.

Regardless of whether the company’s ambition is a handful of employees or many different teams, someone must take overall personnel responsibility. The growth company’s HR responsibility (Human Resources) must be in place early.

A common approach for the smaller growth company is for the founder or a financial manager to be responsible for personnel matters. Depending on the company’s phase and size, it usually becomes overpowering and, therefore, soon neglected. The advantage of hiring an HR manager is building a team and acquiring in-house competence. Still, the challenge can be finding a senior person with experience and competence at a reasonable cost. Taking the help of an HR manager on-demand can be an excellent and flexible alternative.

What does an HR manager do?

An HR manager or personnel manager is responsible for developing and managing everything related to the company’s personnel-related issues. It can be about everything from recruiting, creating structure and employment processes, salary negotiations to staff development, work environment issues, the company’s insurances, and other things that concern the company’s employees. The HR manager can also be an advisor and support to management in various personnel-related matters.

What challenges does an HR manager of a growth company often face?

Building and running growth companies often means quick decisions and new conditions. Within the framework of personnel responsibility, there are several immediate business-critical processes, such as:

• Recruitment of different types of skills at the right time and at the correct cost

• Onboarding of new personnel, i.e., welcoming and getting new employees into the company and their role

• Ongoing competence inventory and needs planning

• Support in ongoing competence development

• Employee engagement and culture

• Feedback and feedback within the organization

What are the advantages of taking the help of an HR manager on-demand?

An HR manager on-demand can help to a greater or lesser extent over time based on the company’s needs and budget. Sometimes the condition is more and sometimes less. On-demand gives flexibility and reduces risk while offering growth company resources and support when needed.

How can Cooach help your growing company with HR services?

Cooach has a broad network of HR managers with extensive experience in growth companies,  their challenges, and opportunities. Based on the customer’s needs and actual situation, we will tailor a scope to support in the best way. Cooach can also provide experienced finance, marketing & sales, and legal counseling experts to give the smaller growth company quick access to skills and expertise usually only affordable for larger companies.

An HR manager on-demand from Cooach can be physically present in the client’s office when needed. Still, usually, a remote-first policy with Slack or similar as the primary communications tool will result in maximum efficiency.

Purchasing services and functions

The hybrid organization opens up great opportunities and provides enormous flexibility. Today, as an entrepreneur, you probably spend a lot of time on tasks not connected to the core business and are perceived as unnecessary “admin time” instead of value creation. But you take help with individual services or even entire functions. As a company founder, you will release time, avoid fixed salary costs and reduce risk. You can get traditional business support functions within Finance, HR, legal counseling, and Marketing & Sales to the smaller start-up/ramp-up company without hiring staff with low risk and the possibility to scale up or down as needed. 

Cooach’s business support platform allows you to scale up and down according to how your conditions change. The platform also offers innovative automated services and features, making repetitive tasks cost-effective. Cooach’s platform makes it easy to handle demands and needs from investors and employees, and you, as an entrepreneur, get support and relief.

The digital workplace and flexible communication tools enable easy collaboration. And even if the core competence should stay tightly linked to the company, business support functions – distributed among several people – can become the internal resource previously missing and give you, as an entrepreneur, support and relief to focus on building your company.

How to succeed with your growth company?

Building and scaling up a growth company is one of the most challenging things you can do in business. How to expand from ten employees to 20, to 100, and so on? Only four percent of all started companies grew to over ten million SEK in turnover, and fewer than 0.5% reached a turnover of 100 million SEK or more.

In recent years, entrepreneurs started more companies than before (in Sweden), and many, not least young people, dream of becoming entrepreneurs. The influx of risk capital into the Swedish start-up scene has also increased considerably in recent years, making it possible for many start-ups and scale-ups to scale up their business. But the current turbulence and world political situation that has led to increased inflation and lower risk appetite among investors make it even tougher to build and scale up companies.

This blog article was written for entrepreneurs and founders of a venture capital-financed growth company who want to know more about growth obstacles and how to overcome them.

Growth tips

Build a hybrid organization

After the pandemic, most people have probably realized the advantages of remote work. Also, expertise and niche skills have become much more accessible as geographical limitations no longer matter.
Modern organizations work both remotely and in physical offices, and the forms of employment are flexible based on what suits the growth company and the employees best:

• Permanent employment
• Sub-consultants who work part-time or full-time
• Project employment
• Outsourcing of entire functions

But with the hybrid organization, new demands are placed on entrepreneurs and leaders.

Let go of the need for control

As the leader of a hybrid organization, you need to focus on tracking results rather than controlling what employees are doing. Otherwise, you lose efficiency. Ensure that there are the right conditions, expertise, and competence, as well as give confidence and express trust.

Establish good communication channels

Communication is essential for good collaboration. Digital communication tools become central when the team is physically in a different place. There are several intelligent digital collaboration tools. We particularly want to highlight the communication platform Slack, which many smaller companies benefit significantly from. Slack does not require a significant initial investment, is quick to start, and is easy to integrate with other systems and tools.

Bring in the skills you need

There are no geographical limitations in a hybrid organization, and access to competence is wide open globally. The range of expert knowledge and resources becomes much more significant when temporary employees, freelancers, and consultants are “a chat message away,” sharing documents in the digital workplace and meeting online regardless of geographical location. Do you need help with a one-time effort or a more extended project?

Buy services and functions instead of hiring

Today, as an entrepreneur, you probably spend a lot of time on tasks not connected to the core business, often referred to as “unnecessary admin time”. But you take help with individual services or even entire functions. Imagine that you take help and buy individual services from people with hands on experience or even entire functions. You get relief, avoid fixed salary costs and reduce your risk. For example, you can add traditional business support functions the smaller start-up company usually can’t afford but with low risk and the possibility to scale up or down as needed. You can bring functions like finance, HR, legal counselling, marketing & sales.

Growth as a Service

GaaS is a collective term for business support services that primarily stimulate economic growth. Cooach offers a GaaS platform with products and services tailored to your growth company’s budget and specific needs. The scope can scale according to current needs and status. The platform offers intelligent, automated services and functions and access to senior experts with specialist skills. The experts can help with one-off topics or on an ongoing basis. Taking help makes demands and requirements from investors and employees more manageable, and you get support and relief. Taking help makes demands and requirements from investors and employees more manageable, and you get support and relief.

Growth obstacles and how to avoid them

In the book Scaling Up by Verne Harnish and Pelle Tornell, the authors list the five most common growth barriers. If you are aware of these when building your company, the chances of succeeding on a growth journey are better than the other way around. Please read the whole book! Below we share our insights and experiences linked to the obstacles.

The founder/leader becomes a bottleneck

The best chance to make it work is to surround yourself with expert competence. You know your business and industry best, but get help for tasks and issues others can handle so you can focus on what creates the most value for the company. Remember, you can get help without hiring. Many roles can be purchased as a complete function. Growth as a Service (GaaS) is business support services that contribute to your growth and that you can flexibly adapt (scope and content) to scale up or down.

Reduced focus on the customer

Keep the focus on the customers at all times during the growth journey. Your time is limited and it is impossible to handle all tasks and functions yourself. New eyes can often see needs “from the outside in” and take the customer’s perspective. External help can contribute both with sharp customer insight and product development. Cooach has a dedicated team specializing in customer experience and can provide valuable insights of customer behavior.

Responsibilities and roles grow and become unclear

Growth companies change rapidly, as do needs, requirements, and conditions. Make a plan for roles, responsibilities, and functions today and tomorrow early. Which part or function is responsible for what, what skills are required, and how best to solve whatever needs to be solved on the growth journey? A GaaS-support could be an excellent way to go, especially given today’s financial turmoil. You can get help with mapping, role descriptions, and planning of functions, as well as growth resources that can be quickly scaled up or down depending on development.

Competence does not grow with your turnover

It is hard to simultaneously be a legal counsellor, an economist and a marketer. New phases in the company’s development, new demands and needs and the uncertain global situation create changing conditions. The newly started company has different competence needs compared to the one that has been around for a while. Plan and stay one step ahead regarding mapping needed skills. Take help from an HR expert and make a proactive plan, and you will avoid unnecessary “intermediate situations” that could stop your development.

Systems, routines, and processes are not scalable

Build infrastructure, routines, and processes that are scalable, integrable, and easy to get started with from the start. And prepare your organization for a flexible workforce, including permanent employees, project employees, freelancers, and gig workers. Communication tools, working documents, and tools must be simple, flexible, and secure. Cooach has helped hundreds of growth companies, has a solid knowledge bank, and can provide business support services and products focusing on growth. We constantly work to automate and streamline our delivery for our customers to get increased efficiency, scalability, and cost savings.

Do you want to know more?

If you want to know more about Cooach and how we can help you, feel free to book a meeting with us, and we can discuss how we can help you grow.

If you want to know more about growth n general, please follow us on LinkedIn, where we continuously share knowledge, tips, guides, etc.
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