Entrepreneurs are facing multiple challenges such as market competition, resource shortage, and unclear business models. How to achieve business growth is one of the most concerned issues for entrepreneurs. As a professional third-party service organization, consulting companies can provide startups with strategic planning, market research, investment and financing guidance, operation optimization and other support to help startups find suitable market positioning, customer needs, competitive advantages and profit models, So as to achieve a leap from zero to one. Taking Shangpu Consulting as an example, this paper introduces how consulting companies provide customized solutions for start-up companies through special module consulting and system management consulting, and analyzes the effect and value of consulting services in combination with specific cases.

Startups are businesses that are in the start-up or growth stage, often with a high degree of innovation, flexibility and uncertainty. In the process of seeking market opportunities and realizing business value, start-ups often face the following difficulties:

Market competition: there are many competitors in the industry or field in which the start-up company is located, including mature large enterprises and other similar start-up companies. How to stand out in the fierce market competition and win the recognition and trust of customers is a problem that startups must solve.

Resource shortage: start-up companies are usually relatively scarce in terms of manpower, capital, technology, etc., and it is difficult to meet the needs of business development. How to effectively use limited resources and improve resource utilization and efficiency is a problem that start-up companies must consider.

Business model is not clear: In the process of exploring market needs and business opportunities, startups often need to constantly adjust and optimize their products or services to adapt to market changes and customer feedback. How to find a feasible and sustainable business model, so that products or services can create value for customers and bring benefits to enterprises, is a clear problem for start-up companies.

In response to these difficulties and problems, consulting companies can provide professional help and support to start-up companies. A consulting firm is a third-party organization that provides expertise, skills or advice as its main service content. Its main goal is to help customers solve problems, improve conditions or achieve goals. Consulting firms usually have the following advantages:

Professionalism: The consulting company has a professional consulting team and methodology, which can provide reasonable, effective and operable solutions according to the actual situation and needs of customers.

Objectivity: As a third-party organization, consulting companies can analyze the problems and opportunities faced by customers from a neutral and comprehensive perspective, avoid being affected by customers' internal interests or emotions, and put forward objective, fair and transparent suggestions.

Innovation: the consulting company has rich industry experience and market insight, can combine the characteristics and advantages of customers, put forward innovative ideas and solutions, help customers break the inherent mode of thinking, achieve business innovation and breakthrough.

Depending on the content of the service, consulting firms can provide two types of consulting services for startups: special module consulting and system management consulting.

Special module consulting refers to providing professional analysis and suggestions on the problems or needs encountered by start-up companies in a particular field or link. For example, consulting firms can provide startups with the following specialized module consulting:

Market research consulting: by collecting, collating and analyzing market-related data and information, help start-ups understand market size, structure, trends, opportunities and risks, determine target markets, target customers and market positioning, and formulate reasonable market strategies and marketing plans.

Investment and financing consulting: by evaluating the financial situation, capital needs, return on investment and other factors of the start-up company, to help the start-up company to develop appropriate financing strategies and programs, to find and contact potential investors or partners, to assist the start-up company to complete the financing process of the work.

Operation optimization consulting: by diagnosing the operation process, organizational structure, human resources, cost control and other aspects of start-up companies, help start-up companies find and solve problems and bottlenecks in operation, improve operational efficiency and quality, and reduce operating costs and risks.

Special module consulting is characterized by strong pertinence, short cycle and low cost, which is suitable for the situation that start-up companies need professional guidance or support at a certain stage or in a certain aspect. The effect of special module consultation depends on the consulting company's accurate grasp of customer problems, in-depth understanding of market conditions, and effective implementation of solutions.

System management consulting refers to providing comprehensive, systematic and continuous management improvement and growth services for start-ups from the overall strategic level of start-ups. For example, consulting firms can provide the following types of system management consulting for startups:

Strategic planning consulting: by analyzing the industry environment, competitive situation, their own advantages and disadvantages and other factors, to help start-ups clarify their vision, mission and goals, formulate long-term development strategies and plans, and determine key strategic initiatives and resource allocation.

Business model consulting: by exploring the logic and mechanism of how the products or services provided by start-up companies create value for customers and bring benefits to enterprises, help start-up companies build or optimize their core competitiveness and profit model, and realize the matching of products or services with market demand.

Organizational change consulting: by introducing new organizational concepts, structures, processes, culture and other elements, it helps start-up companies to realize the reform and optimization of organizational structure and management methods, improve organizational capabilities and collaboration capabilities, and enhance organizational adaptability and competitiveness.

System management consulting is characterized by strong comprehensiveness, long cycle and high cost, which is suitable for the situation that start-up companies need professional guidance or support in terms of overall development direction or strategic transformation. The effectiveness of systems management consulting depends on the consulting firm's in-depth understanding of customer strategy, innovative design of business models, and effective promotion of organizational change.

In order to better illustrate how consulting firms can help startups achieve business growth, this article will take Champ Consulting as an example to introduce the two types of consulting services it provides to startups, and analyze their effectiveness and value in the light of specific case studies.

Champ Consulting is an organization that focuses on providing professional consulting services to start-up companies.2019Headquartered in Beijing, it has a team of senior consultants, industry experts and entrepreneurial mentors dedicated to helping startups make the leap from zero to one. According to the different development stages and needs of start-up companies, Shangpu Consulting provides two types of consulting services: special module consulting and system management consulting.

Special module consulting is to provide professional analysis and suggestions for the problems or needs encountered by start-up companies in a specific field or link. According to different special modules such as market research, investment and financing, operation optimization, etc., Shangpu Consulting has designed the corresponding consulting process and method, including the following steps:

Understand the customer: through communication with the customer, understand the customer's background, objectives, problems and needs, determine the scope, objectives and expectations of the consulting project.

Collect information: collect internal and external information related to customer problems through questionnaires, interviews, data collection, etc., and carry out data cleaning and sorting.

Analysis of information: through data analysis, industry analysis, competition analysis and other methods, in-depth analysis and interpretation of the collected information, to find the root causes of problems and opportunities.

Put forward suggestions: according to the analysis results, put forward specific, feasible and effective solutions to the customer's problems, and give the implementation steps and timetable.

Follow-up evaluation: during the implementation of the solution, keep communication and feedback with customers, monitor the implementation and effect of the solution, and adjust and optimize the solution in time.

A specific case is that Champ Consulting provided market research consulting for an online education startup. The start-up company mainly provides online English courses for primary and secondary school students, facing fierce market competition, high user turnover rate and high marketing costs. Champ Consulting provides market research consulting through the following steps:

Understanding customers: Shangpu Consulting has communicated with the startup many times to understand its product characteristics, target users, competitors, market strategies and other information, and determined that the goal of the consulting project is to help the startup company improve user retention and Reduce marketing costs.

Information collection: through the design and distribution of questionnaires, Shangpu consulting collected the basic information, learning needs, usage habits, satisfaction and other data of the existing users and potential users of the start-up company. At the same time, through network search, industry reports, expert interviews, etc., it collected the development trend, market scale, competition pattern and other information of the online education industry.

Analysis information: Shangpu Consulting conducted statistical analysis and visual display of the collected data through data analysis software, and found key information such as user portrait, user stratification, and user loss reasons of the startup company. At the same time, through industry analysis and competition Analysis, discovered the market opportunities and competitive advantages of the startup company.

Suggestions: Based on the results of the analysis, Champ Consulting made the following suggestions for the startup:

Optimize product design, increase the interactivity and interest of the course, and improve the user's learning interest and effect.

Refined user stratification, according to the needs and characteristics of different users, provide personalized course recommend and services, and improve user loyalty and satisfaction.

Use social media and word-of-mouth marketing to increase user engagement and sharing, reduce marketing costs and increase conversion rates.

Follow-up evaluation: During the implementation of the proposal, Shangpu Consulting maintained close contact and communication with the startup company, regularly collected and analyzed user data and market feedback, evaluated the implementation and effect of the proposal, and made some adjustments according to the actual situation. And optimization.

After market research consulting by Champ Consulting, the startup's user retention rate increased20%, marketing costs are reduced30%Market share increased.10%. The start-up company expressed high recognition and satisfaction with the services of Champ Consulting.

System management consulting is a comprehensive, systematic and continuous management improvement and growth service for start-up companies from the overall strategic level of start-up companies. According to different system management areas such as strategic planning, business model and organizational change, Shangpu Consulting has designed the corresponding consulting framework and method, including the following steps:

Determine strategy: through communication with customers, determine the customer's vision, mission and objectives, analyze the customer's industry environment, competitive situation, their own advantages and disadvantages and other factors, formulate long-term development strategy and planning.

Design pattern: by exploring the logic and mechanism of how the products or services provided by customers create value for customers and bring benefits to the enterprise, help customers build or optimize their core competitiveness and profit model.

Promote change: by introducing new organizational concepts, structures, processes, culture and other elements, help customers realize the transformation and optimization of organizational structure and management methods, and improve organizational effectiveness and collaboration capabilities.

Monitoring and evaluation: during the implementation of the strategy, keep communication and feedback with customers, monitor the implementation and effect of the strategy, and adjust and optimize the strategy in time.

A specific case is that Champu Consulting provided system management consulting for a shared bicycle start-up company. The start-up company mainly provides shared bicycle services based on smart hardware and mobile applications, facing market saturation, profitability difficulties, regulatory pressure and other issues. Champ Consulting provides system management consulting through the following steps:

Determine strategy: Champ Consulting has communicated with the startup many times and determined that its vision is to become a platform for providing diversified travel solutions. Its mission is to make travel more convenient, greener, and smarter. Its goal is2025Annual realization1000Universal users and10billion dollars in revenue. Shangpu Consulting analyzed the industry environment, competitive situation, its own advantages and disadvantages and other factors of the start-up company, and formulated the following development strategies and plans:

Expand the product line, in addition to sharing bicycles, but also provide shared electric vehicles, shared cars and other travel tools to meet the travel needs and scenarios of different users.

Expand the market area, in addition to the domestic market, but also to enter the international market, especially in Southeast Asia, Europe and other areas with high travel demand and environmental awareness.

Expand the business model, in addition to charging users for the use of fees, but also through advertising, membership, data analysis and other ways to increase revenue sources, improve profitability.

Strengthen partners, establish good cooperative relations with the government, communities, enterprises and other related parties, and gain advantages in policy support, resource sharing, and market promotion.

Design mode: by exploring the logic and mechanism of how the products or services provided by the start-up company create value for customers and bring benefits to the enterprise, champ consulting has helped the start-up company build or optimize the following core competitiveness and profit model:

Use smart hardware and mobile applications to provide convenient, safe and comfortable travel experience and create value for customers.

Use big data and artificial intelligence to achieve accurate analysis and prediction of user behavior and needs, provide customers with personalized travel recommend and services, and increase customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Use cloud computing and the Internet of Things to realize remote monitoring and management of travel tools, optimize the distribution and scheduling of travel tools, and reduce operating costs and risks.

Use the platform model to integrate a variety of travel tools and services to form a complete travel ecosystem and bring benefits to the enterprise.

Promote change: By introducing new organizational concepts, structures, processes, culture and other elements, Shangpu Consulting has helped the startup company to achieve the following organizational structure and management changes and optimization:

Establish a user-centric organizational structure, which divides the organization into four core departments, namely, product department, marketing department, operation department and technical department, and sets up corresponding sub-departments according to different regions and product lines.

Establish a project-oriented organizational process that defines each project as a small team of people across departments, and gives the team some autonomy and responsibility.

Establish an innovation-driven organizational culture, encourage employees to put forward new ideas and suggestions, and provide employees with corresponding training and incentive mechanisms to cultivate employees' innovative consciousness and ability.

Monitoring and evaluation: During the implementation of the strategy, Shangpu Consulting maintained close contact and communication with the startup company, regularly collected and analyzed user data and market feedback, evaluated the implementation and effects of the strategy, and made some adjustments based on actual conditions. And optimization.

Through the system management consulting of Shangpu Consulting, the startup's product line has expanded to five travel tools, the market area has expanded to ten countries, the business model has expanded to four sources of income, and the partners have expanded to more than 20 related parties. The startup's users have grown50%Revenue has increased.80%Profitability has increased.100%. The start-up company expressed high recognition and satisfaction with the services of Champ Consulting.

This paper introduces how consulting companies provide special start-up companies with bicycle-sharing rental services, facing problems such as market saturation, user mobility and profitability difficulties. Champ Consulting provides system management consulting through the following steps:

Determine strategy: Shangpu Consulting has communicated with the startup many times and determined that its vision is to become a platform that provides diversified travel solutions. Its mission is to provide users with convenient, safe, and environmentally friendly travel services. It is to achieve profitability and expand to the international market within three years. Shangpu Consulting analyzed the industry environment, competitive situation, its own advantages and disadvantages and other factors of the start-up company, and formulated the following development strategies and plans:

Adjust the product structure, in addition to shared bicycles, increase the choice of other travel modes, such as shared cars, shared electric vehicles, etc., to meet the travel needs and preferences of different users.

Expand the scope of services, in addition to providing travel services, increase the content of other related services, such as parking lot booking, route planning, traffic information query, etc., to enhance the user's travel experience and convenience.

Strengthen the brand image, establish the brand image of the startup company as an innovative, responsible and credible travel platform through publicity activities, social responsibility, user reputation, etc., and increase user awareness and loyalty.

Seek partners, through the establishment of cooperative relations with government departments, public transport agencies, community organizations and other related parties, to obtain policy support, resource sharing, market expansion and other advantages, reduce operating costs and risks.

Design mode: by exploring the logic and mechanism of how the products or services provided by the start-up company create value for customers and bring benefits to the enterprise, champ consulting has helped the start-up company build or optimize the following core competitiveness and profit model:

Improve user stickiness, through the establishment of user credit system, provide membership system, the introduction of preferential activities, etc., to encourage users to frequently use the platform of the start-up company, increase the amount and frequency of user consumption.

Increase revenue sources, in addition to collecting user rental fees, increase other sources of revenue, such as advertising revenue, data revenue, value-added service revenue, etc., to achieve a diversified revenue structure.

Optimize operational efficiency, through the introduction of intelligent equipment management system, data analysis system, customer service system and other ways to achieve effective management and optimization of equipment, data, customers and other aspects, improve operational efficiency and quality.

Promote change: By introducing new organizational concepts, structures, processes, culture and other elements, Shangpu Consulting has helped the startup company to achieve the following organizational structure and management changes and optimization:

Establish a platform-based organizational structure, transform the original functional organizational structure into an organizational structure with the platform as the core, manage and coordinate each product or service as a module on the platform, and realize the integration and sharing of resources.

Introduce an agile management process, transform the original linear management process into an iterative management process, break down each project or task into multiple stages or cycles for management and evaluation, and achieve rapid feedback and adjustment.

Cultivate an innovative organizational culture, transform the original conservative organizational culture into an innovation-centered organizational culture, encourage employees to put forward new ideas and suggestions, support employees to conduct trial and error and learn, and achieve continuous innovation and improvement.

Monitoring and evaluation: During the implementation of the strategy, Shangpu Consulting maintained close contact and communication with the startup company, regularly collected and analyzed user data, market data, financial data and other data, evaluated the implementation and effect of the strategy, and based on the actual situation Some adjustments and optimizations have been made.

After the system management consulting of Champ Consulting, the user scale of the startup has grown.50%Revenue has increased.80%, the profit margin increased20%Market share increased.15%. The start-up company expressed high recognition and satisfaction with the services of Champ Consulting.

Summary:

This paper introduces how consulting companies help start-up companies achieve business growth, analyzes the advantages and service types of consulting companies, and takes Shangpu Consulting as an example, introduces two ways of special module consulting and system management consulting for start-up companies, and analyzes the effect and value of consulting services with specific cases. The purpose of this paper is to provide some reference and inspiration for entrepreneurs to help them better choose and use the services of consulting firms to realize their entrepreneurial dreams.