Building Effective Fundraising Strategies for Businesses
Most leaders in the business world swear by the statement that “in business, if you are not growing, you’re dying”, and it’s not hard to see why it makes sense. After all, competition is intense in every industry today as every organization wants to launch the “next big thing” first. So, you have to work constantly to offer new services and find new sources of revenue to support your efforts. However, to grow your organization the way you want, you can’t always rely on the revenue alone. Sometimes you need capital on an urgent basis, which is why it helps to know about some of the most effective fundraising strategies which are:
Offering Advance-Payment Discounts
The early payment discount tactic has proven to work with commodities and subscription-based services, and it can work for your organisation as well. For instance, if you offer enterprise-level services to other companies, then you can ask them to pay quarterly or annually in advance to avail an attractive discount. If you are able to receive a large number of upfront payments, then it can go a long way in meeting your fundraising objectives.
Obtaining a Working Capital Loan
One of the simplest and most straightforward fundraising strategies is to borrow working capital from a financial institution directly. Granted, you will have to bear the interest amount but if your credit rating is high and your track record good, then you can fulfill all your funding requirements within a few days.
Launching a Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding is highly popular among new startups that want to launch innovative products that solve real-world problems. However, it can work for any type of business irrespective of its age and size. The only important factor here is the targeted product/service. If you want to raise funds for a product/service that has that “wow” factor to it or if it has a use for a large number of people, then a properly organised crowdfunding campaign can easily help you in achieving your financial targets.
Identifying New Sources of Revenue
By taking a closer look at your current business model, you can identify new possible revenue streams. For instance, if you offer disaster recovery and backup services, then you can consider offering cloud application development services as well. You just need to identify the services that your current customers are receiving from other organisations and select the ones that make sense to you financially. If you can come up with good pricing, then it won’t be difficult to convince your customers to pick you over their current providers.
Raising funds for your business, no matter whether it’s your first time or the fifth is seldom easy. However, if you have a comprehensive strategy in place, then it can certainly make the process a lot easier.
