Having one of the fastest growing, most successful telecommunications companies in Australia didn’t just happen by accident for MATE. It was a combination of many factors – including a great idea, fortuitous timing, awesome people (who put in hard yakka) and, importantly, the right tools, writes Mark Fazio cofounder of MATE.

David Fazio, CEO of MATE says, ‘We often say, “Don’t be fooled by shiny lights”. It’s too easy to see what other companies are doing, and worry that somehow, we’re being left behind. Some telcos have huge billboards, or slick advertising campaigns, and, like any business, it’s easy to start to feel that you need to step up in those areas in order to compete. But those are just “shiny lights” and it’s not necessarily how you grow a business.’

Instead of being distracted by ‘shiny lights’, MATE uses tools and data to understand how to grow on their own terms.

Using the Right Tools to Grow Your Business

“Tools give you data. And data doesn’t lie,” David says. “Data shows you where things are working and where things can be improved. Data shows you an achievable path towards growth that doesn’t allow you to be side-tracked by fancy advertisements or social media blagging.”

And data is how MATE has grown from 1,214 customers in 2016 to one of the largest privately owned service providers in Australia.

What Are the Right Tools?

The right tools will be different for every business and every industry. And MATE acknowledges they’ve worked hard to find and engage with programs that provide them with effective data such as [customer analysis, traffic growth and sales projections].

David says, “When we got the right set of programs together, we were able to be incredibly targeted. We were also able to ensure that we weren’t throwing money away on useless tools.”

So, what tools do MATE use to drive their incredible growth? Here’s what David has to say.

Falcon – Social Media

When it comes to successful social media management, having a program that can help streamline your processes and that you can put complete trust in to get the job done is essential. For their social media management, MATE turned to Falcon.

“Falcon allows us to effectively manage our social activity in one place. It gives us a complete view of spend versus metrics versus audience versus competition versus overall return. Most importantly, Falcon allows us to actively manage social as a sales channel rather than just “something you do,” says David.

“It’s become imperative for social media managers to be a jack of all trades, juggling the creation, scheduling, and distribution of paid and organic content through various channels, while proving to upper management the ROI of the work they do. Tough job, right?” Roberto Lago, Senior Community Marketing Manager at Falcon.io says. “Our goal is to help social media marketers overcome all these challenges by offering them a unified platform that makes social media management as it was intended to be – simple and fun.”

MYOB – Finance Management

Tools like MYOB offer management solutions and equip businesses with the right data and know-how to successfully manage finances and cash flow. ‘MYOB helps us understand the outgoings of our business overlayed with the incomings. It offers us the double click and triple-click to understand the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of our business activities.’

Dale Dixon, Head of Product for Small Business at MYOB says, “Using data is essential to understanding your financial position and your overall business performance. Real time data and insights allow business owners to do things like keep on top of cash flow, identify the highest value products or services to prioritise and to stay compliant.”

Big Datr – Competitor Analysis

Any successful business owner knows that it pays to keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to your competitors. Using tools like Big Datr to monitor your position in the market are invaluable for success and growth.

“Big Datr provides information that allows us to understand our competitor presence in the market. It shows us what our competition is doing, where they are spending and how much. This enables us to make the most practical decisions with our investments instead of going head-to-head with people who have deeper pockets.

“It doesn’t really matter what your competitors are doing, until it does. Understanding the competition’s market positioning helps our customers make better-informed decisions,” says Bernard Brkic, Commercial & Strategy Director for Big Datr.

Asana – Project Management

The rule at MATE is, “If it’s not in Asana, it didn’t happen”. Asana helps us stay true to our business methodology for internal success, which is planning, process and communication. With the help of Asanahttps://slack.com/intl/en-au/ we are able to deliver this efficiently and effectively to all people within our organisation and even our external partners.

Adam Chicktong, General Manager, APAC of Asana agrees. “We love MATE’s catchphrase, so much so I use it myself! Our goal is to make life easier for business owners and team members alike no matter what industry they’re in.”

Slack – Communication

 Key to any successful business – and happy workplace – is effective communication. Gone are the days where you would have an inbox full of pointless email chains – communication has evolved beyond this. Using a program like Slack encourages more streamlined and open communication between teams and allows businesses to share ideas in a more efficient manner.

David says, “Slack allows us to communicate in real-time, about current business activities with people that need to know. It takes the clutter out of communication and lets us go directly to the people that matter with the information they need. This ultimately saves time and keeps work moving quickly and efficiently.”

Power Bl – Data Display

Never underestimate the benefit of using visual aid to tell your story. A platform like Power BI allows you to create amazing data experiences that bring your numbers to life.

“Pictures tell a thousand words and Power BI allows us to tell our business stories with as much detail as we like, in the ways that we want and with the ability to target it to people who need to see it,” says David.

The Right Tools for Growth

Having the right tools has been vitally important to MATE’s growth and success over the years.

“When you buy a new product, it’s important that you read the terms and conditions. If you don’t, you won’t get all the information you need to use that product successfully. And you can’t later say you didn’t understand what you purchased,” David says.

“It’s the same with investing in the right tools your business. They give you the data that help you understand your business. But if you don’t get the tools (your business T&Cs) and worse, if you don’t look at your data (read your T&Cs) you just won’t have the information you need to be successful. Everything you need is available; you just need to go out there and get it!”

Want more? Get the latest coronavirus news and updates straight to your inbox! Follow Kochie’s Business Builders on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.