Appstem Celebrates 13 years of Success
It’s an interesting time in the technology industry. So far this year, over 100,000 people have been laid off across the industry. We’re not convinced that signals major trouble, but rather a reset from rapid hiring during the pandemic. However, as Appstem celebrates its 13th anniversary this month, we’re experiencing a very different trajectory.
2022 was a phenomenal year for our company. We exceeded all of our annual goals and experienced 65% growth over 2021. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that we’ve always run a lean organization, but we made some key changes over the past year that have helped us grow while some in our industry are shrinking.
One strategic move that has had an incredible impact on our business has been several key hires over the last 2 years. This includes hiring a team of senior level project managers to bring more efficiency to our work and our client relationships. This has helped our transition as we went fully remote in 2020. By bringing on senior level PMs who helped tighten our processes, we have standardized much of our workflow to ensure that we have accountability with both our internal team and our clients.
Looking ahead to 2023, we’re focusing on three strategic priorities that we think will continue to drive growth for Appstem.
Client Retention and Satisfaction
This may seem like a no-brainer but our plan includes a shift in our strategy. It’s one thing to win contracts and deliver satisfying results. It’s another to build an ongoing relationship with our clients. We don’t want to create a mobile or web solution, launch it and then move on. We want to work with clients to continuously update and evolve those products as well as be the go-to vendor for ongoing maintenance. We’re introducing customer surveys for the first time to get real, pro-active feedback that we can use to develop deeper and more lasting relationships.
For example, we worked with Fitness Connection to build a kiosk app that provides a self-service environment at all their gyms. The app has been so successful that we’ve worked on a number of additional projects with them since, including creating a “join online” program that tripled their online signups and a redesign of their website is in the works.
Focus on the Restaurant Industry
The past few years have shown us that there is a serious need within the restaurant industry to upgrade their digital capabilities. Appstem is well positioned in price point, size and experience to be a perfect fit for transforming the way restaurants interact with their customers. Restaurants are ripe for a digital disruption. Ordering functionality, payment processes, loyalty and rewards programs can all be integrated with delivery apps and POS systems. We’re a perfect fit for restaurants that have outgrown their off-the-shelf white label apps and large consulting firms that cost a ton. Appstem has already worked with big names like KFC and are poised to work with other restaurants to make their online ordering experience streamlined and profitable.
Processes and More Processes
As noted earlier, we made great strides last year standardizing our operating procedures, but there is always room for improvement. We will continue to revise our internal processes and will use the findings from our customer surveys to drive our strategy.
We don’t expect 65% growth for 2023, but we do have modest goals to increase our revenue and continue to grow our team. Given the state of big tech, it is firms like ours - small to midsize companies - that make up the bulk of the industry and are seeing incremental growth for the year ahead.
If you’re looking for an innovative team to support your software development projects or are looking for a career in a rapidly growing technology environment, we’d love to hear from you.
