Blog Layout
REAWAKENING OF LOCAL PRIDE
Paula Kaye • 22 July 2020
A positive change that has come from this crisis is the increased consumer appetite and demand for local products and the re connection with small local businesses and suppliers. When the UK went into lock down and working from home became the norm, more people shopped at their nearby businesses. This created a sharp increase in demand for these small grocery, butcher and bakery businesses who remained open in small towns and rural areas.
These local businesses provided an essential service and much-needed lifeline within the communities they served. They gave choice away from larger supermarkets and reopened our eyes to what has always been on our doorstep, great local businesses, and suppliers, providing quality products which are locally made and a personal service their larger competitors cannot replicate.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Daniel Carr from Warings Bakery and George Fuller from Fullers Bakery to learn more about the immediate and lasting impact Covid 19 had on their small family bakery businesses. Boost Consultancy highlights some key themes and trends that emerged and the opportunity this provides to put local firmly back on the map.
RESILIENT AND ADAPTABLE
Darwin once said, “it is not the strongest of the species that survive it is the ones that are the most adaptable to change”. The advantage small independent businesses like Warings and Fullers have is the ability to adapt and respond quickly to change and a resilience and survival mentality borne from past experiences. The strong supplier relationships they have built over many years, assured supplies of key ingredients which supported the sudden increase in production. They quickly took steps to communicate with their customers that they were open for business and what they had done to increase the stringent hygiene processes already in place, to provide confidence in a safe shopping experience. When the government guidelines were issued, they applied social distancing measures to the customer experience involving staff to come up with practical solutions to make the shop space work. They communicated these changes on their social channels and with posters in store which all built trust and buy in from customers and staff. The one challenge they found was sourcing supplies of hand sanitiser and plastic screens for the shops.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The location of their shops, which had always been one of their biggest weakness, overnight became their key strength. Lock down meant people were at home and using local businesses within walking distance. Sales and production soared for both businesses with bread sales increasing 40 to 50% and sales of sweat treats up around 25%. As large cities continue to struggle with footfall and many office workers continue to work from home for the foreseeable future the reliance on small family businesses such as Warings and Fullers and the staying local trend is set to continue.
PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF THE BUSINESS
They say culture is what employees will revert to in times of crisis and will show how well the values of your business are lived through the behaviours of your people. It is key for any business leader to win both the hearts and minds of its employees if the business is to create a people focused culture with engaged and loyal employees. The impact of Covid 19 showcased the dedication and commitment of the teams in both family businesses. They both spoke with pride about the way the whole workforce went above and beyond, pulling together and showing a willingness to do what was needed to ensure the business succeeded. Daniel shared with me that many employees spoke of work giving them a much-needed focus that supported their mental well being throughout. Warings held weekly meetings with staff to check in on the well being of the team and to consult with them on any decisions that affected them. Those put-on furlough (only 17 out of a 60 strong workforce) had volunteered due to their own situations. Fullers also ensured any staff with high dependency were well looked after and but choose not to furlough any of the staff throughout. Changes were made to the opening hours to allow the team extra time at the end of each day to complete a more rigorous clean down.
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Providing an engaging customer experience that makes customers want to return and builds a loyal customer base is a key differentiation for any business. Daniel shared stories of teams dropping orders off after the shop closed for regular customers not able to get to the shop for health reasons and checking in on them to ensure they were well and safe. This level of care and consideration builds an emotional connection with the brand and so it is little surprise to know that they have created new regulars in this time as well as having loyal customers who have shopped with them for over 40 years. Building rapport and developing authentic relationship with customers is key and should not be underestimated. The moving and humbling responses received from many of Warings customers through a questionnaire and social channels showed the impact the kindness and care shown by staff during the crisis had. Customers showed a new appreciation and respect for the work that all these essential workers did by keeping open and providing a service throughout the lock down.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Local businesses have always played an important part within the local community, they have a genuine interest in the success of the towns and rural areas they trade within. They provide employment for local people and contribute to the economic success of the local economy. They do good work through supporting community charities and events. During the crisis Warings like many businesses turned their attention to the NHS, creating NHS cupcakes and donating 30p from each one sold to the local hospital. They continued to support local events, when the local fire brigade wanted to spend £30 on cakes as a pick me up for the team, they doubled this providing cake to the value of £60. The care and consideration shown for the most needy and vulnerable at this time was really impressive.
HERITAGE AND VALUE
Covid has been a positive catalyst for change in their businesses a time to reset and return to their core competency as a traditional family bakery. By simplifying the range and focus they increased sales and profitability. They reduced the complexity created by trying to be all things to all people, producing a more efficient business model. They are now exploring possible benefits of centralised production for their food to go range to allow staff in the shop to focus on exceptional customer service.
OPPORTUNITY DRIVES INNOVATION
Home delivery bakery boxes were developed by Warings as a response to demand created by the lock down as people looked for experiences they could enjoy from the comfort of their own home. Warings bakery created an online order service and route app to support this within a week. This delivered incremental sales and became a strong sales stream for their business, at peak they were delivering 125 boxes a day, this rose to 200 on key days such as V.E day and Father’s Day. A service that was borne out of necessity will become a permanent part of their business strategy going forward, creating a new sales stream which they intend to develop further to add choices of delivery days and times. Both businesses realise the importance of remaining relevant and evolving to match the needs of customers, the focus on creating an improved shopping experience that makes customers want to return again and again.
CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOURS
How we ensure shopping habits change for the better as life picks up pace and we become time poor once again will be a key challenge. We need to remember the difference local businesses like Fullers and Warings made to us when we needed them most. Making time to shop local even just once a week will have huge impact on the ability of businesses like these to thrive rather than just survive.
I am hopeful that a lasting legacy of this crisis is a newfound appreciation for the value small independent businesses and local producers have and the reawakening of local pride.
If you would like to learn more or are looking for support to develop and improve business performance please contact
enquiries@boost-consultancy.co.uk or telephone 07595 278158 to arrange a free initial consultation to understand how Boost Consultancy
can help.
Some recent research published by Zonal reported that 65% of people agree that eating and dining out is just as important in their social life as it was before the cost-of-living crisis.
If you are saying YES to something, what is it your saying NO to…. A key part of my role as a consultant is to partner with business leaders and owners to help them work through challenges to highlight the opportunities as well as helping them get clear on what this means they may need to let go. I recently read that the courage to grow demands the courage to let go…. I am often asked to support business leaders and owners who are a bit stuck on seeing the way forward and need some expert advice and support to help them generate the options and choices open to them. If you are a hospitality or retail business with a current challenge that could use the sort of skills and expertise I bring, then click here to contact me . To understand more about me and how I approach my work with clients, take a look at my recently updated website and some of the work I have completed click here .
A sign of a really great hospitality business is when it feels like a home away from home, so as we wait for the announcement from Boris this Monday, I explore what things your business needs to pay attention to as you plan to welcome your customers home.
I approach 2021 with positivity and optimism that this will be a good year for Boost Consultancy, and I am looking forward to being able to make a difference to the businesses I work with and delivering some exciting new projects. 2021 is a time for building back stronger and resetting for what is ahead. As we move into 2021, there are the 7 key themes from 2020 that I hope we will continue to see in the year ahead.
We all have stories of truly memorable customer service that lifts your spirits and makes you want to share your experience with others. So, what is the magic dust that makes good service great and makes a satisfactory customer experience a memorable one? Knowing this answer will enable you to differentiate your business from the competition. We can all think of businesses that consistently get their customer service experience right and we reward them with our loyalty. These businesses do not have a silver bullet, so what do they have that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary? I spent over 35 years working with businesses that deliver award winning customer service. I have had the pleasure of leading and developing the customer service strategy within Bettys for many of those years, so I am well qualified to know what it takes to achieve this. COVID-19 has made the delivery of an exceptional customer experience more important than ever, as businesses need to ensure that customers want to return and that they can build loyalty. Below I share the key things you need to do if you want to create a customer experience that is anything but ordinary. 1. Listen – creating a culture of extraordinary service requires businesses to actively listen to their front-line people and their customers. Keep close to your customers and gather data and feedback on their experience so you can continuously develop and improve it. Everyone in the team needs to be aligned to a mission based around great service and Leaders need to make it their business to remove any barriers or obstacles that get in the way. Making sure your front-line staff have the right tools and equipment to deliver great service and prioritising all the things that make great service delivery easy and inevitable. 2. Consistency is key, great service never has a day off, you need to deliver on your brand promise every time. By mapping the step by step customer journey so every member of the team knows exactly what they need to deliver for the customer to feel special and engaged. This should start from the moment customers are planning their visit through to the welcome on arrival and right through to the thank you and goodbye. A way to envisage this is to imagine your customers are taking a magic carpet ride, for them to have the full experience you need to ensure nothing is missed out so your customers can enjoy the full brand experience delivered to them by ambassadors and promoters of your brand. 3. Systems behind the service : You need to have the right processes and practices to make the delivery of exceptional service easy. This includes a clear purpose beyond making money that all the team can get behind. Having defined service values around employees’ behaviours will provide clarity on expectations so they can hold themselves and one another to account. A great Induction and onboarding process centred around your Customer Experience. Service Manuals that provide a step by step guide to support training and embed best practice. Having the right people is critical so ensuring your recruitment policy reflects the need to recruit for personality, appointing people who have a natural flair/ desire to be of service. Consider putting in place daily briefings to reinforce the mission and to set your team up for success. 4. Reward the behaviours you want to see , develop a Reward and Recognition initiative, sharing stories of great customer engagement to highlight and encourage best practice. Measure customer satisfaction in a way that allows customers to highlight great staff members and ensure leaders take time to speak to and acknowledge those mentioned. Promote the idea of lateral customer service to develop a culture of peer-based recognition allowing employees to nominate colleagues who they see go out of their way to deliver great service either internally or directly to a customer. Leaders need to role model this, taking time to acknowledge those who go out of their way to deliver exceptional service. 5. Keep raising the bar as great service never stops you need to be relentless in your pursuit of customer service excellence. Develop a culture of continuous improvement encourage ideas from the team to evolve and improve the way you do things. Get everyone in the team to ask yourselves each week what they have done to make a difference to the customer experience and share the stories. 6. Recovery Quickly: Every business gets it wrong sometimes, but customer focused ones know they need to put things right quickly and professionally. They have an excellent recovery process for complaints, and they empower their teams to do what is needed to make sure that every customer goes away delighted. They respond to complaints in a timely matter, always within 24 hours of receiving it. They track complaints and collate information so they can use this data effectively to highlight any themes and they work tirelessly to address them. Businesses with a culture of great service know happy staff mean happy customers, so they put people at the heart of everything they do. They invest in their people, seeing value in training and developing their teams so they can be the best they can be. They know customers value the opportunity to build rapport and relationship, creating a loyal and engaged team provides stability and tenure means staff can get to know their customers, their likes and dislikes, allowing them to anticipate their needs and build strong relationships. They never adopt hard selling techniques as the quality of their products and service means they don’t need to as employees feel proud to share knowledge and assist customers in navigating the menu without feeling the pressure to directly sell. Great service is all about making the process as easy and enjoyable as you can for your customer. Great service is seamless every element creates a chain reaction that delights customers it builds trust and makes the customer feel special and looked after. Businesses with a great service culture create a loyal customer base by building strong and authentic relationships. Their customers and staff become their ambassadors and promoters by sharing the experience with other. A positive legacy of the pandemic is that customers will be seeking out businesses that provide an experience that engages with them on an emotional level, lifting spirits and creating happiness. If want to know how you take your customer experience to a new level contact me at enquires@boost-consultancy.co.uk or call me on 07595 278159 as I would love to help.
I love the feeling you get when your actions and contributions make a tangible difference to someone or something.
Using this 3-step approach can help to foster a positive mindset in the most difficult of times:
1. IT IS WHAT IT IS ACCEPT IT (it will either control you or you will control it)
2. HARVEST THE GOOD (there’s good in everything seek and you will find!)
3. FORGIVE THE REST (this means let it go completely, release it)
They say fortune favours the bold, these times call for leaders to think of differently to find innovative solutions and embrace new opportunities to drive the success of their business. One CEO recently spoke about how Covid had allowed them to line up and shoot the sacred cows that had previously restricted or governed their way of thinking and stifled creativity.
Some operators plan to extend the Eat Out to Help Out scheme into September using this as a way to reward customers and provide an incentive for them to go out Monday to Wednesday. We know too well the impact continual discounting can have on the perceived value of a brand and how difficult it can be to ween people off such discounts. So how do you create new reasons for customers to continue to help out by coming out to dine with you? Boost consultancy explores some alternative ways to help restaurants remain busy off-peak during September and October.
Boost Consultancy Ltd is piloting a radical approach to engage new customers. Disrupting the conventional approach to pricing the founder Paula Kaye is taking a participative pricing strategy offering clients the ability to Pay-What- They-Want based on their satisfaction with the work she delivers for August and September. A moment of madness or the kind of innovative thinking needed for these very different times. There are not many who would have the confidence to lay their work on the line in this way.