My Back To Business Strategy

By Karl Paul, managing director, Smarter Media Ltd based in Swindon. Karl's company helps businesses to grow through digital marketing.

Summarise how Covid-19 has affected your business? 

There has been the negative - turnover and profit is down, team have had to be furloughed. Also there has been the positive - it has freed up time to really think about and concentrate on the big picture. 

During this time, I've reviewed and improved all of our processes. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on what has really worked well over the past few years so that we can focus more on that going forwards.

We’ve also had more opportunity to speak with our customers in general and really build on those relationships which have gone to another level. 

What has been your plan to continue?  

To Stay motivated and think big! Just before lockdown our pay per lead model really started to gain momentum.

I'm now fully convinced this will be a big part of the business and we now have several opportunities lined up for serious growth. 

We have been running webinars to educate other businesses on digital through this period, this has helped us maintain a healthy pipeline of potential customers as well as generally supporting the business community. 

How has business changed for you over the last few months? 

Overall business levels are down around 40% from where they were. This is obviously concerning. However we recognise that others have had it far, far worse. 

But I would say what we have done and achieved during this time will mean we come back even stronger and quite fast when we see normality starting to resume.

We are quite fortunate that we are able to help any business. And there are businesses that are thriving during these times, therefore a small change of focus on who we target can reap big rewards.

As lockdown eases what measures have you put in place to get back to business? 

We will continue working from home for the immediate future. Being fully digital and cloud based we literally can work from any where.

We will monitor closely and if all seems well, we will slowly move back to the office. No point in taking unnecessary risks when we do not have to.

We will continue conducting meetings by video call initially and then review regularly and make decisions based on the available data. 

What has been the most challenging aspect of all of this? 

The initial shock of what was happening was quite a challenge. But I have a good team around me with up to date detail on all the numbers and customers etc.

We were able to formulate multiple plans very quickly and this gave me the confidence that we can get through this.

What has been the most positive aspect? 

Working very closely with my board of directors. I’d say I’ve been pretty demanding on the support I required and everyone has stepped up and delivered exceptionally.

Knowing that support and sheer desire to succeed is there, has been fantastic. Also deepening relationships with clients who have stuck by us, suppliers who have supported us and new clients who have trusted us. 

Has it made you consider how you feel about other businesses/suppliers/customers/clients? 

It has made us want to help others with no agenda. Whether that be just passing on some knowledge, changing supplier from a big national to a small local or just being there to have a chat.

Everyone will be handling this in their own way and sometimes just calling another business owner and asking them if they are ok goes a long way.

How important is this phrase to you – ‘buy local, supply local’? 

I have always been a fan of supporting local and always will. 

My Dad has always either worked for himself or had his own small business, so I guess the mentality of what that means has been engrained in me since childhood.

What are your top tips for other business owners at this time? 

1. Stay positive, always!

2. Think big, yes times are strained, and it is not easy, but there are huge opportunities everywhere.

3. Collaborate. I’ve never really considered that we have competitors, yes, I do know we have them, I’ve just never really viewed them as that. For me they are other great businesses that I can learn from to make our business stronger, they are also opportunities to collaborate and grow together.

Do you have a particular service, product or special offer you'd like to share?

We help companies to grow, so if you want or need more customers then it's worth us having a chat.

We also produce a really in depth and amazingly visual competitor analysis report. 

If you’d like us to reverse engineer what your competitors are doing online and show you exactly how you can gain market share then let us know…01793 292171 or visit our website and book a time. 

Your parting thoughts? 

Be positive, look for the opportunities, there will be plenty. Communicate with all previous customers and speak to as many prospects as you can, think growth and go for it! Motivate your team and all push forwards in the same direction.

Tough times come and go, so think forward and have a plan to deliver. 

And if you like reading, check out “Mean Business” by Al Dunlap, a fantastic business book.

For more information visit www.smarter-media.co.uk