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REAWAKENING OF LOCAL PRIDE
Paula Kaye • Jul 22, 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.
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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. 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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)
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