Overview of the Situation
The client, an artisan plumbing and sanitaryware company had recently been created, with a clear aim to provide high-quality, multi-finish products for an executive audience. This product range was niche and was only relatable to corporate customers (individual companies and those with chains of outlets) and high-net worth individuals.
The Problem They Faced
As well as being visible online, the company needed to truly understand whether the business was actually viable, and whether they had an opportunity to exist against their mainstream competitors. The company needed to ensure that their operational processes were robust and that marketing investment, which was not endless, provided significant return.
The Causes of the Problem
The challenge for the business was aligned to all start-ups in the fact that errors in decision making, especially in terms of investing in the wrong areas would be a critical problem that may see the company fold whilst still in its infancy. The business owner knew he had a unique and high-quality portfolio of products but very little business acumen to turn the idea into reality, without dealing with significant risk.
The Impact of the Problem
Not having customers or investing the limited funds in the wrong things would result in both a huge financial loss as well as the closure of the business.
The Promise / Plan
Our process was simple – to take them through the steps of business planning and link them all back to the central aims and mission of the business:
- Idea Generation and Positioning – understanding what the solution was there to do and what the customer profiles were
- Competitor Landscaping and Awareness – establishing the key existing players and services on the market to understand the business USP
- Price Point Dynamics – calculating the pricing models (inclusive of discounting systems) for both wholesale and retail customers
- The “Solution Circle” – creating a fully engaged process that started with manufacturer and ended with after sales, and support to develop a customer base who went from one-off to repeat purchasers
The Outcome
For the project, we supported the business over a five-year period to:
- Build an online presence, review its effectiveness, and move to an online shopping platform
- Implement several outbound marketing campaigns
- The creation of a CRM system integration that connects customer orders, through to manufacturing plant and tracks the supply chain as well
- Drive engagement with several high-net worth communities resulting in sales to multiple UK-based celebrities
- Growth in sales from an initial £10k per year to £1.2m.
