An important lesson for business owners & advisers
A few years ago we were appointed by a company called Shred Easy, which destroyed confidential data for businesses and organisations across the UK.
The directors took us into their confidence from the outset and told us about their business plans – that they wanted to increase the turnover and profitability of the business with the intention of grooming it for sale.
They wanted us to help raise the profile of the business and the benefits of their services and ultimately attract new customers.
Modesty aside, we did a fantastic job and secured a constant stream of positive media coverage for them – in national newspapers, on television, online and in titles read by their target audiences in the public sector, banking, accountancy and business in general.
Earlier this year, Shred Easy was bought by PHS Group plc – a £450 million turnover business that provides a hugely varied range of services to businesses of all sizes.
The Shred Easy directors sailed off into the sunset with huge grins on their faces, new cars on their drives and enviable plans for a wonderful future of leisure and fun. Our job was done ... or so we thought.
We met the new owners, who agreed we’d done a great job. However, they explained they had an internal PR team so didn’t really need us but knew they had to honour our notice period.
Within three weeks, they told us they were blown away with our continuing work and that our coverage was being highlighted at board level. They told us to forget the notice period, that they wanted to appoint us instead!
They have done and have even extended our brief.
Since we’ve been publicising them, they’ve noticed increased website traffic www.phs.co.uk and increased business enquires.
We’re pretty chuffed. But, hey, this is what we do.
However, let this be a cautionary tale ...
If you’re a business owner who’s planning an exit and you want to maximise your returns, gear up your marketing ... if you’re a professional adviser to such a business, don’t cut the marketing budget, increase it ... if you’ve just bought a business, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, take a look at their marketing suppliers ... they could just be better than your own.
