Overview
Established in 2007, Creative Office has spent the last 15 years helping businesses of all sizes to run more efficient operations by providing a wide range of office stationery products and services. Their unshakeable team of six has spent the last few years collaborating to take the organisation to the next level, which has kickstarted a period of rapid growth as a result.
Based in central England, the Creative Office team has vast industry knowledge and experience at their core. They put the customer at the heart of everything by offering a wide range of services and products, aiming to reduce the number of suppliers that their customers work with – saving them time and costs.
In 2019, Creative Office opted to join the industry-leading dealer group, Office Friendly, where they joined other like-minded dealers and suppliers. Creative Office’s Managing Director, Nick Owen, said: “At a time where our growth really kicked into fourth gear, there was no better time to join Office Friendly. Simply being around peers and having that support network in our industry was very comforting and made us feel less like an ‘island’ so to speak. But most importantly, being able to work with the Office Friendly team has enabled us to face potential problems head-on during our growth and continue our upward trajectory as a business”.
The problem
With the growth of their business very much in motion, Creative Office felt they lacked the tools to both maintain their growth and have a firmer grip on the path of the business going forward. Additionally, they wanted to increase the profile of the business, presenting themselves as a progressive, industry leader.
Nick said: “Throughout our team, there’s an exceptionally high level of industry experience and knowledge – which is part of the reason for the speed of our growth. However, we felt that we needed an outside perspective on how we enhance our brand, save money, diversify the business and steady the ship in an exciting time of our evolution”.
With an experienced team at the helm, Creative Office took a humble approach when planning their next phase. By working with Office Friendly, they were able to strategise by looking at the future, creating goals, identifying potential problems and deciding on solutions to produce the best possible results.
The solution
Creative Office worked closely with Office Friendly’s business development team, making the most of all the resources and individuals they had at their disposal. Nick now had the support he needed to make his goals come to life – increasing the profile of the business and becoming an established credible and progressive organisation.
When things are going well in business, it’s uncommon for leadership to seek advice and an outside perspective. However, Creative Office stuck with their humble approach, never looking at themselves as the finished article and looking into what areas of the business they can invest in further to continue their upward trajectory. After establishing our objectives for the year, they created a business plan with the Office Friendly team.
Nick said: “We complete most of our sales face-to-face or over the phone, with fewer sales coming from our website. So, we’re working with Office Friendly’s in-house marketing team to develop a bespoke website that empowers us to bring further sales by making it easier to buy from us. Additionally, we’ve invested in learning and development to empower our sales team with confidence and an enriched skill set. Focussing on becoming progressive, we’ve enrolled on the Weaver sustainability programme to help us save money on energy, enhance our brand, and do the little things right as a business. Most importantly, after consulting with Office Friendly we now have a sales strategy we all truly believe in, which includes diversification into new product categories”.
The results
Simply starting a dialogue with Office Friendly has kept the Creative Office team eagle-eye-focussed and understand what’s needed to evolve the business. By investing in multiple areas of the business such as learning and development, marketing and sustainability – they’re covering all bases and future-proofing their business in more ways than one.
Nick said: “Even when things were going well for us, the power of a simple conversation has been extraordinary in our case. By engaging with Office Friendly, we’ve gained more than just a new perspective – we’ve gained a partner who listens, understands what we need and is always ready with solutions for us. Most importantly, since joining Office Friendly and implementing our business plan, our sales have increased by over 20% – which as a business leader, these are the results that get you excited and motivated for the future”.
Whether you’re on an upward or downward trajectory, Creative Office is living proof that starting a simple conversation can open many doors for a brighter future.
Do you have business goals of your own? Get in touch and have a simple conversation with our business development to arrange a FREE consultancy worth £150.