Running a successful business
is a journey, not a destination
Mark Coster
Founder of Pixooma
In March, I wrote a blog reflecting on 10 years in business and dealing with some questions about how it all started. In this month’s blog I would like to talk about how we got to where we are now.
Maintaining a competitive edge
Don’t let anyone tell you anything different. Running a business takes a lot of hard work and effort. Not only do you have to work long hours and juggle multiple tasks, but there’s also the competition. This can come from businesses of all shapes and sizes.
From the outset, we were keen to maintain a competitive edge and this has continuously developed over the years. We believe that it comes from several different things including:
We urge businesses who are struggling, to focus on the marketing activities that represent the lowest costs for the greatest potential return and to do those as a priority.
- Understanding our target market: Conducting regular market research to better understand our customers' needs, preferences, and pain points.
- Utilising consistent branding and having a visible marketing presence.
- Being honest, fair and transparent about our operations, everything from pricing to partnerships.
- Prioritising customer satisfaction in two main ways:
- Under promising and over delivering
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
- Demonstrating real creative thinking by continuously exploring innovative ideas and sourcing new technologies.
Celebrating success
Someone recently asked what we were most proud of achieving during the last 10 years. I think there are five key things.
- We’re still here and still going strong. We certainly know a few businesses who started at a similar time and have since fallen by the wayside.
- We’ve taken the time and made the effort to build a recognisable, and respected brand and reputation.
- We have more 5-star Google reviews than any of our competitors in the UK and that is testament to our reputation.
- Networking – we’re a regular and loyal attendee at groups such as The Business Community, and Trusted Black Book, and have been for many years.
- Campaigns – we undertook a magazine campaign last year which contributed to us getting a new client who in a few short months become our second largest customer ever, with over 10x return on investment in the first year alone.
Not everything will work!
Keeping an open mind has certainly been important. Because sometimes despite your best efforts things just don’t work out quite the way you thought it would. Take our great idea a few years ago to commission a series of client videos of clients which due to a lack of time languished, mostly unused, until eventually they were out of date. Looking back I know what went wrong and how to correct it. Essentially, we didn’t have a comprehensive plan with realistic deadlines so that essential follow up could take place.
Sometimes it’s out of your control
There’s so much happening out there in the world that cannot be controlled. As a business it’s essential to be resilient and adaptable to changing market conditions. Take the current cost-of-living crisis. We understand that some businesses will be looking to save money by cutting their marketing budgets and/or postponing campaigns and projects. But in our opinion, marketing should always be seen as an investment. We advocate for change, rather than total abandonment. To this end, we urge businesses who are struggling, to focus on the marketing activities that represent the lowest costs for the greatest potential return and to do those as a priority.
The future
A big thank you again to everyone who has helped and supported us over the last 10 years – clients, suppliers, colleagues, friends and family. Business is and always will be about giving people what they need, developing strong and loyal relationships/partnerships and collaborating whenever you can.
Happy birthday to us and here’s to Pixooma’s next decade. Look out for one final blog to highlight our ten years in business. In September we will be looking to the future and sharing what’s next for our business.
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More of our blogs
Top tips things I have learnt in business – part 1
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