Chamber of Commerce Interview with Jason Rainbird

When the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce wanted to interview little old me for their most recent issue of Thinking Business, I had two thoughts.

Read the full interview here.

One, it's about time, and two, how can I get across how great we at Flowbird are to help businesses build value and enable our clients to develop and grow their existing customer base?

I guess by starting at the beginning…

Flowbird is a customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation agency founded by yours indeed in 2013 and is one of the fastest-growing firms of its kind (I'm not boasting. Well,  maybe a bit).

We were born from a realisation that many companies, despite investing in CRM and marketing automation software, don't know how to use these technologies to their full potential to improve their processes, sales and profitability.

And it's not any wonder;  managers' days are full, so it's easy to overlook the fundamentals, such as whether they have a good customer retention strategy. They already know that bringing in new customers is more expensive than keeping the ones they already have. Yet, little effort is often put into customer retention - even though the research shows that two-thirds of customers will switch to a competitor if they don't feel valued.

Customers are the heart of your business.

The customer will always be your most valuable asset, which is why you need a CRM system. This technology allows managers and staff to keep tabs on their interactions with every customer and determine who said what and when.

Let's say you want to sell up - is your business in good enough shape to tempt a buyer? At Flowbird, we also look at our client's company from a prospective buyer's perspective. This is where our Value Builder tool comes in handy, letting you address issues such as delegating confidently and ensuring you have all the right processes in place.

The Value Builder Process

Value Builder is a 12-point test that lets businesses see if they're doing things correctly. Customers receive a score on eight key indicators that drive their company's value and a detailed plan of action for improving that score. Businesses can also identify potential threats that drag down their value, get an idea of how a potential buyer would evaluate the company, and pinpoint the most valuable parts.

Flowbird wants you to start loving your business again, enjoy running it, and see its value - and that's where we come in.

I knew I'd be asked the inevitable 'How has COVID-19 affected business?' question, and I knew my answer might be the typical response expected. That's because the pandemic helped us (business-wise). After all, companies suddenly had the time to streamline their internal processes. It's not all been plain sailing for us. Brexit has hugely affected customer supply chains, and because buying and selling have become that much harder, we've had to learn to adapt. We've done that by increasing focus on the British market, where we don't have the same problems with buying and selling, and we're moving into niche markets such as furniture and leisure. Companies that operate businesses like this need a good CRM to monitor and manage their orders.

So, what does the future look like for Flowbird? We hope to win more local business, and becoming a Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce member will help!

Read the full interview here.