Opportunity Knocks
This article is an extract from the Winter Edition of MER Magazine published in February 2019. You can read the full article as well as other articles from MER for free by visiting digital.mailandexpressreview.com.
MER speaks to Jersey Post Chief Executive Officer Tim Brown about the importance of taking opportunities, staying relevant and keeping old and new customers happy.
It has been a year since the Jersey Post Global Logistics brand was established – how is it going?
When we established our strategy a year ago, we were keen to ensure there was flexibility to enable us to be reactive. The danger of being a company with a rigid strategy is doggedly staying on track with a plan even if the situation or environment changes. Don’t they say no plan survives the first action of war?
Over the last year, we have seen hard evidence of the brand’s success – our revenue is growing, profit is growing and we are winning more customers. Not only that, rather than us hunting down customers – we are now being hunted down by them! More and more people are wanting to partner with us, especially out of China. This goes beyond the fact that we offer postal services and fulfilment, it is actually about people liking the way we do business.
We are known to do things quickly, we are responsive and decisive, and we don’t have chains of management to get through. We work with customers to understand what they want and essentially we deliver.
How has the new direction been received?
Our new direction has helped us retain business that otherwise would have moved on, it has helped bring business back to us and it has helped existing clients manage new revenue streams.
Our old clients appreciate that we are staying relevant. There’s a danger that you are so fearful of losing a current client that you don’t diversify and you don’t do things differently. In reality, you then run the risk of them saying “hang on a minute, this organisation isn’t moving with the times!” Actually, by us proposing new solutions and new markets to our customers, they see us as a key part of their future strategies – ready to help them drive forward their business.
That’s reflected in our new customer base, who see us as being flexible and the type of company they want to partner with. The brand launch a year ago was important for us as it was a worldwide statement that JPGL is a force to be reckoned with – it is permanent and it is not going away. New customers like that sentiment and feel a sense of security from our commitment to the future.
What have been the key challenges?
One of the things with creating a brand is that however great a brand may look, however much skill has gone into creating it, the brand is completely irrelevant and pointless if you don’t continue innovating and changing. So a key challenge is not to sit back and say “we’ve arrived”; it is continually looking for new opportunities and new services.
Over the course of the year, we have made two further investments – expanding our network into Australia and expanding our network into South America. We are already planning how to build on those things and where to go next – we will never finish our strategy as it is constantly moving!
This article is an extract from the Winter Edition of MER Magazine published in February 2019. You can read the full article as well as other articles from MER for free by visiting digital.mailandexpressreview.com.
