Finance is a very important part of our organisation.
I am currently working at our Brand Values. In August it will be nearly a year I have joined Prestige and I am comfortable to say that I understand our business, the team, our strengths and characters and I definitely know what our clients expect from us. I feel therefore that I have done my homework and it's the right time to look at redefining what our brand stands for under the new management team. People seemed to always be at the heart of all my starting thoughts about brand values.
As we are also at the beginning of our financial year I have embarked in our Yearly PDP meetings with the team. Two of my first reviews were with members of our finance team. Both of them came to the question in our document: "What will you do to help promote and sell our services to our clients?" and both of them replied: "N/A".
I can't say that such answer surprised me, I have experienced a similar "unconsciousness" in the past...
When I asked them which they thought was the most amazing customer experience they ever had and which brand they are most loyal to, both came to realized the point I was trying to make.... apparently as consumers of goods and services we tend to go back to those businesses that provide us with exceptional goods and customer service, at the right price point, and the experience is consistent at every point of our interactions with these brands. Every step of the way: pre, during and post , via every channel and each department! As we know a good sales person can sell you the moon, the hard work starts when you consistently need to deliver on the sales promise made! That is called retention and building customer and brand loyalty.
EUREKA, I saw a little sparkle in their eyes!!!
That was the moment that they fully realized how an important part of what we do they are! The pride and attention to details that they take into checking and preparing every client invoice, statement, commission claim, etc. is the best "promoting & selling tool" that any business can ask for....
Only by recognizing that every part of the cogs is vital and in good working order you end up with a precision watch.
I am looking forward to the Q2 reviews to see what our people bring to the table next time, I am sure we will be having very different conversations.
In the meantime we are slowly but surely looking to grow our team, so if you want to join our finance team, want to become an integral part of a successful and engaged team and leave in or around Stockport, please do get in touch!
And as with everything we do we only want the best!
And now that I finished diverging, back to the original conversation: What about Brand Values? well you will be pleased to know that I have had some exciting ideas which I will share with my team in the first instance, gain feedback and further thoughts, before sharing with the wider audience.
Definitely a space to watch.....