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We have prepared a few case studies as an introduction to the work that we do, and to demonstrate just some of the benefits. We often start the client journey with one issue but inevitable uncover others. This new data and evidence very much supports business change. Everything we do is to help you understand your own financials better.
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Geographical
expansion We worked with a successful domestic cleaning business who were seeking go grow geographically across the central belt of Scotland; in order to achieve this, they had just employed a full time sales person responsible for the on-boarding of new clients. We downloaded their data from their customer relationship management system and began by looking at where the existing income was actually coming from. We also looked at new clients and the on-boarding procedure, as well as interviewing their new sales manager about her processes. From their data we could evidence-base that 70% of their existing income came from just three local postcodes. These postcodes were geographically close to their depot which also reduced travel time for their cleaning staff. Additionally, despite having a very tried and tested method of seeking new clients we also confirmed a customer retention issue, with 50% of customers leaving within the first 12-months. We broke these figures down further to show the % of customers leaving with the first 3, 6 and 9-months. The implications for this business were very significant. The initial analysis was very much around geographical growth however the data highlighted a very different landscape for them. More pressing was the customer retention issue which we recommended was an issue for immediate attention. The revolving door of clients was greatly increasing their cost of sales with a full time member of the team dedicated to this task. The results from both these pieces of work had enormous cost-savings for the business. Their new priority was customer retention, slowing that revolving door, and reducing onboarding costs. Their original ambitions around expansion were re-evaluated as they focussed on the existing geographical area which was very lucrative for them. |
The beauty
therapist We worked with an experienced beauty therapist who, after many years of being mobile, took out a lease on her own premises. After working very hard for just over a year she was hit with a repetitive strain injury and found it too painful for some treatments – waxing and massage. What she didn’t know was where her income came from – which specific service/s. We downloaded her booking system for the 14 months of trading and did analysis on where the income came from. We needed to understand what treatments or services were actually underpinning the business. From the data we learned that 75% of the income came from Face and Nails, with just 25% from Massage, Spray Tans and Waxing. This was really good news as there was now clear evidence that Face and Nails could underpin the business until the injury was fully recovered. Additionally, we brought to light other business issues for the client. We uncovered that the business lost TWO days a month to cancellations and no shows, recommending that they consider taking deposits or introducing walk-ins. This equated to a 4-figure amount each and every month. With evidence, we showed that only 2% of income came from Spray Tans, with a strong recommendation to redefine the dedicated tanning booth. We highlighted the discrepancy in hourly rates with both Face and Nails having a higher hourly income than other services. This highlighted the lack of pricing strategy when the business was set up. We demonstrated the value of loyalty by giving a £ value to customers who used both services and bought products. This led to the next discussion about understanding the customer path and the lifetime value of loyal clients. |
From hobby
to business This is a familiar story for many people where a creative passion or hobby becomes a business. This is often the start of the journey but how do you know if you are making profit? Clients often come to us for help when their long-term hobby now needs to make some income and more importantly profit, as they would like to draw down a modest salary. The challenge for us is getting accurate data from a variety of informal sources, agreeing these as accurate, and also working with our clients to understand how much time (and money) has been spent on cost of sales. This is often the most challenging as lifestyle businesses often do not include their own time as a cost. We also work with our clients to ensure that all the commercial details are being captured going forward but the system of doing this will not be too burdensome or overly administrative in nature. One of the services we offer is setting up simple but very effective Excel spreadsheets which help our lifestyle business clients understand, and log, all of their figures. The spreadsheets include logging sales, expenses, how to calculate hours spent which is then auto populated into hour and then into a commercial value. These calculations are already within the spreadsheets. Our final support is a trading analysis where all income is calculated against cost of sales and wages, showing an overall profit (or loss) for the business. Our strength here lies in the fact that we too are a bespoke consultancy and we are mindful that this journey is challenging for those who are new to business. Our role is not to judge but encourage all business to be better by analysis, even the small ones! |
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Please feel free to contact jkc consultancy if you want to discuss any of these issues or have a specific business issue that you would like help with.
Khlayre Cairney, Director & Principal Consultant, jkc consultancy T: 07568 143929 E: khlayre.cairney@jkcconsultancy.co.uk |
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