TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research & Innovation
  • Security
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Coronavirus

Coronavirus

Two small businesses explain how they stayed close to their customers during the pandemic

Via Vodafone Media Centre Stories

Jul 10, 2020

Connecting with customers online helped Little Moons build a dedicated following for their Japanese mochi deserts, says co-founder Vivien Wong, who founded the business with her brother Howard in 2015.

“Technology has been fundamental for the business,” says Vivien. “Channels like social media have been amazing for allowing people to discover us.”

And because Little Moons had such a good social media presence already, the Covid-19 lockdown hasn’t disrupted things unduly, she says.

Staying in touch with their customers maintained loyalty, says Vivien. Businesses that only interact with their customers through physical stores have obviously been at a huge disadvantage during lockdown.

But she advises companies to ensure that their online messaging and marketing is “pandemic-conscious” – that is, relevant and sensitive to the current situation. That way, you can maintain and even cement your relationship with customers, providing a valuable way to connect as the world re-opens.

Digital gardeners

For Patch Plants, a digital presence has helped them advertise gardening to an underserved audience: millennials, says chief executive Freddie Beckett.

“The gardening industry has never really focused on this new, emerging generation of millennials,” he says.

“They’ve chosen to focus on, for example, older gardeners who live in the suburbs or countryside. But that doesn’t mean that you can forget about a younger group of people who also need nature in their lives.”

Freddie Blackett, CEO and Founder of Patch
CREDITS: PATCH PLANTS
Patch Plants founder and boss Freddie Blackett says sales have soared 500% during the lockdown period

Patch Plants has used an online delivery site to engage its digitally-savvy audience with gardening – supporting a connection with nature that has been especially valuable for many during the Covid-19 restrictions. As a result, the company has seen a 500% increase in sales as people flocked online to purchase plants to brighten up their indoor spaces and gardens during lockdown.

Similarly, Little Moons is hoping a new e-commerce site launching in August will give its customers more choice. Vivien says that “supermarket shelf space is limited, and we have two flavours there. But so many people want to try all 14 of our flavours.

“So we think our new direct-to-consumer channel will allow us to give our consumers what they’re looking for.”

Reaching new customers

As a smaller business, having a digital e-commerce presence – potentially alongside physical premises – is critical these days. It’s what customers expect. Not only can you serve your customers more efficiently, offering them more choice, but you can also reach new customers and expand, our business entrepreneurs believe.

And creating strong online communities, using social media groups, forums and even virtual events, is a great way to build brand loyalty and give customers space to share their thoughts and feedback on your services.

A business that learns from its customers is far more likely to grow.

Caring collaboration

In the current situation, it’s been just as important for smaller businesses to stay connected with colleagues as much as customers.

“We use dozens of collaboration tools to help us with communicating and working together,” says Freddie.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without all the tools that we use.”

Vivien at Little Moons agrees: “Connectivity has been so crucial over this period. There are so many different tools to use, and with all of them combined, we actually think it’s really doable.

“Technology has made this crisis a lot easier to deal with.”

Collaboration technology has also been important in caring for staff – many of whom may have been struggling emotionally with the isolation and lack of freedom during lockdown.

And building a community of other small businesses has been important, too, Vivien believes.

“We’ve seen just how friendly and supportive the brands are. There’s a close-knit community of people really willing to lend their time and advice,” she says.

So for Little Moons and Patch Plants, connectivity has been the life-blood of the business, helping them weather the coronavirus storm.

Related Topics
  • 4G LTE,
  • Access Evolution,
  • Broadband,
  • Business Models,
  • Coronavirus,
  • Enterprise,
  • Europe,
  • Mobile,
  • Tracker,
  • Vodafone

More Like This

Access Evolution

Inmarsat claims IoT is poised to trump cloud

Oct 14, 2021

Digital Platforms and Services

Lockdowns ended up being involuntary experiments in Hybrid Working, study finds

Sep 29, 2021

Digital Platforms and Services

Working on that new hybrid work model

Sep 22, 2021

Device Software & Apps

Collaboration applications saw doubled revenues and Joined the mainstream in 2020, says IDC

Aug 30, 2021

Access Evolution

The Future of Work and how to prepare for it

Jun 30, 2021

This content extract was originally sourced from an external website (Vodafone Media Centre Stories) and is the copyright of the external website owner. TelecomTV is not responsible for the content of external websites. Legal Notices

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

10:43

MWC23 interview: Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, deputy CEO of Orange

12:45

MWC23 interview: Abdu Mudesir, Group CTO, Deutsche Telekom

9:26

MWC23 interview: Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer, BT

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us

  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2023. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).