First off, I’ve just returned to the UK, after three amazing weeks back home in sunny Australia for some much-needed R&R.
I love living in the UK, it truly feels like home now and I’ve got an incredible support system around me, but there’s something special about a trip back to Oz, seeing friends, family, enjoying the beautiful sights, enjoying the amazing weather and also being lucky enough to be a part of a best mate’s wedding celebrations whilst I was over there!
Back to not so sunny Dartford where it looks like it’ll be Bawley Bay instead of Home and Away for a while, but a few days back in the office and it’s all go, gearing up for the festive season ahead, which I’m very much looking forward to.
The team have done the most fantastic job keeping things going whilst I’ve been away, I’m so proud of the projects they’ve delivered. A big, sincere thanks goes out to them, as I couldn’t have had the time back home without knowing the business was in such safe hands.
Going back to the festive season, we’ve been busy working on one of my favourite projects of the year which is the ‘Panto Takeover’ at the local Orchard Theatre, who this year is showing Sleeping Beauty. Panto just isn’t a thing in Australia, so last year was my first introduction to panto season and I just think it’s great fun! We’re delighted to be involved again this year, replacing all old signage and creating all the new takeover signage, which will be in place until the new year. We’ve designed, manufactured and installed PVC mesh banners on the outside perimeter of the building along with a giant five metre banner at the front of the building, plus we’ve installed fantastic graphics using perforated vinyl on the entrance doors, making sure no-ones missing a thing! We’ve also supported the venue with yet more panto signage which can be found in and around the town centre!
At the other end of the spectrum, we were thrilled to undertake a last-minute art gallery project for Kate Woods of Woods Silver Fleet. Kate needed some urgent printing and installation including window graphics and Foamex boards for a fantastic exhibition being held at Grave’s End Pier, in a beautiful, listed building and without wanting to disappoint, we turned the project round in 24 hours and the end result was stunning! Despite working in the industry for so many years, the ‘ta-da’ moment of showing your customer the end result is still a great feeling. Kate took the time to leave a lovely five-star review which left us feeling all fuzzy inside and definitely makes the job worthwhile. “Gregg and his team turned around a complex window vinyl and Foamex board exhibition print and install, on time and exactly as specified within a historic building. Will definitely be making them our go to signage printers from now on.”
Jobs aside, we’ve also been busy growing our team here at Signs Express Dartford, as we welcomed new recruit Alex to the business as our new Sales Manager. After just a few weeks he’s officially part of the furniture, he’s making great strides in supporting the business with our growing customer demands, delivering some fantastic projects and straight onto our new system CoreBridge, with the team dynamic flowing seamlessly.
Throwing Alex in at the deep end and to think further about how we can get the best out of our new system, we both recently attended the Signs Express sales training day which offered further insight into industry trends, getting into the nitty gritty of data and looking at how we can best utilise our knowledge to create more opportunities. Plus, as ever it was great to get together with other sales specialists across the network to share ideas and discuss best practice as well as introducing Alex to some new contacts.
Alongside this, back in mid-October I had a blast attending one of the Signs Express annual Group meetings which was an awesome day spent with friends and peers across the Signs Express network and the guys over at the Franchise Support Centre! Nice to get out of the office and discuss all the latest topics and developments the industry has to offer, along with some downtime and dinner before heading back to centre the next day!
More on CoreBridge and it’s safe to say the day-to-day user experience is second to none, the workflow and information sharing within the business has improved along with a slicker customer experience and we’re thrilled to have been the ‘guineapig’ in the roll-out scheme and be able to see the benefits each day.
In terms of reporting the access to real-time data, reports and dashboards has changed the way we work and monitor aspects of the business that we couldn’t have done so efficiently before. The reports are now utilised daily by the whole team, whether it’s monitoring any outstanding quotes, invoicing, credits, accounts receivable etc., we’re on the case and it’s great!
When it comes to data, knowledge really is power and should be at the source of the majority of business decisions, therefore this newfound ‘data at our fingertips’, is allowing us to see what’s outstanding, it’s helping us with forecasts, it’s supporting team efficiencies, making us look at different approaches to marketing and advertising and overall making us a better business.
It’s fantastic that in our penultimate diary entry, I’m pleased to say, after the initial apprehension of changing the whole backbone of the system (which is no small task), we’re in a great place. We’ve had a great year, we’re continuing to grow and develop each month and we’re looking forward to a fantastic end to the year (fingers crossed)!
