Berry Telecom's success challenges the widespread ideology that 'business is business', according to co-founder Simon Langford who stands by his conviction that 'business is people'.
In many ways Berry Telecom is a reflection of the people who have most influenced Langford. His parents instilled the core values that he abides by day-to-day - honesty, friendliness and a positive instinct to always look for the best in people. In business life, Langford's role model remains the late Phillip Edmonds, former Managing Director of Pro-Voice. "He taught me that a company is nothing without its people," explained Langford. "Phillip always made sure that everyone was looked after, valued and appreciated. These values underpin Berry Telecom's beliefs and practices."
This ethos extends to customers who are also front and centre at all times. "We have a rapidly expanding customer base so our focus has shifted slightly from a sales environment to a service one," explained Langford. "We have put in place the support structure and internal processes to ensure customers, throughout their Berry experience, receive the same high level of service."
Finding good staff to provide this support is a challenge. "We've broadened our recruitment methods by using social media and new media channels," said Langford. "To promote staff progression and retention we have also implemented clear promotional paths and developed a motivational working environment with effective incentive schemes. We also ensure that knowledge is disseminated throughout the organisation and we empower staff to act. Our smooth processes and monitored workflows mean that everything we do keeps the customer in mind and informed along the way. I get great satisfaction knowing that we're providing a rewarding and dynamic environment for our staff."
Langford started out as a trainee telecoms engineer for Pure Telecom. He gained an appreciation of the needs of customers, their expectations and concerns when updating their telephony systems. Fast forward to 2011 when he worked alongside fellow Berry co-founder Paul Hallam at a previous comms company, and Berry's seed was sown during conversations about how they would do things differently. "I was the joint Sales Director and Paul was Technical Director, so between us we almost had it all covered," said Langford. "We needed someone to help with the numbers so we spoke to a friend, Jo-Anne Udy, who was working in finance for B&Q and later joined us as Finance Director."
The conversations became more serious and after some fundraising from family and friends they quit their jobs on the same day. "We were asked to leave the premises immediately and our company cars were taken away," noted Langford. "I remember calling my friend Chris to come and pick us up from a local pub. It was liberating, a real Jeremy McGuire moment, but scary.
"After recruiting one of the industry's best telemarketers we started making outbound sales calls from Paul's kitchen, sharing a laptop and a couple of mobile phones. Since then we haven't looked back. I have a copy of the first Berry sales invoice in a frame in my bathroom at home. We hired more staff, rented an old barn as our head office and began to expand."
In the space of four years Berry Telecom now employs over 40 people, has relocated to bigger premises three times and is turning over almost £5 million a year. The company was named by Samsung as the vendor's fastest growing UK reseller and was then awarded the Comms Dealer Sales Team of the Year 2015.
"Refining our internal processes as we expanded was a big challenge," added Langford. "Things started to grow organically, but there comes a time when you get to a certain size and have to work more efficiently. We're currently rolling out a series of work streams to ensure every department is heading in the same direction. We're also implementing initiatives to ensure customer satisfaction can be measured."
Berry Telecom has several key partners, chiefly Samsung. "Our relationship is truly two-way," explained Langford. "Samsung supplies us with the latest technology and we function as a sounding board for new releases and product developments. Our Technical Director, Paul Hallam, was recently invited to meet the Board from Korea to discuss upcoming software developments."
Other talking points of interest include the speedy uptake of SIP and VoIP and the death of ISDN. "There will be a shift in expertise from one technology to the other and Berry needs to handle and manage this transition," commented Langford. "We're assessing how much focus should go onto this now. It's a balance between jumping the gun too early or getting left behind. But it's important to fully understand different industries and their unique needs so we can tailor our products appropriately and target customers."
Sales will always be important, but retention and adding value to customers is also fast becoming a priority. "We don't treat customers like a number," added Langford. "Each and every one is important to us and many become personal friends. We believe in working together and helping each other in any way possible. Our industry must not lack the customer engagement typically seen in utilities. We need to get consumers excited about telecoms and the benefits on offer."
To say that Langford is a 'people person' would be to greatly understate the value he places on staff and customers and their well-being. "We're a friendly and happy team," he commented. "We have a strong sales and customer-focused culture which is backed up by a fun, vibrant and youthful working environment. Two years ago we took the whole crew to Ibiza. Later this year we're heading off to Marbella - if we meet our targets."•