Rising through the ranks can only take you so far, but the sky's the limit when you buy the company, become CEO and multiply revenues tenfold. Not content with this remarkable achievement, Incom Business Systems' David Hughes is pushing ahead with even bigger plans.
Hughes expects this year's revenues to hit his £11 million target and he is confident that during the next three years the company will almost double the takings. To say his pedal is to the floor would be to greatly understate the rate of Incom's accelerating growth and he has no intention of slowing down. However, with a glance into the rear view mirror Hughes recalls when the journey began. He's only ever worked at Incom, joining the firm in 1989 as a sales exec who became inspired by his mentor Sales Director Malcolm Kilvert, a man who made a lasting impression.
Hughes bought Incom alongside Malcolm's son Jason Kilvert in 2004. They gained ISO 9001 in 2009, acquired Yorkshire-based IT and telecoms firm Worth Communications in 2010, and moved to a new HQ in Manchester during the same year. Two months ago Incom linked up with Complete Network Services (CNS) in a collaboration that extends their geographical reach to five offices. The organisations have pooled their skills to better address demand for UC and contact centre solutions that incorporate multimedia, social media capabilities and workforce optimisation. "At the time of the MBO in 2004 there was just 18 of us and we hit the £1 million revenue goal we'd set for ourselves," said Hughes. "Now we have almost 100 staff and the next big revenue goal is to achieve £20 million within the next 36 months."
Ahead of Incom's mission to nigh on double revenues by 2019 the company has been busy building and maintaining a strong recurring revenue model. "We are ideally positioned to meet growing demand for cloud solutions and we are already successful in this area," added Hughes. "The benefits are numerous, which is why we've been deploying cloud solutions since it was called hosted telephony! The way our customers consume business services and technologies is undergoing a massive transformation, and it's our job to ensure we guide our customers through these changing times. It's an important new chapter for us and good news for organisations looking for a partner who can simplify the design, delivery and management of all their communications requirements."
The Incom growth strategy is defined by three strands - organic growth, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. "Joining forces with CNS is a prime example of a successful partnership," stated Hughes. "We work together for the greater good of our customers by leveraging our expanded support, technical and marketing capabilities, and it allows us to extend our reach into important verticals such as the public sector, professional services, consumer and housing."
Hughes recognises that his customers are digital so he is exploring ways to make it easier for them to engage with Incom using the channel of their choice. "This could change the way we deliver support services as more customers want faster responses using smart devices," he said. "Our number one priority remains delivering an excellent customer experience. Our goal is to be the business communications provider of choice for our target markets and we plan to achieve this by offering best-of-breed products, services and solutions, operational excellence and customer intimacy. The latter is really important to us because we want every customer to be an Incom advocate."
Hughes's focus on customer service is unwavering and he enjoys longevity in his relationships with them. "Having been in business for 26 years and with a large number of customers loyal to us for over two decades, we still conduct a customer satisfaction survey after every implementation, no matter how small the deployment, which is discussed at our weekly management team meeting," he commented. "This enables us to deal with any issues rapidly. More importantly, every department within our business is aware of, and focused on, the client's need. We all own customer satisfaction. Customer referral remains our number one source of new business."
Word of mouth referrals come thick and fast because Incom has built a reputation for understanding its customers' organisations, their markets and how they communicate with their own customers and suppliers. "We have considerable expertise across vertical markets and business processes, so our standpoint is to understand the challenges and organisational goals before assessing how the communications and supporting infrastructure can deliver a quantifiable solution," added Hughes. "Tangible ROI and lifetime value are the critical metrics demonstrated by our solutions."
It is just as important to attract and retain the best people and provide career opportunities for the team. "We focus on recruiting people who want to develop and we give them first rate training to help them progress through the ranks," explained Hughes. "This ethos has enabled us to retain exceptional talent for well over ten years. We have a supportive team culture and I'm proud that we all pull together for our customers. We can also enjoy a beer or two outside of work."
Buying the company and then grow it to ten times the revenue is 'incredibly satisfying', said Hughes. "However, we had to create the right culture, develop our staff and nurture an environment that enables the team to drive Incom's success," he added. "It's the Incom team and their achievements that makes me most proud."