Why did you attend Scotland Can Do SCALE?
Pat Munro (Alness) Ltd is a 3rd generation family business with a diverse range of services in the construction sector. The company is focused on steady growth and retaining locally controlled jobs in the Highlands.
Like many other local markets orientated SME’s we faced many challenges such as; succession planning, building a recruitment and retention strategy, and how to target business diversification and expansion. I attended Scotland Can Do Scale to work towards achieving the wider company ambitions which are to become a net importer to the Highland economy.
Key takeaways from the event?
How to get closer to your customers and understand them a lot better and therefore develop your products around your customer needs as opposed to just assuming what they need. Understanding issues like acquisition and expansion funding. We learned techniques on how to move the company forward.
How have you implemented key learnings?
We changed how we market to customers by focussing on building a persona for our clients. This allows us to drill deeper into what they are looking for from our service. We also changed our staff annual review and recruitment forms to focus more on value as opposed to skills which we hope in turn leads to greater retention rates.
On a personal level, I now have different criteria for investments I am interested in. It’s less than six months since I was on the course, so it’s too early for any initiative to have evidenced effect. However, I have implemented several new strategies which I am certain will help growth and enhance performance.
