Jo Fairley, founder of the world’s first organic chocolate company, Green & Black’s, shared her experience of taking the plunge and building a brand from scratch.
She said that a combination of an excellent product, vast PR coverage, over-delivering on customer service, and putting ethics at the heart of the brand’s values were the secrets of its success.
“Giving away free samples has always been essential to our whole strategy and it really works,” she said. “In the service business, testimonials are your free chocolate,” she advised. “Every time you have a happy customer, take the time to elicit a testimonial, and use it on social media or your website to give people a taste of what you can do.”
Fairley encouraged agents to take a photography course or learn how to use filters more effectively in order to improve the impact of the photos they use in blogs and social media posts.
She also urged counsellors to find ways to ensure their own physical and mental wellbeing, to “stay ahead of your game.”
“You won’t have the resources to look after your customer if you don’t look after yourself first,” she warned.
