COMPANY PROFILE Laker’s Welcome news
The combination of a complete business transformation, strong service ethic and a sharp focus on the channel has paid dividends for Welcome Telecom which recorded its best ever year in 2012 and has already smashed this year’s targets. We go the news from Managing Director Duncan Laker.
W
elcome Telecom’s business
transformation
paid dividends last year when the company registered its best ever year in business. Having set out a roadmap in 2005 that took into account the changing face of the comms industry, and after putting that strategy into action by incorporating new products and services, the firm shifted its focus from the commoditised minutes
Just a minute with Duncan Laker...
What talent do you wish you had? I wish I’d kept up the piano, can’t play a note now
Name one thing you could not do without in your job: Our fantastic staff
How would you like to be remembered? I don’t expect to be, and I’m not sure if it really matters
What possession could you not live without? My Hardy fly rod
What do you fear the most? The erosion of democracy using the latest technologies
market to a more stable, longer-term approach that delivers value added services to end users. “The coming year will see a further penetration of the new technologies into the market and we are well placed to exploit the opportunity,” commented Laker. “Growth will come organically, especially from the channel.”
Welcome was incorporated in 1998 by a small group of entrepreneurs with the aim of providing cost-effective, hassle free telecommunication services to UK businesses and other organisations. The quest to introduce value added services began with hosted voice, and by fully understanding the technical requirements to effectively deploy the products end users have seen gains in both cost-effectiveness and working practices, pointed out Laker. “This approach provided a solid grounding that enabled us to add more products such as mobile and cloud, meaning that we can now provide a full range of 21st century telecommunications products,” he said.
Duncan Laker
With the complete product set in place Laker is now focused on further expanding the Welcome channel this year. “Last autumn we ran a number of workshops for dealers and consultants with the aim of helping them to understand how the new products could be integrated and provide effective communications for their clients,” he noted. “We are planning a second series this year. The products are also allowing us to broaden the type of businesses we partner. This means that diverse businesses, from office supply companies to accountants, are able to introduce effective communication products to their clients and enjoy additional, secure revenue streams.”
Building on last year’s performance Welcome has already hit its 2013 targets mainly through the performance of its dealer network. “By offering
Have you entered the Comms National Awards yet? Visit
www.cnawards.com
40 COMMS DEALER JULY 2013
training, backed up by support teams specialising in the different disciplines and a collaborative engagement with the channel, Welcome expects to continue to deliver above expectations,” added Laker.
Supplying across all sectors, the bulk of Welcome’s business comes from the SME market, but long- term relationships with a number of blue chip and plc customers demonstrates its ability to provide services across the board. “As Welcome offers the full range of voice, data, mobile and UC products, choosing the right suppliers is vital,” added Laker. “We like to build long-term partnerships and develop a good two- way relationship that allows us to deliver the products that our customers want, in the way they want it. This is perhaps the most critical aspect of our strategic planning. After all, when
we make promises to our customers we can’t deliver without our suppliers.”
Staff performance is critical to Welcome’s operation. “We try to maintain a good team spirit to ensure we’re all pulling in the same direction,” explained Laker. “We hold meetings where anyone can raise any subject. We also hold more informal social events to help maintain the high spirits, along with good working conditions and benefits. We emphatically do not have a blame culture. Great staff understand the way customers rely on their telecoms to do business, and that delivering excellent customer service is the key to long-term, productive relationships with both end users and the channel. An open, positive attitude within the business promotes a can, and will do approach when interacting with end users. All customers are lovely, after all they pay the wages.”
n
sponsors of the Mobile Solultion category
www.comms-dealer.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64