Surviving and thriving through a global pandemic - From the Manor

This weeks “From the Manor” column comes from Matt Turner whose ever expanding Creative Group is based on Manor Royal.
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Here he shares his thoughts on how to not just survive but to thrive despite the challenges thrown at businesses by a global pandemic.

Since March 2020, the global economy has faced unprecedented collapse, and most of us never expected to go through three national lockdowns in the space of a year, yet here we are.

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Matt Turner, CEO of The Creative GroupMatt Turner, CEO of The Creative Group
Matt Turner, CEO of The Creative Group

Matt Turner, CEO of The Creative Group, which holds six companies, including Creative Pod, an award-winning marketing and design agency, ECHO, Square One, The PrintShop, Spacelink, and 427, have experienced great success and expansion during Covid-19 and have pulled together some advice on how to succeed during a global pandemic.

Based in Manor Royal Business District, Matt and his ever-growing team have been working remotely for the last fourteen months, and at a time which could have driven panic, the team survived by putting their heads together and reaching out to clients who needed extra support during a time of crisis.

Matt said: “Handling Covid was a sink or swim situation, for us we decided to use this to our advantage to work harder and smarter to ensure we went above and beyond for our clients.

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“The overarching advice I would give anyone about handling Covid is to communicate with your team, be open and transparent, and go the extra mile for clients. “As we start to see local businesses and retail open up again, there is still concern that the economic recovery of our country is going to take years before we are back on track.

“For many business owners, it will be interesting to see how the next twelve months turn out. Now is the time to prepare long-term strategies for how you will keep your business afloat.”

Matt goes on to say: “I think the real challenge has only just begun. It’s imperative at this point to support local businesses and buy local, which also includes B2B and not just retail.

Although we reached out to new clients through the pandemic to offer our services and support, we also recognise that marketing is often one of the first things that business owners look at when needing to cut costs, which is a fatal error.”

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It is of vital importance to an owner’s business that they continue with as much marketing as possible, as cutting budgets reduces profitability and growth of a business, which is a sure way to send a company into insolvency in the current economic climate.

This goes beyond marketing as well; for any local business, the next twelve months will be a challenge. The team at Creative Pod has always known that you need to strike while the iron is hot, and this should be the same for any business in Manor Royal that wants to keep it’s head above water.

Matt concludes: “We count our lucky stars every day that we survived the pandemic. Not only have we seen a massive increase in businesses approaching us for marketing assistance, but we’ve also grown as a team and this is reflective in the hard work and many hours that we’ve all put in over the last fourteen months.”

- To find out more about Creative Pod visit www.creativepod.uk.com - To find out more about the Manor Royal BID visit www.manorroyal.org

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