Successful Website Business Set To Increase Franchise Opportunities
21st October 2008 - Britnett
A leading North East website design business is hoping to capitalise on a recent upsurge in interest from small businesses owners keen to develop a credible internet presence as a way of beating the current economic downturn. Expansion plans could see the firm taking on up to 80 additional consultants across the UK in order to meet increased demand for its services.
Britnett Web Services, based in Barnard Castle, County Durham, recently reported a 24% increase in online enquiries from small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in one month alone and predict that this trend will continue as more and more businesses realise that there is now greater public acceptance than ever, of the internet, as a vehicle for conducting business.
This is where Britnett comes into its own, by producing professional websites for small businesses directly and also through a national network of franchisee consultants, who are extensively trained and exclusively authorised to re-sell its services and products.
With pressure from the ‘credit crunch’ mounting, small businesses are focussing on new ways of getting their marketing message out to potential customers or, indeed, trading online through e-commerce enabled sites. As well as enquiries for new sites, Britnett is also experiencing an increase in the number of requests for re-builds of existing sites.
The opportunity for other like-minded individuals to join the fold, by taking on a franchised consultancy, is a major factor in the growth of a business which has seen a rapid rise in its market presence since trading started in 1999. Britnett now has a client base in excess of 2,500.
Britnett’s UK development manager, Paul Harper, says:
“We currently have a network of about 40 consultants located down the ‘spine’ of the country, many of whom are very active and able to generate very good incomes from a modest initial investment - for the right person.
“As part of our expansion plans we have identified that potentially an additional 80 postcode areas, branching out from this spine, could support a locally-based Britnett franchise.
“Typically, a Britnett website cost is up to half of what the competition offers, equally compared, apple to apple on the initial set-up and also for the ongoing contract which is ‘open ended’. When the franchisee sets up a website for their own client, we take a small percentage from the initial fee and also from the monthly payment but the remainder is retained by the franchisee. By adopting a model of residual income for ourselves and for the franchisees we have created a ‘win-win’ situation for all involved.
“We promote long term relationships with our consultants and they are then able to develop sustainable businesses by providing their customers with professional services on a personal level, with the comfort of knowing that they have the back up from Britnett head office and our extended international support network.”
The ‘Britnett brand’ relies on two main products for its core business:
Britnett-Carver, is a highly flexible Content Management System (CMS) which enables website owners themselves to edit their site at the click of a mouse and Britnett-BizSub - a service that registers clients’ websites with all of the major search engines, ensuring that their potential customers are only ever a click away. Clients’ websites are also ‘optimised’ on carefully chosen keywords and phrases.
Paul Harper says:
“What sets us apart is that our software, in particular the Britnett-Carver CMS, is intuitive and easy for our clients to use. I can say that because we designed it and it has evolved from working alongside our UK customers and listening to what they want – we rarely develop any new ideas which haven’t had a considerable input from our customers.
“Having such a powerful yet simple tool at their disposal empowers our clients and our consultants alike. The fact that our head office isn’t a hive of constantly ringing telephones proves that the software does what it is supposed to do. The average ‘non-technical’ person is easily able to update their own website pages without the worry of additional development costs or having to book in development time.
“Britnett-Carver is both flexible and expandable, so customers who want a secure shopping cart facility, for example, can have one. Others may need graphic design services and again, they are available as add-ons to the basic package.
“We are also proud of Britnett-BizSub and regularly publish reports showing just how well our website optimisation service works –– there’s no magic or witchcraft involved - the results are there for all to see.”
Also key to the company’s success, is a well-developed and highly effective worldwide support team offering 24/7 coverage for clients. There is continuous monitoring of sites, all of which are hosted on Britnett servers and which enables any issues to be dealt with immediately.
Paul Harper believes that the business is very well positioned to deliver exactly what the market wants and is now seeing substantial payback on a business model which combines a radical sales ethos with unrivalled experience within the industry and ongoing investment in customer-led, cutting edge software development.
He comments:
“Ultimately what we are looking for, as a company, is to create an ongoing relationship with our clients and this often starts with a very simple question – what do you want your website to achieve for the company? Once the client gives us that basic information we work together to develop a proposal and as long as they provide us with the more detailed information in good time, we can typically complete the project within three to four weeks.”
45-year-old Paul, who was born in Coventry, is married with two children and now happily settled into life in the countryside, living just outside of Barnard Castle. His describes the journey from the big West Midlands city to rural Teesdale and the influences which he picked up along the way:
“When I left school, I got some experience in retail then went to work for Xerox, the ‘photocopier people’, and spent 5 years in the USA. I found that my strengths lay in presentation delivery and training and that the skills gained from my time in retail were readily transferrable into business-to-business selling."
Paul found that working for Xerox was an excellent grounding in sales and discovered that you don’t have to be technically orientated to sell technological products:
“I don’t consider myself to be a ‘techie’. Whilst I recall as a child, taking tape recorders apart then rebuilding them, this was to gain understanding of how they worked and done more out of interest. Good sales technique, however, is a lot more than just product knowledge. Sure, when I worked for Xerox I could change the toners and paper, and show the client how to do this, but that’s where it ended. If the customer had any other issues, I called in an engineer.”
The fact that Paul is inherently a salesman rather than a technician, may surprise some people in an industry which is heavily dependent upon new and often sophisticated technology, but he is keen to emphasise why being from a sales background underpins much of the current Britnett philosophy:
“In the USA I also picked up on a sales method which we have now fully adopted within the business, and one which we encourage and train our consultants to follow. I don’t believe in hard selling; very often this can produce quick sales, but in the longer term may cause customers to regret doing business with you, cancel orders or simply discontinue your services. What I do believe in very strongly is that ‘consultative’ sales techniques help to build sound business relationships, encouraging customers to stay loyal for longer.
“Xerox, in common with other successful American sales forces used a technique called ‘six steps to selling’ and I took this on board very early on when I realised that it actually works. It is now the cornerstone of our business and works by following a set path with all prospective clients. In short, the process involves getting to know and understand the client, getting to know what it feels like to be them, finding out what they want to achieve and then making a proposal based on their wants and needs. Obviously the final stage is to deliver the agreed service or product.
“So, when we are considering inviting prospective franchisee consultants to join the business, we look for sales ability and aptitude ahead of technical IT knowledge. What we want are self-starters who know where they are going to get their business from, who know how to take advantage of networking opportunities and who are prepared to learn and adopt the six steps to selling.
“They should also be able to spot market trends early and take advantage of the many new opportunities which are opening up nationally. One of the growth areas at the moment is small independent retailers who are looking to compliment traditional shop premises with an online outlet for their products. A website with shopping cart functionality, for example, is an ideal way of taking their business to a worldwide market.”
Paul returned from the USA in 1999 and finding that his parents had settled in Barnard Castle, decided to move there himself. In the same year Britnett was established with advice and support received from the local Business Link office.
Rural Teesdale, may not seem the most obvious place for a nationwide website design business to flourish, but the very fact that it is doing so, after nearly ten years in business is a testament to the vision, commitment and hard work of the dedicated team of seven at the Barnard Castle head office.
Living in or near to some of the region’s most remote and beautiful countryside does have its benefits however, especially if you are a vintage motorcycle enthusiast with a love of the open road. Or, in fact, if you 'like anything on wheels', as Paul Harper confesses:
“I have a vintage BMW motorbike, but I also have an obsession for Porsche cars, having previously owned seven different models. Family commitments have made me say goodbye to the last one recently and I now have a ’box on wheels’ – a very nice box on wheels, it has to be said, it’s a Lexus. I believe that you can tell a lot about a person from the car that they drive. I’m not sure what owning a Lexus says about me though. Maybe it shows I’ve grown up!”
Clearly his passion for and enjoyment of ‘wheeled objects’ is a great personal motivator but asked to sum up what motivates him in business, Paul Harper typifies the Britnett ethos as he reveals:
“Getting it perfect – it’s not the money. I love it when it works – when a consultant signs up a client to their product and the client gets orders through their website and it changes their business – that is what drives me, it’s a lovely feeling seeing our products actually work - they are all little machines and if looked after right and delivered properly, what they can produce is phenomenal.”
And his vision for the future?
“Continue to do what we are doing now, but do it a bit better!”
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