6 minute read
Consistency, humanity and honesty
The ability to thrive during difficult times is a real skill, and MATT PHAURÉ has it in spades. We spoke to the founder of Office Oracle about how the company’s ethos and flexibility has navigated it successfully through the first half of 2020, and what its bright future holds
Everyone loves an inspiring story; whether it be about a beloved business making the best of a bad situation, or a handful of baby ducks being rescued from a well, these stories inspire us, and warm our hearts. Since this is Dealer Support, we’re focusing on the former theme right now. With COVID-19 still far from gone from our lives, businesses all over the world have found themselves having to move quickly, and be agile – something which has proved more challenging than ever before.
For some, this has been a nearly business-breaking struggle; for others, it simply hasn’t been possible at all. Then there are those companies which have gripped the situation in front of them and made the best of it that they possible can – one such company is Office Oracle.
OFFICE ORACLE’S TIMELINE
Matt Phauré, the company’s founder, has business in his blood. Some of his earliest memories involve washing up and cleaning his dad’s car for extra pocket money, and buying corner shop sweets to sell on to fellow pupils at a profit. “I just really liked buying and selling!” he explains. Later, as he entered the world of work, Matt was an apprentice in the investment industry until the financial cr ash of 2008.
From there he took his experiences of a high-octane, fast-paced environment to a local, family-run office supplies dealer. “The clientele was the biggest change,” says Matt, “and I wanted more progression and a much larger emphasis on customer service. So, in 2011, I started my own business, which is very client-facing. In my role, 80% of my normal trading hours time, is spent with clients. The other 20% is focused on expansion of the group.”
Office Oracle is in the comfortable position of having nine years of trading to reflect on; Matt describes this time as being characterised by “non-stop learning”. From 2011-14 the growth the business experienced came from passion and grit, and making sure the industry was aware of it as a new player. “We blew up really quickly, and had a pivotal moment in December 2014 when we took on nearly 200 customers in a month – but we didn’t meet any of them,” says Matt. “We had concentrated so hard on new business but, after 2014, our mind set shifted to defining Office Oracle as a brand and really homing in on maintaining business. Our brand is about being consistent, being human, being honest and being premium in all that we do.”
2017-19 was characterised by cementing a strong management team and investing in them, to give them confidence as leaders. “I’ve never been someone who hovers over people’s shoulders, and I believe making mistakes is the best way of learning; if they trust themselves, they’re going to be great. As for 2020-21, we’re still going ahead with the plans we had at the end of 2019 because we’re confident we can still make it happen, in spite of COVID.”
HANDLING THE PANDEMIC
There’s that C-word again. Fortunately, as a business which caters to a lot of clients in the building and procurement industries, Office Oracle has always sold lots of PPE, which is what allowed it to get ahead of the curve when it came to the build-up of the pandemic’s threat at the start of 2020. “Very early on, in January this year, we noticed a huge upward trend in customers buying PPE,” Matt explains. “This meant that, even before COVID was widely covered in the news, it was on our radar. We reviewed our options and decided that, rather than closing up shop and waiting for the storm to pass, we were going to stay open and do our best to support clients.
“Our MD took the lead with the internal comms as everyone moved to working from home, and we made sure we had a plan in place to keep everyone involved, while our client relations director took the lead on external comms and marketing, making sure customers knew we were still there for them – without seeming like a pest! We worked hard to be particularly respectful of our clients, because our clientèle’s workload increased hugely, so we just kept communication open with them and made sure they knew they had our support.”
AN ADJUSTMENT, NOT AN OVERHAUL
While this way of working was vastly different to what Matt was used to, as somebody who would normally spend most of his time on the road, he considers it a mere tweak to normal procedure. “The way we do business simply moved to more video calls, which I totally agree with as a way to minimise risk while maintaining a face-to-face relationship. It works well; you still get to put a face to a conversation and we can work around the customers’ diaries. I see it as an adjustment to market conditions, not a drastic overhaul.”
This flexibility is part of what makes Office Oracle such an attractive option for customers. The testimonials page on the company’s website shows a constant stream of praise for its responsiveness, openness and, more recently, its support during a difficult time. Knowing that trying times were on the way enabled Office Oracle to act quickly, getting the balance right sooner rather than later. “We were quick to look at our products and services and really pick the hero products to bring to the market,” Matt says. “We did a lot of testing behind-the-scenes, as we didn’t want to push products we weren’t familiar with, and Superstat, VOW and Exertis all communicated amazingly on that front.”
Diversification beyond business products is another reason Office Oracle has maintained success during this time. In addition to its print service, it also offers an expert interiors design and management. The business has combined this with its high demand for signage; it has had clients sharing floor plans and asking the business to advise on a foot traffic flow pattern throughout the office, promoting a one-way system using signs on the walls and tape on the floor. “This is shaping a lot of people’s return-to-work planning,” Matt explains. Since so many people are nervous about being back in the office, this is precisely the kind of service that will put customers at ease.
THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT
As mentioned before, Office Oracle’s plans haven’t really changed, in spite of what 2020 has thrown at the world. While COVID has still proven a huge challenge for the business to overcome, Matt says he saw it as less of a change to the business plan, and more of an enhancement of it. “First and foremost, our priority has been supporting our clients with their return to work, advising them, and working with each segment of the supply chain to do things as safely as possible.”
Beyond this, Office Oracle has still expanded, as planned, still opened a new office for the client-facing side of the business, and continues to search for new staff and customers. “We’re allowing all plans to remain flexible as the market conditions continue to change.”
