They say that new brooms sweep clean and that’s certainly the case for one Pwllheli-based business. Gwynedd Disposables Cyf has undergone a full digital revamp supported by Superfast Business Wales leading to a 300 per cent increase in website visits.
After 50 years of trading under the Graham family, the reins have been picked up by another local family that is aiming for growth alongside a continued commitment to high-quality customer service in the supply of cleaning, hygiene, and sanitisation products.
As part of the acquisition, the business is undergoing a full digital revamp, including a modern search engine optimisation (SEO) focused website and a social media launch with a tailored content plan.
With the new owners championing change, the three existing employees were promoted to managerial roles as well as becoming shareholding directors. One of those relishing the new role and challenge is Anwen Jones, who is leading the digital rollout at Gwynedd Disposables, whose clients operate in the catering, leisure, tourism, nursing, and care home sectors across north and mid Wales.
Anwen said: “I saw the opportunity to receive free support from Superfast Business Wales and I’ve been really impressed with the help given. It’s early days but there’s been significant results already. Visits to our website are up by more than 300 per cent compared to this time last year, which I’m attributing to our new Facebook page.”
Improvements include a rebranding exercise such as a new company logo as well as a substantial IT investment, which involved the introduction of a new suite of computers and the implementation of a cloud-based server, providing security and more efficient operational processes.
Acknowledging the benefits of this new technology, Anwen said: “Our old computers were slow and didn’t allow us to consider in-house graphic design and photo editing. Now though, we can create professional materials inhouse - saving time and money whilst also allowing us to retain our company values and experience.”
With the technology to create branded assets, Gwynedd Disposables is embracing the advice to launch a social media strategy and to develop an engaging content plan.
Anwen explained: “Social media wasn’t really part of the marketing mix previously, so we’ve started from scratch and looked to step it up gradually. We can now create professional looking content and crucially we’re starting to build a presence on social media.
“Our Facebook page is still very much in its infancy, but we’re adding our website as the call to action on our posts and we’re seeing great results already. We’ve also learnt to use analytic tools to monitor our growth and review what content is working the best.”
Tapping into unknown skills of one of the team, Anwen’s colleague Adrian Coles has started an SEO campaign across the website.
Attending free webinars provided by Superfast Business Wales, including social media, SEO, and websites, Adrian is upskilling his digital know-how and aims to improve the business’ Google ranking, reach a wider audience, and further boost business enquiries.
Anwen added:
“We’ve learnt a lot from the support and the webinars have been a fantastic resource for us. It’s all still new to us, but sometimes you realise there’s untapped talent within your team that can be put into practice.”
With big plans for the future, including introducing eCommerce options, Anwen is excited to see where the business goes, saying: “It is very much a learning curve for all of us. As we settle into our new roles and responsibilities, as well as adapting to the new processes, we’ll be continuing to look at how we can improve as individuals, as a team and as a company.
“We’re still implementing the advice from our tailored action plan from Superfast Business Wales, which was a detailed step-by-step list of improvements we could hit the ground running with.
“The whole team was blown away by the amount of help we received - not just the free webinars, but also the one-to-one consultation and report. It was the most thorough report I’ve ever received.”
Taking a proactive approach to giving the company a new lease of life, Anwen said: “I’ve received Business Wales’ weekly emails for a while and that’s where I first saw the opportunity for the ‘Superfast’ digital support.
“The emails are a great resource in themselves, and they’ve helped to spark inspiration for our business improvements.
“I would highly recommend Superfast Business Wales to others who would benefit from an outsider’s perspective. For a free tool, it’s amazing.
“The consultant worked with us to learn about our organisation and where we want to go with it. He gave us much needed guidance, offering advice on areas we weren’t sure about and even explaining where things weren’t working quite right. It’s been a learning curve.
“We’re very grateful for the support and whilst it’s early days in terms of results, we know we’ve laid the foundations and we’re on the right track for growing the business as well as developing each one of us as individuals.”