A forward-thinking Swansea insolvency company has stolen a march on its competitors with its approach to digital technology.
McAlister & Co's proactive investment in digital infrastructure has not only played a crucial role in the firm’s commercial department tripling in size, it’s kept the company ahead of key changes in Government legislation.
And the changes have also increased staff efficiency and morale. In addition, McAlister & Co, which was founded in 2007 and employs 18 people across the UK, has gained a competitive edge in a turbulent marketplace.
Virtual meetings have dramatically cut travel time and costs
Founder and managing director Sandra McAlister said: “There have been significant changes to how we can handle cases as a result of amendments to the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 legislation. For example, communication and correspondence can be electronic. We got ahead of the curve by implementing VoIP (voice over IP) systems, which allow for virtual meetings which dramatically cut travel time. In addition, it’s reduced administrative costs.
“During our digital transformation we took the opportunity to review the company’s processes and following staff feedback we upgraded to a cloud-based software that has significantly increased efficiency.
Part of our role is to analyse entries on bank statements. Historically this was manually entered into a spreadsheet and could take an entire day, as well as be susceptible to human error. This action now takes just minutes and mitigates any errors.
Digital marketing is a key driver for growth
“We also introduced a cloud-based CRM which allows us to assign staff to new meetings based on location, meaning travel time is further reduced. The app also enables the sales team to access customer data on their phone while on the move.”
Sandra also points to embracing digital marketing as a key driver for the business’ success. The company has maintained a turnover of more than £1m for the last three years and taken on two new members of staff in the last 12 months.
She added: “Half of our commercial business comes from online marketing. I used YouTube to learn about pay-per-click (PPC), and I work closely with our external agency to run successful Google ad campaigns. In addition, we combine digital with traditional. We post a printed newsletter annually, which is well received because people like to read physical mail.
Superfast Business Wales provided ideas for future tactics
“We also accessed support from Superfast Business Wales to help identify new opportunities and ideas. I had 1-2-1 session and a marketing report from Superfast Business Wales, which were exceptionally good and valuable. They opened my eyes to a lot of missed opportunities, as well as ideas for future tactics.
“In particular, we discussed content marketing and PR to position the business as an expert. We have since held seminars and workshops to update key people including solicitors and accountants on legislation changes and best practice. In the future, we are hoping to produce video webinars so our content can be accessed anywhere in the world.”