Owner and Founder shares 5 things that contributed to their growth during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic affected businesses across the world, forcing many to either adapt or close down. In fact, a survey revealed that 76% of South African businesses lost revenue due to the pandemic. Despite this, Catherine Clark, Owner and Founder of The Harvest Table, says their turnover grew almost six times in the past year.
“When January 2020 began, none of us knew what was coming. Our business had started to grow, and so I decided to resign from my job and take the leap into being self-employed full-time even though my business couldn’t afford to pay me a salary. By March, however, we had to send staff home due to lockdown restrictions and I started to regret my decision.”
But Catherine says that soon after, something remarkable happened, “As the pandemic continued to wreak havoc, the public was encouraged to shop online and by April 2020, our online sales had tripled, and over the following months, we went from five staff members to 24.” She adds that they also saw a shift in customers shopping priorities, “Many people began to take their health and wellness more seriously and added more health foods and supplements into their monthly shopping basket.”
In addition to the above reasons, Catherine says that she believes that the following five factors also contributed to their growth:
1. Our brand was well-positioned online prior to lock-down: We had spent several months prior to the pandemic, building up a strong online reputation and fostering trust with our online followers. So, when customers changed their shopping habits during lockdown, we were well set up and ready to service them.
2. Deliberate focus on customer experience: Customer service has always been our number one priority. Our aim is to ensure that every customer receives their parcel correctly, timeously and with a hand-written note that inspires them to keep on their journey to health and wellness! We don’t always get this right, but we are quick to admit when we’re wrong and work quickly to resolve any problems that arise. All of these things collectively resulted in satisfied customers who couldn’t wait to tell their friends about us.
3. We were agile: We’re fortunate in that our business was small enough to make quick decisions and move nimbly. As a result, we were able to react to our ever-changing environment rapidly, which made all the difference.
4. We boldly created our own path: We made some decisions to grow in certain channels that we felt were right for our business even though some people in the industry felt that we were setting ourselves up for failure. What we have learnt is that the world is changing and there are new avenues for doing business that didn’t exist before. Those who are brave enough to explore new channels and create new ways of doing business may find great success. If we’d listened to the naysayers, then we might be in a very different position now. This journey has taught me to believe in myself and to follow my gut.
5. We chose to have fun: We have been deliberate around ensuring that our team have fun along the journey. All work and no play is not conducive to a happy, productive work environment. There is so much additional pressure that has come from this pandemic, and so taking the time to stop, smell the roses, and have a little fun has been key to our success.
“Growth in unprecedented times is tough, but we’ve learnt that success is possible when you are agile, have fun, put your customer first, and are able to adapt!” Catherine concludes.
