Since the start of F One, we never entered any of the various telecoms sector awards. Yes, this was partly because there are never enough hours in the day to put together an entry, but I would suggest that the main reason was that since the beginning of the company, our primary focus has been on getting our heads down and doing everything we can to simply establish a great business.
After working really hard with the GetCrisp team on our branding, website, social platforms, and so on throughout the end of 2021/beginning of 2022, it just felt like the right time to begin reaping the rewards of what had been sown over the previous 9 years. Not only that, but the products and services we now provide and maintain have had a genuinely positive impact on the way our customers work, so it felt like we actually had some really good case studies to present, rather than the usual run-of-the-mill nonsense that we assumed everyone else would put forward.
We decided to enter the CRN Channel Awards 2022 in the SMB Reseller of the Year category, once again, with the help of the fantastic GetCrisp team. We opted to submit a case study based on a solution we supplied to Zero Waste Group, a national waste removal firm. With the volume of calls Zero Waste were taking, they required an in depth call centre solution. For the most part, this was due to their complex call routing requirements. Their marketing strategy generates a huge volume of incoming calls, and in order to make their Google ad campaign spend worthwhile, they needed to catch every single missed call, something they were unable to achieve prior to our involvement.
Having analysed their needs, we recommended NEC’s Univerge Blue Contact Centre solution. This had all of the advanced call handling and routing features they needed, and lots more. But, it was in the missed call facility requirements that we went over and above their expectations. Most ‘out of the box’ missed call solutions require either a very manual process, or only return calls after a significant delay… by which time, potential customers of Zero Waste may have sought another waste removal company to complete the work. Together with NEC, our Technical Team developed a specific customisation to ensure that when a potential client decides that they don’t want to wait, and hangs up, their place in the queue is kept automatically. By doing this, their customers not only received an automatic call back from one of the Zero Waste team, but most importantly they got that call back very quickly. This reduced their lost revenue significantly, and allowed to make the most out of their Google ads investment.
Once Zero Waste had completed their own internal analysis, they gleefully informed us that in the first month alone, 371 calls had been returned to potential customers… calls they would have ordinarily missed and lost. Based on a 15.2% call back to booking ratio, and an average booking value of around £330.00, they created more than £18,000.00 extra revenue in their first month, all thanks to our solution… absolutely incredible!
Whilst GetCrisp did an incredible job with the award entry, it still wasn’t something that I ever expected to win. I couldn’t help but think that we just didn’t stand a chance with all of the other, much larger telecoms providers that were in the running for the award. That said, and as most people that know me will tell you, I was wrong once again… WE WON!
It meant so much to Adam, Alex and I to win that award. Not because of the lovely trophy (which we are still waiting for by the way… nudge, nudge CRN Channel Awards guys), but because all of the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into making F One what it is today. I know it’s a cliché, but I wholeheartedly mean it when I say that we are so lucky to have such a great team that give their absolute all, day in and day out, not only for us but for our customers. Thanks once again to our incredible F One team… we couldn’t do it without you.
Needless to say, 2023 will see us enter more industry awards, wish us luck!
Lee New, Co-Founder & Sales Director
